Reviewed by
Dianne Bates
Sub-titled
‘Three picture-poems’, this book for children 8 to 12 years is essentially a
three-story verse novel. The title story begins with the words ‘Sukie was
running away from her life’ -- even though her life was not ‘all that bad’.
Having packed her suitcase she walks a long distance during which time she
loses her bag. Happily, she discovered objects which she’s lost. Good news is
that they lead back home where she lives happily ever after.
The first
story in the book is narrated by Felipe, new to Australia from South America.
He can’t seem to fit in and is homesick for Bogota as nothing in this new country
compares. Sitting under a tree he is hit by what he describes as ‘a leather
lemon’: in fact, it’s a red football. When he meets a girl called Nikki, it
seems he’s going to be fine after all.
The final
story is ‘Three Steve Bikos’, narrated by Steve Biko who lives in Kenya. Like
the other stories, this is a rambling tale of life in a foreign place with lots
of details about Steve’s life and lots of telling.
This is likely to be a difficult book
for the intended readership. There are many foreign words ((‘ajiaco’, ‘guasca’,
‘arepa’, for example), and there’s also a problem with the font (Just Alice)
which is written over illustrations at times, making it difficult to read.
The
illustrations are interesting and unusual with de Hoog employing many photos
overlaid with sketches.
The author Jordie
Albiston is highly regarded, both in Australia and overseas, for her poetry. This
is her first book for children.
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