Australia


25
Applegate, Cathy (text)
Huxley, Dee (illus.)
Rain dance
Hunters Hill, NSW : Scholastic Australia, 2000. – [32pp]
ISBN 1-876289-39-2
Rain - Draught - Joy of life
One can sense the burning heat, taste the dry air, and even hear the quiet of the first double-spread which extends in heavy, glowing tones of red. »It hasn't rained for two whole years«, we learn from the young girl. The farm is for sale, and they wait. Then, her skin prickles with goosebumps, and it starts raining, pouring and gushing down in torrents as she laughs and runs and swirls around. Told (and felt and smelled) from the perspective of the girl, the sensuous text draws in the reader who will share in the shifting emotions, while the pastel and coloured pencil illustrations build up the growing tension, capture the exaltation of the highly dynamic climax and release the reader soothed. (5+)


26
Baillie, Allan
Saving Abbie
Ringwood, Victoria : Puffin Books, 2000. – 216pp
ISBN 0-14-130740-4
Orangutan - Conservation - Borneo
After Ian Foster and Abbie, an orphaned orang-utan, are nearly killed in a cyclone, Abbie is repatriated to a national park in Indonesian Borneo by Ian and his parents. Once Abbie has adjusted to the wild, the Fosters return to Australia. For the next five years both mature physically and mentally – Ian, at home and school, Abbie, in the jungle. Each, however, still thinks of the other and Ian returns to Borneo at the time of the great loggers' fires. Abbie is able to save herself and her baby from poachers just in time for her reunion with him. The authentic background assists the demonstration of the intelligence and appeal of orangutans, and highlights the threat of theirextinction because of human greed. (14+)


27
Hathorn, Libby (text)
Rogers, Gregory (illus.)
The gift
Milsons Point, NSW : Random House Australia, 2000. – [36pp]
ISBN 0-091-83757-x
Hamelin - Music- Gift - Moral dilemma - Fairy tale
Inspired by a poem by Robert Browning, this deeply stirring picture book revisions the tale of the Pied Piper and tells it from the perspective of »the one who was left behind«. This boy receives a gift from an old man: a flute with which he can free all the children. The narrative derives its strong impact from its break with the conventions of the »Erlösungsmärchen«: the reader's expectations are shattered and the hope of salvation, expressed in the text, is dispelled by the uncanny illustrations. The text's enigmatic riddles, the stark, prop-like illustrations and the effective use of perspective leave enough room for reflection. (10+)


28
Moloney, James
Touch me
St Lucia, Queensland : Univ. of Queensland Press, 2000. – 243pp
(UQP young adult fiction)
ISBN 0-7022-3151-7
Sport - Friendship - Trust - Stereotypes - Sex
Xavier's life revolves around rugby football until he meets Nuala Magee who fascinates him with her confrontational personality. While he competes on the football field, she leads a fight against both male and female stereotypes, wearing men's clothes. They start a challenging relationship constantly threatened by gossip, Xavier's obsession for rugby and Nuala's past experiences. Both have to reassess their identity with the help of their mutual friend Alex, who dies of leukemia. The problems of adolescent relationships, especially when affected by rumours and peer pressure, are emphasised in this strong novel in which sport is a metaphor for romance. (14+)


Special Mention
29
Tan, Shaun (text/illus.)
The Lost Thing
Port Melbourne, Victoria : Lothian, 2000. –[32pp]
ISBN 0-7344-0074-8
Essence - Belonging - Naming - Identity - Aesthetic pleasure
The story begins when Shaun, a passionate bottle top collector, encounters something defying classification: without a name and without an apparent purpose, the »Lost Thing« is completely out of place in the mechanical world of busy Suburbia. Shaun tries to find somewhere it belongs. Finally, they come upon a realm of free aesthetic pleasure which literally turns the book upside down: weird, incongruous shapes reminiscent of works by Dalí, Miró or Bosch populate the large double-spread. At last, the »Lost Thing« feels at home. This highly original, ingeniously designed picture book pays a homage to Art – to our capacity for noticing the special. The striking visual narrative combines a painterly style with a clever use of comic conventions. Breathtaking perspectives, humorous lines and a continually varying layout result in a complex layering of visual and verbal narratives. (8+)


30
Wild, Margaret (text)
Brooks, Ron (illus.)
Fox
St Leonards : Allen & Unwin, 2000. – [32pp]
ISBN 1-86448-465-9. - 1-86448-933-2
Dog - Bird - Friendship - Betrayal
Magpie's wing was burned in a bushfire, but one-eyed dog rescues her and a partnership forms:
»I will be your missing eye, and you will be my wings«, Magpie exclaims, as Dog carries her on his back. But one day, lonely, envious Fox appears. He tempts Magpie to leave Dog. They »fly« across the grasslands, into the desert, where Fox abandons her, so that she and Dog »will know what it is like to be truly alone«. Thinking of her friend, Magpie starts the long, slow journey home. Wild's lyrical text complements Brook's superb mixed media and collage illustrations; imaginatively placed hand-lettering adds interest. This is a marvellous, multi-layered, thought-provoking tale of friendship, loneliness, betrayal and guilt for all ages. (6+)

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