Meena’s Moving Day
By Brenton Cullen & Jennifer Horn
Rhiza Press 2026
Reviewed by Sandhya Parappukkaran
Brenton Cullen is a Queensland children’s author, children’s literature enthusiast and a bookseller. His debut middle grade novel, The Prime Minister Problem, was shortlisted in the 2026 Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards.
Jennifer Horn, a Brisbane-based illustrator and children’s writer, captures her whimsical artwork in signature squiggle style outlines filled with soft, rich watercolours and has illustrated picture books, a junior fiction book and written short stories published in several anthologies.
In Meena’s Moving Day, Cullen and Horn have teamed up to create an amusing and sweet story of two sisters – Meena and Lina – who share a room and show the classic signs of sibling relationships: they love spending time together but they argue plenty too. When Dad clears out the sunroom, Meena sees an opportunity to finally claim a room of her own, leaving little sister Lina uncertain and anxious. Cullen’s short, playful text combined with the ample white space around Horn’s vignettes gives the reader plenty of room to take in all the lovely things Lina has done for Meena, and also appreciate just how annoying little sisters can be. I love the little portraits of Meena on the corner of the pages as she longs to be independent and free in her new room. But once Meena has moved in, now she is uncertain and anxious and feels an emptiness without Lina.
In the latter part of the story, vignettes give way to full spreads soaked in gorgeous strokes of blues, pinks and yellow as the story settles into a satisfying resolution. The endpapers showing the family’s ginger cat enjoying the boxes from moving day will be a focal point for enthusiastic readers to linger on all the cute cat poses.
I enjoyed reading Meena’s Moving Day. As a big sister myself, it was heartening to see that among the emotions of sibling love and rivalry a happy balance can be found.
Perfect for ages 4 – 7 and for siblings of all ages.
Sandhya Parappukkaran is the author of award winning picture books including, The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name (Notable book, winner of the 2022 CBCA Book of the Year New Illustrator Award and a finalist in the QLD Premier’s Literary Awards), Amma’s Sari (2023 CBCA Notable book and a finalist in the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Award), Stay for Dinner (winner 2024 NSW Premier’s Multicultural Literary Award) and her latest, Words That Taste Like Home.
