Reggie, Queen of the Street

Margaret Barbalet (author)

Andrew McLean (illustrations)

Viking, Penguin Books Australia: 2003

ISBN: 0670040576

Genres: animals, picture book

Issues: community, change, friendship

CBCA Honour Book for the Book of the Year, Early Childhood, 2004.

Reggie is used to her old street - it has people to walk with, children who let her play cricket with them, and lots of other friendly dogs. She does love her owners but will she ever be able to become Queen of a new street, a strange street far away from her familiar environs?

The simple text carries a deeper message that children will find reassuring - that there will always be place for a friendly face. The strong visual personality of Reggie, the dog, reinforces the text as she moves from a confident ‘Queen of the Street', a dog who knows her people and her places, to nervous and sad as she finds that her owners are moving elsewhere.

This delightful story will appeal to all readers - adults and children alike. The pencil and wash illustrations are very appealing with a remarkably tactile quality, making them very emotive. There are some full double-page spreads but most illustrations are inserted half pages or smaller. This does not detract at all from the value of the text but rather increases its narrative pace.