A Delightful Dose of Whimsy – The Curious World of Pamela Allen at the State Library NSW, Sydney

Ah, this is more like it!  An exhibition that my little brain can process. 😊

I could feel myself smiling as I walked down the corridor towards The Curious World of Pamela Allen exhibition. There were cardboard clouds dangling from the ceiling and colourful characters greeting me from the walls.

Before even stepping through the entrance, I knew that this was my kinda exhibition.

What is The Curious World of Pamela Allen?

• Pamela Allen is a prolific writer of children’s stories. Originally from New Zealand, she has lived and worked in Australia for over 47 years and, as we tend to do in Australia when it comes to successful people, we claim her as our own.
• Since first putting pen to paper, Allen has released 55 children’s books and her work has been recognised with a vast array of awards, including the NSW Premier’s Literary Award and the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Picture Book of the Year Award. In 2024 she was nominated for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Medal and was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant services to literature. So maybe she is an Aussie after all?
• Her work has been translated into 14 different languages.

• Even more amazing is that she illustrates all her books as well! What a talented lady?!
• Her most famous works are Who Sank the Boat?, Mr McGhee, Bertie and the Bear, Belinda and A Lion in the Night, and some characters are featured in numerous books.
• Allen donated her entire catalogue, including sketch books and working notes to the Library in 2020. This included around 2,000 drawing and illustrations, and 56 boxes of manuscript material. What a treasure trove of creativity!?

• The exhibition includes a number of enchanting interactive and digital displays.
• Children are encouraged to sit and colour-in some of Allen’s characters, and generally get tactile with the whole exhibition. There’s even a tree to climb through.

Where Is It?

• 1 Shakespeare Place, Sydney – just on the edge of the CBD.
• The Curious World of Pamela Allen exhibition is located in the Exhibition Galleries. You can access it via stairs or a lift.

When to Visit?

• The Library is open seven days per week from 9am-8pm, with slightly shorter opening hours on weekends.
• The exhibition is open until 18 July 2027.

Why Visit?

• For a dose of joy and imagination. Watching children move about and engage with the exhibition was a delight.
• There is nothing to challenge the brain here. You can simply enjoy the creativity and artistry of a quality writer and story teller.

How to Get There?

• The easiest way to get to the State Library NSW is on foot.
• Alternatively, catch a taxi or bus, or the closest train station is at Martin Place.

Who is it for?

• The people I observed strolling around this exhibition spanned about 70 years! 😊
• There were tiny toddlers running amok.
• There were young Mums snuggled into comfy chairs reading Allen’s books to their brood.
• There were grannies smiling and reminiscing about all the Pamela Allen stories they had read to their children, and now their grandchildren.
• Interestingly, there were more adults wandering about than children. Maybe that was a timing thing due to the fact that it was a week day and anyone over five years of age was in school.

General Comments:

• Despite what you may be thinking, I don’t really have any experience with Pamela Allen’s books. They came along long after I was in the market to read them or have them read to me, and I never read them to anyone else. They were just on my book radar as happens when an author is prolific and omnipresent.
• Despite that, I pay respect to her skills and incredible ability to craft engaging stories and captivating images.

• I loved the physical aspects of the exhibition. Children were encouraged to build large wall-mounted collages with magnetic images replicating Allen’s stories, as well as playing with figures trying to sink a boat, just like in “Who Sank the Boat?”
• My favourite part of the exhibition was the large interactive audiovisual display featuring Bertie and the Bear. Standing on a large spot in front of the projection, sensors pick up your movements. Waving your left arm, Bertie starts to dance to music and naturally, I dance along with him. If you wave your right (write?) arm, you are able to turn the pages of a life-size Bertie and the Bear book projected on the wall. Of course, I had to do that too! 😊 I never said I wasn’t a big kid! And by the look of it, there were quite a few other big kids at the exhibition too. 😊

It’s a nice change to see/visit something that doesn’t confront or challenge and simply brings enjoyment to the World. There is plenty of time in the future for those young readers to deal with heavy things and it’s lovely to see little kids, just being little kids.

Well done to Pamela Allen for doing just that.

Do you have a favourite children’s author? What books did you like to read as a child?

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And wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas. May it be filled with peace and love. Our World sure needs that at the moment.