Greatest Mistakes that Went Right

Many kids are afraid to try new things because they are scared of not getting it right the first time; niggling insecurities and latent perfectionism can often mean they miss out on the joy of discovery and learning for its own sake. *The Greatest Mistakes That Went Right *acknowledges this fear in sing-song rhyme: ‘Are you in a hurry to wonder and worry/That new things you try won’t go right?/When they simply don’t work, don’t go all berserk/Mistakes can grow wings and take flight.’ Maddy Mara soothes such concerns by making it feel like these fumbles in life are perfectly normal and that there’s always a way out of the maze. She reminds us that humans have made many blunders before achieving greatness. For example, Alexander Fleming’s failed experiments created penicillin: ‘A dish full of mould turned to medical gold.’ The book features some cute accidental inventions that will appeal to kids, such as the slinky, the colour mauve and even Play-Doh. Cheryl Orsini’s illustrations are suitably bright and fun, encouraging young ones to get mucky instead of fearing failure or mess. This is a great picture book, inspiring early and pre-primary schoolers to ponder that they may well discover the next big thing through trial and error. Thuy On is reviews editor of ArtsHub and a freelance arts journalist, critic and poet.

Maddy Mara

Maddy Mara is the pen name of Australian creative duo Hilary Rogers and Meredith Badger. Hilary and Meredith have been collaborating on children’s books for many years. Hilary is an author and former publishing director; Meredith is the author of countless books for kids and young adults, and teaches English as a foreign language. Maddy Mara is the melding of their respective daughters’ names.

It was seeing their own children’s fear of messing up that led Hilary and Meredith to the idea for The Greatest Mistakes That Went Right. It is useful, they realised, for kids to understand that mistakes are a part of life and can bring about unexpected and wonderful results.

Cheryl Orsini

Cheryl Orsini taught herself to draw as a little girl. She grew a little taller, studied Visual Communications at UTS and finally, when she could grow no more, she started illustrating children’s books, magazines and decorating a great many peg dolls! Her books include Lucy’s Book, Caravan, The Fairy Dancers and Pom Pom, Where Are You?. Her work also regularly appears in magazines and exhibitions. Cheryl created the current exterior design and illustrations for Russ the Story Bus.

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