Hunter on Holiday: A Big Trip Around Europe by Jessica and Stephen Parry-Valentine, illustrated by Ashlee Spink

Title: Hunter on Holiday: A Big Trip Around Europe

Author: Jessica and Stephen Parry-Valentine, illustrated by Ashlee Spink

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Puffin

Published: 14^th November 2023

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: Adventure awaits! Join Hunter on her first overseas holiday: the perfect companion book for a child preparing for their first big trip and anyone daydreaming about the wonderfully wide world.

Our bags are packed, we have passports in tow,
We’re checked in and waiting. It’s almost time to go!
Our luggage is all stowed and we do our seatbelts up quick smart,
The plane is taking off now, our trip’s about to start!
Join Hunter as she explores icy fjords and ancient cities; majestic mountains and sunny town squares.

From Jessica and Stephen Parry-Valentine, the creators of travel channel Flying the Nest, comes a delightfully illustrated recount of the family adventure of a lifetime through Europe.

~*~

Hunter is off on her first overseas holiday – a big trip around Europe! What fun – Europe is a place filled with history, food, adventure, and wonder. Join Hunter on a magical trip, starting at the airport, and the heading all the way around Europe from England, to Scotland, and Finland, and everywhere in between – Paris, Norway, and the fjords, with snow and ice, mountains, and flowers, as well as the Eiffel Tower, and the gingerbread houses of Germany. It is a trip filled with fun and adventure.

Hunter’s story is a delightful book that teaches children about the wonders of the world of travelling around Europe, what they might see, and a little bit about the plane trip. It’s gentle and filled with rhyming and fun as Hunter explores Europe with her parents. Ashlee’s illustrations capture each country Hunter visits in bright, delightful colour, showing what we expect to find or think we might find in each country like Big Ben, Highland Cows, a magical workshop, ice, hot springs, and many other things that each country featured in the book is known best for. I loved the way the words and pictures worked together to tell the story. It danced off the page and showed how fun travel could be. I can see it being used to teach children about different countries and the famous things about them or to help young children prepare for travel if they are nervous, to reassure them that the trip will be fun.

The plane spread show children how to be safe on a plane, and what they can expect before the plane takes off. It frames the experience as fun and educational, which children and all readers may find exciting. And if you don’t have travel plans, a book like this might help spark an interest in travelling to these places or reading about them – we can travel through books without leaving our home, and I love that this book has combined that form of travel with physical travel, making it a fun read for all ages.

Hunter on Holiday is a fun, light-hearted book that readers will find engaging, joyful, and pure fun, and one that can be used for learning and entertainment – something that will translate to a variety of settings. I adored this book – it feels very special and Hunter is a fabulous character – another great addition to Australian children’s literature.