The Minister for Traffic Lights (Tony Wilson & Andrew McLean, Lothian, $28.99 hb, ISBN 9780734408075, July) ***

In The Minister for Traffic Lights, Tony Wilson has created a father whose entire life revolves around traffic lights. The house is decorated in an exclusive palette of red, yellow, and green and Dad has no
fewer than six traffic-light ties. He sings songs about the traffic light cycle and has serious discussions with the kids about which of the colours is their favourite. As their mum says, ‘Dad has always been the type to bring his work home with him.’ However, the blight on Dad’s life is road rage and he won’t rest until he has solved the problem. McLean’s illustrations are warm and filled with the messiness of ordinary life. I particularly enjoyed the family’s dog and cat doing those things that pets love to do—sleeping on the couch, drinking out of the toilet, listening to story time with the kids … This book doesn’t bear any resemblance to Wilson’s earlier Grannysaurus Rex. The subversive humour in that book is not present here and I missed it. I suspect it is Wilson’s forte. All in all, The Minister for Traffic Lights is sweet and whimsical and charming—and so is Dad’s solution for road rage. Recommended for ages three to five.

Liz Riley was a senior member of staff at The Little Bookroom for several years. She is now at the Australian Booksellers Association

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

Tags: andrew mclean, tony wilson