Luther and the Cloud-Makers product reviews

Luther and the Cloud-Makers is a book I had heard a lot about but knew nothing about. I knew the art was amazing, from some previews I had seen on Mewburn's facebook account. Anderson has worked with Mewburn a couple of times before and she has also illustrated for Chris Gurney. Her art usually has a cartoon realism about it, that is similar to other styles I have seen but uniquely hers as well.

In this book, you have wonderful full colour nature scenes with lots and lots of detail hidden on each page. They are just stunning. And then there are a dark and foreboding pages, where Luther is on his search. There is still a fair bit of detail on these pages too, but nowhere near as much. They are stark, and horrifying. My daughter stayed so still and silent as we travelled with Luther through these pages. I could see in her eyes, the suspense. Who were the Cloudmakers?

The story itself is one to stop and make you think. What are we doing in our own lives, and home that could be doing more damage than it needs to? The words are powerful. They are so easy to read, they boom out of you as you follow Luther along. I loved that and I loved that the story was about something real and important to focus on. My daughter is already embracing nature, and her inner eco-warrior. This tale fitted well with us and her in particular.

I have to begin by just saying that I really love this book!

My little misses and I curled up this afternoon to read it and right from the cover I love it. This book is made from handmade harakeke paper and the illustrations are digital drawing and painting.

The pages are all absolutely beautifully colour illustrated and the illustrations are perfect with the story. A very good collaboration. My girls and I loved the little commune living in a hobbitville type village. Brilliant! The story is really well written in that it walks the reader through types of pollution and how by making people aware of the problem they may then address it and there are simple solutions often to the cause of pollution.

It was great to read through this with the kids and we spent lots of time talking about pollution and how to prevent it. They liked the contrast between the "village" being green and lush and the pollution being orangy and black. We all loved the inference that one person can make a difference. Such an important message for our young ones.

This is definitely a brilliant Eco-fable and I 100% recommend it. Perfect for pre-schoolers and young children. Thanks Kyle and Sarah for such a brilliant book.