The Violin Man

Colin Thompson (author/illustrations)

Hodder Children's Books, Australia: 2003

ISBN: 0733614000

Genres: picture book

Issues: hope, perception

CBCA Honour Book, Picture Book of the Year, 2004.

This is a story is about dreams and yearnings, imagination, love and hope.

Oscar has always dreamt of being a great violinist, playing in a theatre to a full house. Instead he is a lonely man who plays to entertain the theatre-goers as they queue each night of the year - except Christmas Day, when the theatre is closed. His little daughter used to dance to his music but she died young and Oscar is on his own. One night his friend the night-watchman allows him to play in the darkened theatre after the audience has gone home. The conductor hears him and asks him to perform the following evening, which Oscar does - only to find that dreams are sometimes best left as dreams.

The Violin Man is a superb work that offers readers incredibly detailed, slightly surreal illustrations. Visual learners will delight in the hidden humour - such as whimsical titles on small drawers, little pink creatures that wander in and out of the double-page spreads, and one tiny character who appears on every page. What is perhaps most remarkable about the illustrations is that they are created using Photoshop on an Apple Macintosh computer - although it's almost impossible to tell. Thompson has illustrated his previous nine picturebooks with pen and ink, so the move to computer was significant.

Often the most remarkable picture books are those where text and illustration are created by the same person. Colin Thompson is one of the best Australia has to offer, especially as a creator of picture books for senior primary and junior secondary school students.

Beautiful, sad, whimsical and incredibly moving, this is a superb piece of work.

Very highly recommended.