Snake and Lizard by Joy Cowley and Gavin Bishop

This is so cute! Gecko Press do such wonderful productions, very high quality. Probably the stories themselves didn't matter so much to my enjoyment - but Gavin Bishop's art, and the whole presentation - just awesome.

They're little fablelike stories, of the friendship between Snake and Lizard (who are utterly completely adorable) and how they get along despite their differences. Why, for example, if snakes and lizards go on picnics together they should each bring their own food. I liked the picture where Snake was bumped like a string of beads from the eggs she'd eaten.

It is a bit odd when you read picture books by New Zealanders that blatantly cannot be set in New Zealand - this is a new edition of a book only published previously in the states. A far superior edition, I am told. The production really complements the art.