Saturday, Sunday Busy Day, Fun Day by Natalie Kate Forbes. Illus. by Danny Snell

Debut author Natalie Kate Forbes has written an entertaining picture book, Saturday, Sunday: Busy Day Fun Day, telling of the various happenings undertaken by a family over the weekend. The gorgeous cover by well-known South Australian illustrator Danny Snell shares a snapshot of the busyness of a Saturday with the calm pace of a Sunday. The front endpapers list the activities for Saturday with the back endpapers listing Sunday’s actions.

From the very first page, the reader is drawn into the Saturday activities with action aplenty and an abundance of exclamation marks for emphasis!

Wake up! It’s Saturday, jump out of bed!
Brush teeth! Get Dressed! Make sure Rufus is fed.
There’s so much to do, we mustn’t waste time.
Look at the clock-it’s a quarter to nine!

Each double page spread has the family moving from one activity to the other, often represented in delightful vignettes showing movement and humour. The clever inclusion of the closed sign lets the reader know the children are asleep finally on Saturday night. Sunday morning arrives and the pace is more relaxed but the children still have plenty of time for fun and family.

This is an enjoyable book to read aloud and will resonate with many children and families.  The rhyming text flows beautifully and the detailed softly toned illustrations are a perfect complement. Educators of Early Years classes will be thrilled to use this book as in introduction to the writing of a weekend recount.

Themes: Weekend, Family, Activities.

Kathryn Beilby