Heavy is an empowering children's picture book about strong women and girls, the loads they carry, and the lightness that arrives when they find ways to lift each other up.
At the wild animal rescue centre run by her family of formidably strong women, Nina watches her mother, grandmother and aunt piggyback polar bears, balance baboons, wrangle wild boars and shoulder boa constrictors. Every day they pick up more. The trouble is, they never put anything down. Seeing her family struggling under the weight of it all, Nina sets out to show them that just because they can carry heavy things all the time doesn't mean they have to.
Written by Dannika Patterson and illustrated with warmth and humour by Davilyn Lynch, Heavy tackles intergenerational and societal patterns of burden-carrying, and the modern glorification of busyness, in a way that is light, funny and age-appropriate. It's an anti-multitasking story that gently advocates for rest, for prioritising, and for doing one important thing at a time.
Reviewing for Reading Time (CBCA), Raquel Mayman noted the inviting colour and movement filling the pages, and described the book as an empowering, light-hearted exploration of sharing the load, focusing on one thing at a time, and doing things differently to avoid overwhelm and burnout. She suggested that the book’s message is a reminder we all need from time to time.
A brilliant read-aloud for early years and lower primary classrooms and a knowing gift for mothers, grandmothers, teachers and anyone doing too much. A full set of teaching notes is available to download free from author Dannika Patterson’s and Wombat Books’ websites.
Themes include feminism, empowerment, family, sharing, helping, rest, balancing priorities and preventing burnout.
Heavy is an empowering children's picture book about strong women and girls, the loads they carry, and the lightness that arrives when they find ways to lift each other up.
At the wild animal rescue centre run by her family of formidably strong women, Nina watches her mother, grandmother and aunt piggyback polar bears, balance baboons, wrangle wild boars and shoulder boa constrictors. Every day they pick up more. The trouble is, they never put anything down. Seeing her family struggling under the weight of it all, Nina sets out to show them that just because they can carry heavy things all the time doesn't mean they have to.
Written by Dannika Patterson and illustrated with warmth and humour by Davilyn Lynch, Heavy tackles intergenerational and societal patterns of burden-carrying, and the modern glorification of busyness, in a way that is light, funny and age-appropriate. It's an anti-multitasking story that gently advocates for rest, for prioritising, and for doing one important thing at a time.
Reviewing for Reading Time (CBCA), Raquel Mayman noted the inviting colour and movement filling the pages, and described the book as an empowering, light-hearted exploration of sharing the load, focusing on one thing at a time, and doing things differently to avoid overwhelm and burnout. She suggested that the book’s message is a reminder we all need from time to time.
A brilliant read-aloud for early years and lower primary classrooms and a knowing gift for mothers, grandmothers, teachers and anyone doing too much. A full set of teaching notes is available to download free from author Dannika Patterson’s and Wombat Books’ websites.
Themes include feminism, empowerment, family, sharing, helping, rest, balancing priorities and preventing burnout.
