Drawing again from aboriginal Australia's rich folkloric heritage, Wrightson weaves a spellbinding tale about Balyet, abandoned—as punishment for a sin—to live forever alone. Jo, a 14-year-old white girl, has come with her elderly aboriginal friend, Mrs. Willet, to the hills to camp while Mrs. Willet—a powerful "Clever Woman"—tends her people's sacred sites. Jo has an ulterior motive: seeing her friend Terry, who is nearby with his brother, Lance. She chafes under Mrs. Willet's admonitions about danger in the ancient hills until Balyet appears—a voice, a wisp of fog, a shadow, a sorrow—and abducts little Kevin, whom Jo has promised to tend but forgets when Lance lures her off on his motorbike. After Kevin's narrow escape, Mrs. Willett tells Jo that Balyet's sin was loving blood brothers, who killed each another as a result; in retribution, her people left her. Though time has diminished her to a shadow, she is denied death's release. Empathizing with Balyet's grief, drawn to her as a kindred being, feeling that her punishment is cruel and unfair, Jo is almost lured to her own death before Mrs. Willet is able to reason with the ancient spirits and save both willful girls. Sorrowful, elusive Balyet is a compelling creation; the parallel with modern Jo adds depth to a story that poetically explores the characteristic Wrightson theme of interdependence and continuity among all creatures. This may be Wrightson's best yet.
Pub Date: April 1, 1989
ISBN: 0091828171
Page Count: 102
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1989
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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