Joy Lawn surveys a number of new children's picture books

Diverse memories of childhood, ranging from Indigenous and migrant experiences to the Great Depression, permeate these evocative Australian picture books. Admired illustrator Bruce Whatley displays his range of styles in a pair of them; two others are set in Western Australia and Queensland. The potential danger of water is a disconcerting theme. Popular comedian Anh Do, whose autobiography for adults, The Happiest Refugee (2010), has won prizes, has described his life as a young boy in Vietnam and his journey to Australia in The Little Refugee (Allen & Unwin, $24.99 hb, 32 pp, 9781742378329). Assisted by his wife, Suzanne, his story is told simply but powerfully. The experiences are so intrinsically moving they do not need much embellishment. When the family’s possessions are stolen by sea-pirates and others, the lack of complaint by Do’s mother and her insistence on maintaining hope underpin Do’s attitude into adulthood. Bruce Whatley uses sepia tones to relay Do’s life before his landing in Sydney, and introduces colour to describe the later years. The dangers of the sea are highlighted in another true story, Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck, told by Michelle Gillespie (Fremantle Press, $24.95 hb, 31 pp, 9781921696008). The story of girl-heroine Grace Bussell used to be taught in Australian primary schools, so it is pleasing to see it reworked as an edgy picture book by illustrator Sonia Martinez. Grace is notable for her courageous rescue of survivors from the shipwrecked Georgette in Calgardup Bay off the Western Australian coastline in 1876. Martinez employs panels effectively and mainly uses shades of brown and a rather angular figurative style to create a confronting mood which may appeal more to adult picture book connoisseurs than to the primary school students at whom it is targeted. David Cox, winner of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (Queensland Branch) Dame Annabelle Rankin Award, shares his childhood in outback Queensland in The Road to Goonong (Allen & Unwin, $29.99 hb, 37 pp, 9781742375212). Cox’s reminiscences of a less complicated, more rough-and-tumble upbringing on his family property, Goonong, during the Great Depression and World War II show the oscillating status of his family as they progress from horse-drawn gig to motor car, then lose everything to the drought. Far from providing a turgid account, Cox delights in humour. The airy illustrations create a carefree atmosphere. Aboriginal timber-getter Jack Sunday is allowed to teach the children to box, but knows that people would not approve of his entering the homestead for lunch. Jack was probably one of the Bayali people who had danced corroborees on this land and who have now been displaced. The land around Goonong doesn’t seem to keep its dwellers; not even those who love it. Savannah, a young Aborigine, is firmly a part of her country. In Savannah Dreams,by Lolla Stewart and illustrated by Elaine Russell (Little Hare Books, $24.95 hb, 30 pp, 9781921714030), Savannah’s family hunt animals. Her father always catches five creatures, her mother four, her sister three, and her brother two, but Savannah finds things that seem to be discarded and which could possibly be part of a giant barramundi instead. The family fish in the creek, mangroves, billabong, and river, and hunt successfully in the bush and on the ridge. Savannah eventually assembles her findings, such as a rusty saw and remnant of a bike frame, to create something of which no one else has dreamed. This impeccably crafted book will have children anticipating what Savannah might do with her miscellany. Gentle humour is a further attraction. With even more levity, Roland Harvey continues his journey around Australia in All the Way to W.A. (Allen & Unwin, $24.99 hb, 32 pp, 9781741758856). He has already explored the beach, the bush, and the city in this quality picture book series; and in To the Top End: Our Trip Across Australia,which is another ingenious travel caper and 2010 CBCA shortlisted title.Uncle Kev is always up to mischief. Now he has disappeared in search of the fabled Bearded Night Parrot. As his family journeys past the Great Australian Bight, through Western Australian cities, beaches, and national parks and tourist sites such as Marble Bar, Uncle Kev is always just in front of them, inadvertently or deliberately leaving clues. Could some gyro-droppings, a solar-powered moustache-trimmer, and a pair of lucky socks belong to Uncle Kev? Is the family on the right track? For those who are curious about more distant places, Alison Lester and Coral Tulloch study a sub-Antarctic island off the Australian coastline between New Zealand and Antarctica. In One Small Island: The Story of Macquarie Island (Viking, $29.95 hb, 32 pp, 9780670072361), they distil their own observations and research to a level appropriate for younger readers. While parts of the information remain dense, a variety of formats is employed to clarify the material and maintain interest. Colourful double-page spreads with minimal written text break up primary sources such as extracts from log books. We are told that even the famous explorer Douglas Mawson visited, and expressed concern about, the island. It is disturbing to read sections about the destruction of abundant fauna by man: ‘When sealers discovered the island in 1810, it teemed with animals that were not afraid of humans ... The sealers killed more than one hundred thousand fur seals, and after ten years there were none left.’ The mice, dogs, cats, rabbits, wekas (birds), and rats that the sealers brought with them became feral and played their part in the destruction of native species. Lester and Tulloch present a strong message about conservation and are conditionally optimistic about the pest eradication program that was launched in 2010. ‘Macquarie Island is only a tiny part of our big world, but it is important to care for our precious places, no matter how small or faraway they are.’ Another place at risk in recent times has been Queensland. The January floods in Brisbane are the focus of Flood (Scholastic, $16.99 pb, 32 pp, 9781742830728), by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley. His images hint at the dismal mud torn up by the river, but only show it diluted by the rain before the waters crept away. The mud, the stench, the excrement, the destruction are not within the parameters of this story. The book perpetuates the unrealistic belief that a disaster is over quickly: ‘The river shone under the blue sky, a friend again.’ Those many hundreds of children who are not back in their own homes and who are still experiencing trauma will attest to the ongoing effects of flood and other disasters. Nonetheless, Flood captures the community spirit and tenacity under adversity for which Australians are known. Several recent Australian quality picture books are based on true stories, either personal or environmental. Many of these feature water: flood, sea, and waterways. As an island surrounded by water, with a bone-dry interior, as well as many rivers, dams, and creeks, Australia has an important relationship with water; influencing the literary works that spring from the imaginations of its authors and illustrators. Australian children quickly learn its dangers and riches.

Joy Lawn

From the New Issue

Our Moon: A human history by Rebecca Boyle

We All Lived in Bondi Then by Georgia Blain

No Church in the Wild by Murray Middleton

Always Will Be by Mykaela Saunders

You May Also Like

The Listmaker by Robin Klein & The Apostle Bird by Garry Disher

I Have a Dog by Charlotte Lance & Imagine a City by Elise Hurst

Ruth Starke reviews seven children's books

Ruth Starke reviews new titles in Children's Fiction