A Curry for Murray, the latest children’s offering from University of Queensland Press, is a heart-warming picture book about neighbours, generosity and food.
Main character Molly makes slippery duck pasta for her brother’s headmaster, spit-roasted geese for the local police, and Singapore noodles for the Montague poodles.
When word spreads that Molly will make food for friends in need, she finds herself making meals for people in her street, her suburb and then people in other cities and other countries.
But when an unexpected accident means Molly can’t cook, it’s time for Molly to accept kindness in return from her neighbours.
Kate Hunter’s inspiration for A Curry for Murray came from helping out her neighbour (who really is called Murray) while his wife was in hospital.
“They’re a lovely couple who have lived in our street for 50 years,” Kate said.
“My husband mowed their lawn and I decided to cook a meal. It was my younger daughter who said we should make a curry for Murray.
“When so much is said and written about how we’re becoming disconnected from our neighbours and communities, I think of how quickly people mobilise the ‘casserole crew’ and the world feels like it’s actually all right,” she said.
Hunter published her first middle-reader novel, Mosquito Advertising: The Parfizz Pitch, in 2010, followed by Mosquito Advertising: The Blade Brief and Mosquito Advertising: The Crunch Campaign.
A Curry for Murray is her first picture book.
Italian-born illustrator Lucia Masciullo now lives on the Gold Coast.
She has illustrated Sonya Hartnett’s picture books The Boy and the Toy, Come Down, Cat! and The Wild One and Kim Kane’s Family Forest.
Media: UQP Marketing, 07 3365 2606, marketing.uqp@uq.edu.au
