Sophie Blackall
Hachette Australia

Step inside the dollhouse-like interior of Farmhouse and relish the daily life of the family that lives there, rendered in impeccable, thrilling detail.
Based on a real family and an actual farmhouse where Sophie salvaged facts and artefacts for the making of this spectacular work, page after page bursts with luminous detail and joy.

Judges’ Comments

This book is a lyrical love letter to the past. There is a gentle rhythm in the text which adds to the overall lullaby quality. There is a sense of completion when the old lady takes her last look around her childhood home before leaving it to nature and tempest. The structure might be gone, but its spirit will live on. Delights abound with the view of the inside of the house found under the dust jacket. The illustrations feel like a patchwork quilt – with pieces of history and experience stitched together to make a beautiful and complete whole.
It almost feels like the reader is invited to take a “visual” breath in the spreads where we see the surrounding farm land. Every page can be revisited over and over again.