Llamaphones
It’s clear that llamas have achieved a level of cult status akin to that of the unicorn. Although they lack the mysticism of the latter, their distinct silhouette lends itself perfectly to the graphic world of greeting cards and picturebooks. It’s no surprise, perhaps, that Janik Coat draws upon the uniqueness of this much-loved creature to illustrate the rather complex world of homophones – words that sound the same but have very different meanings.
Each spread in Llamaphones features two llamas, each cleverly designed to represent one ‘half’ of a homophonic pair. Just as we saw in Hippopposites and Rhymoceros, Coat’s seemingly simple illustrations are brimming with wit and character. One llama disappears under a bright pink bucket (‘pail’); another takes on the form of a large green fruit (‘pear’) and a particularly unlucky one is sliced in three (‘piece’). These llamas are fun: they swim, they change colour and, most importantly for young readers, they have personality. Perhaps the true delight with this book, however, is the illustrator’s use of tactile features. Inquisitive little hands will love the way the llama made up of ‘rows’ sounds and feels when you run your fingers over him. Or the surprise that awaits them as they take a ‘peek’ under the lift-the-flap blanket that another llama wears. It takes a smart author to bring a concept like this to life for children, but Coat proves it’s possible. It’s questionable whether very young children will truly understand what a homophone is – but the beauty of a book like this lies in its longevity. Llamaphones will have children coming back over and over, discovering new delights and taking away new levels of understanding each time.
