JETTY JUMPING
Andrea Rowe – Illustrated by Hannah Sommerville
Shortlisted for 2022 BOOK OF THE YEAR: EARLY CHILDHOOD
Entries in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for children who are at pre-reading or early stages of reading. Ages 0-6 years.
Jetty Jumping is a beautifully constructed book. The narrative and the illustrations blend seamlessly to create a picture book that is not only gorgeous to look at but is also emotionally evocative.
The story is set in a coastal town with a prominent jetty, this could be any coastal town in Australia. The use of this generic setting enables the reader to immediately relate to the characters and to feel an empathy with the protagonist; Milla.
Milla and her friends spend each weekend on the jetty. Milla’s friends all jump from the jetty, but Milla cannot bring herself to do the same. She is filled with a longing to join her friends, but she just can’t seem to overcome her fear of the unknown.
There are dark shadows down there. There are mysterious ripples. There is scary seaweed. There are things that move.
An accident causes Milla to finally realise that the ocean is not as scary as she feared, and her triumph is her newfound delight in the sea and in joining her friends launching themselves off the jetty.
The symbolic use of the jetty as something to leave behind in the overcoming of our childhood fears is something that the author has embraced in her debut picture book.
“Jetties are such a symbolic thing,” says Andrea. “They are sturdy and strong, but they are also something that we use to launch ourselves from as well. Jetty Jumping is a salute to letting go, and trying new things.”
Jetty Jumping is an emotionally rewarding story that evokes a nostalgia for summers spent at the beach. It encompasses themes of bravery, letting go and the joy in discovering that the thing that frightened you is not as bad as it seemed.
