Rodney

by Kelly Canby

Rodney is a small tortoise with a BIG dream. All Rodney ever wanted, all he had ever dreamed about, was to know a life among the treetops.Then one day, Rodney’s dream comes true – or does it? It’s all a matter of perspective!

Genres: Picture Books

Paperback

Published February 2, 2021

About the author

Kelly Canby is an internationally published illustrator and author. Kelly was born in London, but has lived in Australia since the age of three, which is probably around the same age she started playing with pencils and crayons, and it was probably only a few years after that that she decided playing with pencils and crayons was something she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Rodney and his smallness. What I love most is how all the animals and insects welcome Rodney. "Come and play ... come and join me for lunch ... Come up and take a look ..."

Everyone wants to be with Rodney but he just can't quite get to their height. It is all about perspective for Rodney and Kelly Canby's illustrations provide comparable sizes. There is a wonderful collage look to the pictures and a fantastic use of white space.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Green turtle Rodney's greatest wish is to live in the treetops and enjoy the views, eats juicy leaves and smell the fresh air - a succession of wishes inspired by the tree dwelling animals he meets. Then something rather improbable happens and he gets to enjoy a host of new experiences.

This is bright, joyous and vibrant story that is exuberant in the illustrations. Varied page layouts, vivid colours and expressive text layout add to the visual appeal. An underlying message that you can't always get what you want to and to appreciate what you do have is lost in the end when Rodney gets to view the world from the tops of the trees. I is found the ending a bit too convenient and unlikely which took the edge of an otherwise great read for young children.

[Rhyllis Bignell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rodney the small turtle has enormous dreams unfortunately he's surrounded by tall trees and the animals that live in the treetops challenge him to climb up. The sloths want him to chill with them and monkeys want to play chase with him. When Rodney's life seems to be filled with problems, with the help of some smaller creatures he realises that size is relative.

Kelly Canby's wonderful painted collages, layered with animals, leaves and tree trunks really add joy to Rodney's story. His world becomes bold and bright when the jewel beetle, caterpillar and the ladybugs share their space with Rodney.

[Jess64 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science inaccuracies got in the way for me. But I did love the ending.