THE TRAVELLING BOOKSHOP - MIM AND THE WOEFUL WEDDING BY KARINA NANNESTAD AND ILLUSTRATED BY CHERYL ORSINI

Mim and the Woeful Wedding is the second in Katrina Nannestad’s wonderful Travelling Bookshop Junior Fiction series. Mim Cohen, along with her younger brother Nat and their Dad, Zedekiah (commonly known as Zeddy), travel from place to place in their wagon full of books. Flossy the Clydesdale horse takes them wherever she knows a special book is needed. Along with the family menagerie, Daisy the sheep and Coco the cockatoo, they have arrived on a small Greek island.

There they are welcomed by friendly families and soon learn of a wedding that is about to take place. Anjelica is marrying Stavros but when Mim meets them, she feels there is something not quite right. Are they really in love? Is Anjelica being forced into a marriage by their two families who want to join businesses? Mim is concerned that Anjelica is happier being alone designing tiny houses than she will be when she’s married.

Katrina Nannestad’s characters are beautifully portrayed. Mim’s small family is filled with optimism and a love of adventure. The reader is introduced to a number of characters who are all searching for something, and when visiting the bookshop, leave with the thing they actually need. The theme of staying true to your heart runs throughout the narrative and is aided by a delightful collection of quirky creatures. Mim’s little brother Nat is a particularly unconventional child who follows whatever his interests are without any negative parental judgement. Accepting what life throws at you seems to be the guiding rule of the Cohen family and because of that, their lives and the help they give to others, creates a world of easy going cheerfulness.

Cheryl Orsini teams up with Nannestad again for this adventure, just as she did with The Girl and the Dog series. Her illustrations are delightful and capture the joy and sense of wonder for all the magical encounters the characters experience.

Young readers will adore this story and the others in the series. It’s a beautiful thing to find a book that is so happy.

 For Ages: 6-9 years

Number of Pages: 240.

Published: March 2022

Themes: Family, being yourself and following your dreams.

 Rating 4/5