Prima

The shearer is coming to Great-Grandpa's farm in the Adelaide Hills, and Max is ready. He has questions. A lot of them. He has organised them into categories.

Col the shearer has been clipping alpacas for thirty years, and today it's Uno and Due's turn. Max wants to know everything: how Col learned, why the fleece comes off in one piece, and what happens to it next. Maddie has a different question. She watches the alpaca's face and works out exactly how it's feeling. Back at the house, baby Jack sits on the floor with Bruno the border collie, and Bruno is doing his very best not to herd anything.

Uno means one. Due means two. But Max has one question nobody in the paddock can answer: were there ever more alpacas? Only Great-Grandpa knows. His answer turns out to be the best part of the whole day.

Prima is a warm, funny and gently moving picture book about curiosity, asking good questions, and the family stories hidden inside the names we give things. It's also about being okay when some gaps stay gaps.

Part of the According to Max series, where everyday family adventures are seen through the eyes of a five-year-old who always has a plan, always asks one more question, and always debriefs.

For ages 3-7.