Book Review: Violet Mackerel's Pocket Protest

A review of Violet Mackerel's Pocket Protest by Anna Branford and illustrated by Sarah Davis

Violet Mackerel’s Pocket Protest is the sixth book in a very successful series of books about friendship and family life. It is written by Australian author Anna Branford and beautifully illustrated by Sara Davis. Book five in the series, Violet Mackerel’s Possible Friend was shortlisted in the 2014 Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards in the Younger Readers category.

Violet Mackerel and her best friend Rose live next door to one another. They come from different family situations: Violet has a new step father and a family that is laid back and crafty. In contrast, Rose’s family is wealthier and she has lots of nice possessions, but they both have inquisitive minds and a sense of adventure. In this latest book in the series, Violet and Rose endeavour to save an old oak tree from being cut down in a nearby Clover Park. After trying a number of different strategies, the girls decide to embark on an ingenious “pocket protest”, leaving acorns with small notes inside them around their local area. They hope people will pick up the acorns and help them to save the tree. The Council finally makes the decision to save the tree after the local paper runs a story about people finding the pocket protests.

This positive and upbeat story is about the ability of ordinary people to create change and make a difference by doing small things. Throughout the series, readers will be aware that Violet loves small things, such as writing tiny notes and making small gifts. The theme of friendship is relevant to girls aged five and over, who enjoy reading stories that reflect what is happening in their lives and as they begin to form their own social networks.

Violet Mackerel’s Pocket Protest is written for girls aged seven and over and is suitable for children in lower primary. The book has short chapters, clear large font, and is illustrated with black and white drawings throughout. It is an excellent choice for emerging, independent chapter book readers. The language used is clear and descriptive and the simple sentence structure suitable for early readers, with well developed characterisation. Children will relate to and connect with Violet and Rose, who are authentic and likeable characters. Both girls come up with great ideas throughout the story as they try to save the beautiful old oak tree.

Children in the age group suitable for this book are influenced in their reading choices by such factors as whether a book is part of a series they have already read, is written by author they are familiar with, and cover art and illustrations. This gives them confidence in independently selecting books to read (School Libraries in Canada, 2005, p. 34). Girls prefer narrative text and books with themes such as friendship, loyalty, school life and acceptance, and the Violet Mackerel series meets these recreational reading needs (Hedemark, 2012, p. 120). The books have attractive, brightly coloured cover design and the series is released in small hardcover books.

Children can visit Anna Branford’s website to find out about the author and her books, or Violet Mackerel’s website to find out about Violet, do activities or read the first chapter of each book in the series.

Children who enjoy reading the Violet Mackerel series would also enjoy such series as Ivy + Bean, Judy Moody, and Hazel Green.

References:

Banford, A. (2014). Anna Banford: children’s author and maker of things. Retrieved from http://www.annabranford.com

Hedemark, A. (2012). A study of Swedish children’s attitudes to reading and public library activities. New Review of Childrens Literature and Librarianship. 18(2), 116-127.

School Libraries in Canada. (2005). Influences on students self-selected, recreational reading material: literature review. School Libraries in Canada. 25(1), 34-41.

Violet Mackerel (2014). Retrieved from http://www.violetmackerel.com.au