Scholastic Australia
October 2026
ISBN : 9781761640704
RRP: $26.99
Is better always better?
That’s a question that will be the focus of any discussion after this book is read – whether it’s shared to Preppies or to seniors or to adults, it is a natural follow-on philosophical debate.
In a world where so many are determined to be ‘better’ than their fellow humans, where billionaires are the real governance to ‘better’ themselves, where unscrupulous people use unscrupulous means to make themselves ‘better’, where one country can wage war against another with the reasoning of making things ‘better’ for that nation – and on it goes.
We are, as Norwegian’s foreign minister Espen Barth Eide said at the UN General Assembly, ‘living in a time of monsters’ and this book could not be more timely, I believe.
There is an imperative, now more than ever, to empower our young readers (and others) to stand up and be resolute, to shun the ever-increasing grasping of more, bigger, grander, better that is spiralling into destruction not only of the planet but humanity itself.
We know that even the simplest of picture books can carry a powerful message and this is one such for the here and now.
Moz and Vivian find ‘The Better Machine’ – wow!! everything you put into it comes out better? Want a better bike – yes, sir – done! Want some better false teeth – yep, can do that too. What about a better hairstyle – sure thing. You get the picture and so did everyone else. Lined up for miles and hours just to get a better kettle or guitar, the people forget all the important things in life. And really, so do Moz and Vivian for a little bit.
Until they encounter an old couple – wrinkled, random sprouting hairs [that one persistent chin hair!], doddering – and are told that – no thank you, they are perfectly happy as they are and, in fact, love each other just as they are. What a sobering yet positively beautiful message to share. To be content not only with oneself but with our nearest and dearest, our loved ones.
That’s all it takes for Moz and Vivian to realise how foolish they have been and follow the old couple’s lead. Off through nature, off past creeks and bridges, off to the seashore and playing in the ocean. I can tell you myself, that’s better than anything else you can name.
What an utterly fabulous book! So much so that I’m interrupting the blog break to post this review because I want you to get your hands on a copy now – today if possible, but this week for sure. You’re going to want it when school goes back and make it a central guiding principle for the rest of your year and maybe, just maybe – those kiddos will take that concept with them as they move on.
Congratulations Lisa Nicol – who always writes such thoughtful books which touch and inspire us – and also Michel Streich [my heart is still with Gone]! On the surface it seems so simple but the depths in this one are unfathomable. Like all truly great picture books, its very simplicity is its power.
I can’t praise it highly enough really and defy any judge not to put this up on next year’s awards lists. Absolutely 5 ✇🌣🔧⚙️☢️rating for this piece of brilliance – so perfect for 21st century learning.
Leave a comment