FEBRUARY DRAGON

by Colin Thiele ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1976

Bushfire is the February Dragon that rears its head in so many Australian juveniles. Here it writes a jarringly tragic finish to the otherwise unremarkable goings on at Bottlebrush Farm in Upper Gumbowie where, in assorted episodes, Pinch the pet possum attacks snobbish Aunt Hester, Turps gets a pony for her eleventh birthday, Woppit the dog runs amok after a medicinal application of turpentine to his mangy backside, and Aunt Hester (again!) is served a live crayfish with her Christmas Eve crackers. Rather too much of the humor hangs on names: one incident concerns the wedding of the town schoolteachers, Miss Lemon and Miss Strarvy (Mr. Harvey); and the children themselves are known as Turps, Resin, and Columbine Pine. Nor do these goings on really prepare us for the wholesale destruction of pets, livestock, and homestead that ensues from Aunt Hester's pigheaded decision to hold a pork chop picnic on a day when the scrub is tinder dry; though, admittedly, the fire and its aftermath bring Thiele to the top of his accustomed form.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1976

Categories: FICTION