STORM BOY

by Colin Thiele ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 7, 1966

There is some nice descriptive writing here about Storm Boy, his hermit father Hideaway Tom, and their home on ""the long, long, snout of sandhill and scrub"" between the South Australian Coorong and the Indian Ocean. There is logic to the boy and his father living in complete isolation, and the attempt to fit the wild scenery into the mold of a story and Storm Boy into normal society appears as a contrived forced issue. The boy had rescued, then tamed and trained a pelican. Together they were able to rescue the crew members of a tugboat wrecked in a storm. The captain wanted to reward him by sending him to school but the boy refused to leave his pet. Conveniently, the bird is shot and Storm Boy voluntarily leaves for school. The retrospective view of the scenery as a happy memory is much less forceful than its original portrayal as a valid setting for life.

Pub Date: March 7, 1966

ISBN: 1741101875

Page Count: -

Publisher: Rand McNally

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1966

Categories: FICTION