Purinina

Purinina (CSIRO) Christina Booth PB RRP $24.99 9781486317264

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

Cristina Booth is a multi-award winning internationally published author working from her studio in southern Tasmania. She grew up in the bush with wombats, quolls, wallabies, possums, and purinia.

Purinina is a new rendition of the award-winning picture book Purinina, A Devil’s Tale (2007) for a new generation of children. In 2007 it won a CBCA Notable. The story follows the life cycle of one of Australia’s most unique animals from birth to adult. Will Purinina and her brothers survive when their mother doesn’t return to their cave? Tasmanian Devils are currently endangered: they not only face the dangers of living in the wild but Devil Facial Tumour Disease.

Cristina Booth’s love of Australian wildlife and Tasmania shines brightly in this poetic heart catching picture book. Purinina is the Aboriginal name for the Tasmanian Devil, and it is an attention-grabbing title. The opening sentence is captivating and compelling, it simply takes your breath away. It brilliantly establishes the setting and cleverly is split to create a powerful page turn. At the bottom of the world, on the edge of an island, through a deep valley lined with pines that point to the sky, deep in the darkest corner of a warm dry cave, Purinina climbs through a dark forest of fur, she searches for the warm sweetness of her mother’s milk.

Booth’s words capture the joy of joeys, the love of their mother and imminent danger that is always nearby. Longer sentences mixed with powerful shorter sentences create impact and drama. The emotive text brings attention to Purinina’s strong instinct to survive. Purinina was left wondering where the two strange things took her mother, and I did wonder, too. This circular story leaves the reader feeling happy when the lifecycle starts again with Purinina becoming a mother. The language really takes you into the heart of the story. The thoughtful educational backmatter raises awareness of this species, their vulnerability and unique beauty.

Cristina Booth’s captivating full-page illustrations move between warm, light colours to dark and dramatic. The illustrations work well with the text, with careful and thought-provoking placement of text and phrases and words that add to the dramatisation of the story. The endpapers capture the white band of Purinina on her black body. It changes direction from left to right at the end of the book and I see this as Purinina moving forward positively into the future. The final pages share devilish details and a glossary which makes the book a resource as well as a powerful story. The front cover features Purinina so that you immediately know the book is about a Tasmanian Devil.

Purina is an important picture book. It will not only delight children, parents, teachers, and librarians but inform and create awareness and an emotional connection to such a special Australian animal. It’s a great teaching resource and I am sure it will also find its way into environmental retail outlets as well as bookstores. This book is suitable for children 5 to 9 years and teaching notes are also available. I wouldn’t be surprised if this version won a CBCA Notable award too.