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A Friend for Ruby
When Ruby sees an amazing creature on the beach on her way home from school, she is hopeful she's found a new friend... A gorgeous story about kindness and family and friendship, brought beautifully to life by two incredibly talented creators.
Ruby led the creature out into the garden. She drew a dancing circle in the sand. 'I choose you!' she said to the creature.
Walking along the beach, Ruby finds a strange creature on the shore. She takes it home, feeds it and makes a bed of straw for it in her cubby - but a cubby is no place for a creature from the sea.
Ruby must draw on all her resources to help the creature find their way home - and perhaps, along the way, she might just find an unexpected friendship.
A whimsical tale of friendship, compassion and resourcefulness, from a wonderfully talented creative team.
Ruby led the creature out into the garden. She drew a dancing circle in the sand. 'I choose you!' she said to the creature.
Walking along the beach, Ruby finds a strange creature on the shore. She takes it home, feeds it and makes a bed of straw for it in her cubby - but a cubby is no place for a creature from the sea.
Ruby must draw on all her resources to help the creature find their way home - and perhaps, along the way, she might just find an unexpected friendship.
A whimsical tale of friendship, compassion and resourcefulness, from a wonderfully talented creative team.
34 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 29, 2023
3 people want to read
About the author
Sofie Laguna
33 books380 followersSofie Laguna originally studied to be a lawyer at the University of New South Wales, but after deciding law was not for her, she moved to Melbourne to train as an actor. Sofie worked for a number of years as an actor at the same time as completing a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Sofie is now an author and playright writing for both adults and children.
Her many books for young people have been named Honour Books and Notable Books in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards and have been shortlisted in the Queensland Premier’s Awards. She has been published in the US and the UK and in translation throughout Europe and Asia.
Her picture book, On Our Way to the Beach, was included in the White Raven 2005 annual selection of outstanding international children’s books by the International Youth Library (Associated Project if UNESCO)
In 2008 Sofie released her first novel for adults, One Foot Wrong, to international acclaim. It was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and long-listed for the Miles Franklin Award. Screen rights for the book have been optioned and Sofie has recently completed the screenplay.
Sofie continues to write for a wide readership, from picture books for very young children, to series for older readers, to novels for adults.
Sofie lives in Melbourne with her partner and their young son.
Her many books for young people have been named Honour Books and Notable Books in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards and have been shortlisted in the Queensland Premier’s Awards. She has been published in the US and the UK and in translation throughout Europe and Asia.
Her picture book, On Our Way to the Beach, was included in the White Raven 2005 annual selection of outstanding international children’s books by the International Youth Library (Associated Project if UNESCO)
In 2008 Sofie released her first novel for adults, One Foot Wrong, to international acclaim. It was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and long-listed for the Miles Franklin Award. Screen rights for the book have been optioned and Sofie has recently completed the screenplay.
Sofie continues to write for a wide readership, from picture books for very young children, to series for older readers, to novels for adults.
Sofie lives in Melbourne with her partner and their young son.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 22, 2023
Ruby was on her way home from school when she saw a huge creature from the sea. It seemed lost - Ruby was hopeful she had found a new friend. Taking the creature to her Granma's house, she put it in the cubby house. But finding food for the creature was difficult. Seaweed, pipis, crabs and tiny fish - but it wasn't enough. When Ruby went to the bakery for left over bread, the baker's daughter Sonya, joined Ruby to help feed it. If Granma found out about the creature, what would she do? How could Ruby and her new friend Sonya return it to the sea?
A Friend for Ruby is a gorgeous hardcover book for children, with a delightful story of friendship, caring and whimsy by Aussie author Sofie Laguna, a versatile author, with books for both adults and children, many of which I've enjoyed. Marc McBride is a very talented illustrator, with pictures that will delight a child with their colour and vibrancy. Highly recommended for the little ones in your lives.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin AU for my hardcover ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
A Friend for Ruby is a gorgeous hardcover book for children, with a delightful story of friendship, caring and whimsy by Aussie author Sofie Laguna, a versatile author, with books for both adults and children, many of which I've enjoyed. Marc McBride is a very talented illustrator, with pictures that will delight a child with their colour and vibrancy. Highly recommended for the little ones in your lives.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin AU for my hardcover ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
August 29, 2023
I’m all for judging a book by its cover and this one is absolutely breathtaking. More often than not, though, I choose a book because of who wrote it. Sometimes I get an unexpected bonus, discovering an illustrator whose work I wasn’t already familiar with.
This book, though, I chose to read specifically because I wanted to see more of the illustrator’s work, having fallen in love with their style when I read The Glimme.
This time, it was Sofie Laguna’s words that surprised me, drawing me into Ruby’s world just as much as Marc McBride’s illustrations did.
Ruby has had a rough week at school when she comes across the creature at the beach. Hoping she’s found a new friend, Ruby takes the creature home but quickly learns that caring for it isn’t as easy as she thought it would be.
This is such an adorable book. Ruby is an absolute sweetheart who is yearning for connection. The story majors on friendship and has more heart than I usually find in picture books.
Within its pages you’ll visit the bakery of my dreams and meet one of the most colourful, imaginative creatures you’ll ever encounter.
