"Lara had always wished she was a dog, and one day,
just for a short time, she actually became one."
From the first few pages Ursula Dubosarsky had me intrigued. Where were Lara and her mum going for the day? Why were they going there? And most pressing of all - why is there a the cast list on the first page? I love that the opening of this book is clearly in Sydney starting at our Circular Quay ferry wharf but the story also has a universal feel. Perhaps the ferry is heading to Rose Bay or is this Manly?
"In front of the wharf was a long, green park with thick grass and tall Norfolk pines with drooping dark-green branches. Beyond the edge of the grass was a smear of beach with white sand, sparkling like glitter."
Lara's mother has come to clean a house. She has clearly been here previously as she knows where to find the hidden key. Lara is on holidays so she has come along too. Standing in the garden, Lara notices a small boy at an upstairs window. How is this possible? The house is supposed to be empty. Lara heads up stairs and she finds a boy - Pierre - and he shows her something very special:
"It was a puppet theatre! Made of wood, painted with curls and columns in faded gold and silver, like a temple from ancient Greece. At the front there were two velvet curtains and behind them a sheet of scenery gleamed in the darkness, snow on top of a mountain."
Pierre needs Lara to help him. He tells Lara his whole family have been eaten by a pack of wolves. His mother has told him, if he is ever alone, he must find his grandmother. Pierre grabs a puppet from his collection and begins to tell a story. He tells Lara to find a puppet too. She reaches into the box without looking and picks up the wolf puppet.
Lara is transported into the story as a wolf. Pierre is terrified of her but Lara can talk (luckily) and she explains that she is not really a fierce wolf, she is actually just a friendly dog. It is time for the play to really begin and so the text now changes form into a script. Lara and Pierre have a long way to go, there are dangers to overcome and new friends to help them. Pierre must find his grandmother and as a reader we must reach that all important happy ending.
If you've never read a play before you are in for a treat. The really delicious parts I think, that add so much to this format, are all the little stage directions. I didn't ever write plays the way Ursula did as a young child but I did love reading them in one of my first books - The Youngest Child's Ominbus and also in the NSW School Magazine. And later as an adult I did enjoy acting in a few small town amateur theatre productions too. There is something very satisfying about reading a play script - the action just zooms along and before you realise it you have reached the final act.
Here is an interview with Ursula by Joy Lawn and a link to a set of teachers notes.
I am going to make one of my predictions and say this book Pierre's not There will be one of the titles on the CBCA 2021 Notable list and I also hope it might make the final six short listed titles too. I think I smiled through the whole story. This book would be a perfect addition to a school library or home collection and teachers could consider buying multiple copies to use with a group of children so they can act out the play! You will probably want to investigate a few fairy tales (Little Red Riding Hood) and also find out more about Punch and Judy shows too. Punch is such a diabolical fellow - boo hiss.
Ursula Dubosarsky is our 2020-2021 Australian Children's Laureate and in this Covid year she has been an amazing ambassador for kids and reading and libraries and Australian books and so much more!
In our NSW School magazine you can find other plays written by Ursula. She also wrote this little Nibble title many years ago about a puppet show:
You should also look for these - just a handful of titles which I loved written by Ursula:
I found some other plays by Ursula Dubosarsky on the NSW School Magazine site:
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