Joey Gets His Wings Review: A Moving Picture Book About Friendship and Home

Joey Gets His Wings, by Catherine Bauer and illustrated by Jennifer Horn, follows a small toy kangaroo from an outback farm to the skies above France and, eventually, toward home. Inspired by the real story of Australian pilot Captain Elliot “Tab” Pflaum and his mascot, the picture book pairs a child’s adventure with a gentle reflection on separation, memory and enduring ties. Big Sky Publishing is scheduled to publish it in October 2026.

A keepsake carried far from home

Art grows up in South Australia, where his days are spent chasing sheep and riding horses. He also dreams of flying beyond the familiar red earth. When he joins the Australian Flying Corps, his toy kangaroo, Joey, goes with him. Strapped to the front of Art’s plane, Joey’s red scarf streams behind him as the pair travel over distant lands.

Their journey takes them into the dangers and noise of wartime flying. Bauer’s story makes room for the contrast between that peril and the life Art has left behind: sunburnt hills, family and the sound of his mother’s voice. The familiar comfort of home follows the characters into a setting far removed from it, giving young readers an emotional anchor as the story moves through its more intense moments.

Then Joey falls from the plane in France. He is left in a field, separated from Art as rain, snow and sunshine pass overhead. The picture book gives this waiting its own quiet stretch, allowing the distance between the toy and the boy to register without relying on lengthy explanation. The story later returns to Art’s family farm in South Australia, where a parcel arrives one spring.

Pictures that carry the changing mood

For reviewer Romi Sharp, the book’s pacing is one of its strengths. The narrative moves from the rush of flight and air battles to a pause in Joey’s lonely wait, then toward a more hopeful close. Horn’s watercolour illustrations and loose lines echo those shifts. Spreads and smaller vignettes give the scenes room to breathe, moving between wide views of Art’s home and closer glimpses of moments along the journey.

Sharp describes the illustrations as moving and the language as gentle, visually rich and emotive. That combination appears well suited to a story that touches on war while keeping friendship and family at its centre. The aircraft and separation are part of the characters’ experience, but Bauer’s telling also makes space for the tenderness of a toy carried from home and the memory that keeps its owner connected to it.

The book’s emotional reach comes from the difference between Joey’s smallness and the scale of the journey. He is a toy travelling across vast distances, yet the story treats his connection to Art as something that endures even when the two are apart. That makes the return of the parcel a natural focus for the book’s themes of belonging and reunion, without losing sight of the long separation that comes before it.

A story with material for further conversation

The real history behind the story gives its imaginative journey a tangible point of reference. According to Sharp, Bauer’s research included meeting the conservator of the real Joey at ArtLab Australia. The book also includes information about the toy, whose scarf bears an address, along with reflective questions and activities. These extras offer families and educators ways to continue a conversation about the characters, their historical setting and what a keepsake can mean.

Sharp sees Bauer’s work with war history and writing for children as a particular strength here. Her review praises the story’s ability to acknowledge the harshness of conflict while keeping its focus on hope, friendship and the pull of home. She recommends the book highly, describing it as the kind of story that can stay with readers across generations. The real Joey’s passage down to Captain Pflaum’s grandson lends added weight to that response.

Children drawn to stories about animals, flying or faraway journeys may find an inviting entry point in Joey’s adventure. The book may also suit adults looking for a picture book that can prompt discussion about family, separation and historical memory. Its supporting questions and activities give that conversation somewhere to begin, while the illustrations help younger readers follow the changes in mood.

Joey Gets His Wings is a story of wartime separation told through the bond between a boy and the toy he carries with him. Bauer and Horn bring that bond to the page with a mix of action, quiet waiting and family warmth. For readers choosing a thoughtful picture book, its blend of historical inspiration and an intimate story about home offers plenty to talk about after the last page.

Find more information about the book through Big Sky Publishing. Catherine Bauer’s website is catherinebauer.com, and Jennifer Horn’s is jenniferhorn.com.au.

Review by Romi Sharp.