Petrina's Sixth Reading Log Entry

I really enjoyed the novels included in my reading log this week. Kate Constable’s Crow Country has been highlighted in the recent CBCA Book Week awards.  It tells the story of a quest to understand and put right past injustice, while acknowledging contemporary injustice and prejudice. The ‘timeslip’, as in Somewhere Around the Corner, offers a powerful literary tool for portraying two eras and dominant perspectives. 

The Barrumbi Kids by Leonie Norrington also explores the complexity of cross-cultural experiences.  The semantics and syntax in the dialogue are quite divergent from Standard Australian English and contribute towards believable portrayals of characters.  The author has an ability to ‘draw’ vivid imagery:  ‘And it is just like that:  The river moist and moving, its breath lifting into the cold morning air – water breathing smoke (p.85)’.

Luke’s Way of Looking by Nadia Wheatley & Matt Ottley is a delightful story about the way creative individuals can see the world differently, and the empowerment that can flow from this perspective being acknowledged and fostered.  The basic narrative structure is followed closely, with exposition, complication, climax and resolution.  The source of conflict may be seen as Character (Luke) vs Society (as represented by Luke’s teacher, Mr Barraclough.  The conclusion is poignant.

Bilby, Bilby, Where do You Sleep? and Home, both by Narelle Oliver, both present factual information – in the first instance using rhyming text (which may be appropriate for ‘Readers’ Theatre’ for younger students) and peep-holes to add suspense and anticipation, and secondly as a structured narrative, from the Peregrine Falcon’s perspective, making use of verb groups to convey drama.  Both books include scientific terminology and seek to inform and educate the reader.