Kid me would have loved the story, wanted to be friends with Ruby and spent way too much time poring over every detail of the creature. Adult me loves the story and has spent so much time poring over every detail of the creature, marvelling at how the riot of colours don’t seem like they should work so well together but somehow do.
I’m putting my hand up for the bakery’s leftover cakes and hoping that one day I’ll walk into a store and find a plush toy creature to adopt.
This author and illustrator team complement one another brilliantly. I definitely need to clear some space in my TBR pile for the books they’ve written and illustrated that haven’t taken up residence in my heart yet.
Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read this picture book.
Title: A Friend for Ruby
Author: Sofie Laguna
Illustrator: Marc McBride
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 29 August 2023
RRP: AUD $24.99
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com/
This book, though, I chose to read specifically because I wanted to see more of the illustrator’s work, having fallen in love with their style when I read The Glimme.
This time, it was Sofie Laguna’s words that surprised me, drawing me into Ruby’s world just as much as Marc McBride’s illustrations did.
Ruby has had a rough week at school when she comes across the creature at the beach. Hoping she’s found a new friend, Ruby takes the creature home but quickly learns that caring for it isn’t as easy as she thought it would be.
This is such an adorable book. Ruby is an absolute sweetheart who is yearning for connection. The story majors on friendship and has more heart than I usually find in picture books.
Within its pages you’ll visit the bakery of my dreams and meet one of the most colourful, imaginative creatures you’ll ever encounter.
Kid me would have loved the story, wanted to be friends with Ruby and spent way too much time poring over every detail of the creature. Adult me loves the story and has spent so much time poring over every detail of the creature, marvelling at how the riot of colours don’t seem like they should work so well together but somehow do.
I’m putting my hand up for the bakery’s leftover cakes and hoping that one day I’ll walk into a store and find a plush toy creature to adopt.
This author and illustrator team complement one another brilliantly. I definitely need to clear some space in my TBR pile for the books they’ve written and illustrated that haven’t taken up residence in my heart yet.
Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read this picture book.
Title: A Friend for Ruby
Author: Sofie Laguna
Illustrator: Marc McBride
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 29 August 2023
RRP: AUD $24.99
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com/
April 16, 2024
Ruby finds a strange sea creature on her way home from school, a creature bright and odd, she takes it home and stores it away to help it. She begins to bring it baked goods and realizes how hard it is to take care of a large unknown creature. She and her friends and family lure it back to the sea.
I think this book is sweet, the prose is well-written, and students who like this artwork will probably want to sit and look at these images and read the story on their own, rather than have this story read to them because it is very visually arresting. However, I do not like this artwork style. There’s something very AI about it, almost creepy. I think some people like this sort of digital artwork, but I do not, and it ruins the book for me. While the writing style is clear, the story is not all that original, or really dynamic. The girl finds the creature, the creature is too big to be kept by the girl, and then they return the creature to the sea. There’s not really much more that is explored, so I feel like thematically it is a bit shallow. They mention in the beginning that people were rude to her at school, but nothing really ever comes of that. This is a no for me, as for purchasing for my library or recommending it to others.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for this ARC.
I think this book is sweet, the prose is well-written, and students who like this artwork will probably want to sit and look at these images and read the story on their own, rather than have this story read to them because it is very visually arresting. However, I do not like this artwork style. There’s something very AI about it, almost creepy. I think some people like this sort of digital artwork, but I do not, and it ruins the book for me. While the writing style is clear, the story is not all that original, or really dynamic. The girl finds the creature, the creature is too big to be kept by the girl, and then they return the creature to the sea. There’s not really much more that is explored, so I feel like thematically it is a bit shallow. They mention in the beginning that people were rude to her at school, but nothing really ever comes of that. This is a no for me, as for purchasing for my library or recommending it to others.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for this ARC.
November 6, 2023
A heartwarming story about friendship and caring for other, Ruby is finding that she is on the outer at school and is feeling lonely. Waling on the beach she finds an amazing multi-coloured creature washed up on the shore. ruby takes it home and then works hard to feed it but cannot find enough food on the beach. She goes to the bakery and asks Sonya if there is any left over bread. Sonya teams up with ruby to help feed the creature and they share the secret but the creature is unhappy and uproots her Grandma's garden. Grandma sights the creature and the three of them hatch a plan to return Ruby to the ocean.
McBride's magnificent illustrations add considerably to the charm of this tale of being kind and looking after those in need. The rainbow palette adds richness and depth to the story with varied panels from full colour spreads to cameo images using white space effectively. I did find the rather young looking grandmother a bit out of synch - good to see younger grandparents portrayed but there are one or two images where she looks almost too young to be Ruby's mother.But this is a minor point and cannot take away from this gorgeous book.
McBride's magnificent illustrations add considerably to the charm of this tale of being kind and looking after those in need. The rainbow palette adds richness and depth to the story with varied panels from full colour spreads to cameo images using white space effectively. I did find the rather young looking grandmother a bit out of synch - good to see younger grandparents portrayed but there are one or two images where she looks almost too young to be Ruby's mother.But this is a minor point and cannot take away from this gorgeous book.
May 6, 2024
An interesting story and some beautiful illustrations! My 5 and 8 year olds enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews