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Tea and Sugar Christmas by Jane Jolly & Robert Ingpen
Judges' Comments
Tea and Sugar Christmas is a sumptuous portrayal of the 1050 km rail link between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie that serviced settlements in the Nullabor Plain between 1915 and 1996. Jane Jolly tells the story of the Tea and Sugar Train as a narrative with well-blended descriptive and figurative language and dialogue, and with a factual recount at its conclusion. The book presents engaging information in picture book form. It is illustrated by Robert Ingpen, one of only two Australians (with Patricia Wrightson) to win the prestigious international Hans Christian Andersen Medal.
Ingpen’s watercolour, pencil and pastel illustrations are beautifully rendered in both black and white and colour. The emotive black and white sketches of young Kathleen, her family and Father Christmas unfold to showcase glorious scenes in colour showing the Nullabor, the people who lived and worked there, and the train itself, including a magnificent cutaway of the train’s interior. In realist style, these are works of art and convey children’s delight in receiving a book and celebrating special events such as Christmas. The photographs in the concluding factual recount reinforce the veracity of the book’s content.