Our newest PaperTigers’ issue is now live and focuses on cats and dogs in multicultural children’s literature – a topic that was suggested by my 12-year-old daughter, who is animal fanatic.
Among the many highlights in the issue is our interview with Aboriginal elder and storyteller Gladys Milroy, in which she discusses her children’s book Dingo’s Tree, co-authored with her daughter Jill Milroy, who is currently Dean of the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia. Dingo’s Tree is published by Magabala Books, Australia’s oldest independent Indigenous publishing house, and is PaperTigers’ Book of the Month. Look for our review of the book soon and in the meantime enjoy this wonderful review that Emma Perry at My Book Corner has graciously allowed us to reprint.
Located in Australia, My Book Corner provides book reviews on an entire assortment of children’s literature and is a great place to visit and find out what is hot in the world of Australian kid and YA lit. We reprint some of My Book Corner’s reviews under the reviews tab of the PaperTigers website.
Gladys Milroy and Jill Milroy,
Dingo’s Tree
Magabala Books, 2012.
Reviewed by Emma Perry at My Book Corner
Divided in to four short chapters entitled Dingo’s Tree, The Raindrop, The Tree That Walked and The Last Tree this is a poignant story about man’s destruction of the landscape and its impact on the landscape, natural resources and the animals who depend on them for survival.
Penned and illustrated by mother and daughter team Gladys Milroy and Jill Milroy this is a picture book which gives voice to the very real threats on Australia’s landscape. Mining. The beauty of its narrative, combined with the Milroys’ warm illustrations ensure that Dingo’s Tree will leave a lasting impression.
This deceptively simple yet powerful parable begins when Dingo is unable to find a tree of his own. He draws one and so begins the magical yet sad centre of this parable. The tree grows and grows too tall even for the moon to view the top, then in the aftermath of a cyclone it disappears. As a single, beautiful raindrop appears on a tiny tree, arguments ensue as to who owns it, however a much more pressing matter soon emerges.
The selflessness of crow who flies for miles each day to supply Little Tree with water, is set in parallel against man …
“mining is cutting too deep for the scars to heal. Once destroyed, mountains can’t grow again and give birth to the rivers that they send to the sea.”
The character of the Dingo continues to emerge as one of wisdom and reason, the rain drop must be reserved, saved for Dingo who will know when the time is right.
The ending is gorgeous and poignant, you can not fail to be moved by the final poetic lines followed by Dingo and Wombat’s final conversation…
An ever timely message about environment and man’s role in preserving and maintaining it.
Dr Anita Heiss’ review of Dingo’s Tree can be enjoyed here.
Head on over to our PaperTigers Book Review page where we bring together in one place the best children’s and young adults’ multicultural book reviews published in several countries.
PaperTigers reviews are written by us and have an international scope, to keep you up to date on what is being published around the world. In addition to offering our own reviews, we also reprint reviews from the following trusted sources:
From the USA, reviews by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, a key resource for anyone interested in children’s books published in the USA;
From Canada, reviews from Resource Links, a national journal dedicated to reviewing and evaluating Canadian learning resources;
From Australia, reviews from My Book Corner, an online resource that provides book reviews on an entire assortment of children’s literature, ranging from the fun and quirky to the simply inspirational and unforgettable;
From China, reviews from the Asian Review of Books, published in Hong Kong by Paddyfield.com and Chameleon Press;
From the UK, reviews from Books for Keeps, the most authoritative children’s book magazine in the country.
We also have archived reviews from two valuable sources which are no longer being published: Desi Journal (USA), a website dedicated to literature from and about the South Asian diaspora, and Book Trusted News (United Kingdom), the magazine of the Young Book Trust.
So look no further for kidlit book reviews. We have them all here!
Thank you to all the magazines and websites for sharing with us their great content! Publishers interested in having their books reviewed by PaperTigers, and magazines interested in having their reviews reprinted here, can email us at:
[email protected] for more information.
Head on over to our PaperTigers Book Review page where we bring together in one place the best children’s and young adults’ multicultural book reviews published in several countries.
PaperTigers reviews are written by us and have an international scope, to keep you up to date on what is being published around the world. These reviews can also be accessed here on the blog under the category Weekend Book Reviews.
In addition to offering our own reviews, we also reprint reviews from the following trusted sources:
From the USA, reviews by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, a key resource for anyone interested in children’s books published in the USA;
From Canada, reviews from Resource Links, a national journal dedicated to reviewing and evaluating Canadian learning resources;
From China, reviews from the Asian Review of Books, published in Hong Kong by Paddyfield.com and Chameleon Press;
From the UK, reviews from Books for Keeps, the most authoritative children’s book magazine in the country.
We also have archived reviews from two valuable sources which are no longer being published: Desi Journal (USA), a website dedicated to literature from and about the South Asian diaspora, and Book Trusted News (United Kingdom), the magazine of the Young Book Trust.
So look no further for kidlit book reviews. We have them all here!
Thank you to all the magazines and websites for sharing with us their great content! Publishers interested in having their books reviewed by PaperTigers, and magazines interested in having their reviews reprinted here, can email us at:
[email protected] for more information.
Our newest PaperTigers’ issue is now live and focuses on cats and dogs in multicultural children’s literature – a topic that was suggested by my 12-year-old daughter, who is animal fanatic.