Brindabella by Ursula Dubosarsky illustrated by Andrew Joyner

"If Pender and his father had looked back, they would have seen that Brindabella was now standing at the open door. This was her time! She sniffed the air. She heard the rustling leaves high up on the hill. Hurry, Brindabella! Hurry! .. Out, out, away, away she went, far away and up the hill into the deep freedom of the bush."

The fierce love of the boy, Pender, is central in this story. He finds a joey kangaroo in the  pouch of her dead mother.  Finding a baby animal which has survived like this is sure to appeal to all young readers. Pender is living in a remote part of Australia. His father is loving but reclusive spending his daylight hours in his studio painting. Pender relies on farm routines and the companionship of his dog Billy-Bob.  Finding the joey gives Pender a new focus. He needs to make sure she is feed and keep her safe and he loves to draw sketches of her but he does know one day she must return to the wild.

It is easy to understand Pender's feelings and love towards Brindabella but Ursula Dubosarsky  also allows us to 'hear' Brindabella herself and she is quite a fiesty, confident and opinionated young girl.

"She knew that Pender cared for her, held her close, kept her safe, and fed her. But she didn't belong to him. She belonged to no-one but herself. 
'Why should he love me?' she asked, shrugging her shoulders. 'I don't love anybody.'
She thumped her tail in the dust, which rose in a puff. That was what she loved - her strong, beautiful tail."

This is a book in three acts - rather like a play:

Act One Pender - finding and raising Brindabella and happy times on the farm.
Act Two Brindabella -  the escape and new life in the bush learning to keep safe and make new friends.
Act Three Meeting again - There are hunters in the bush, Pender and his faithful dog Billy-Bob need to make sure Brindabella is safe.

The relationship between Pender and his father is a complex one. Their communication is limited and we are not told why his father becomes ill but an astute reader will recognise it is connected with grief.

Here are a set of detailed and very useful teachers notes written by Joy Lawn. Brindabella has been included in the CBCA Notables (Younger Readers) for 2019. On 26th March the six short listed titles will be announced. I hope Brindabella makes the cut. You can see some of the art by Andrew Joyner from the book here. I would recommend this book for children aged 8+ because there is a very tragic moment toward the end which may shock a younger child.

If you want to explore the idea of raising a young animal like Brindabella take a look at Sebastian lives in a Hat. Also below you can see the Polish edition of Brindabella. How exciting to see this book about the Australian bush reaching an international audience.