THE RAINBIRDS

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Written by David Metzenthen    Illustrated by Sally Rippin

 

This one is a beauty. Lyrical and sweeping and about one of my favourite birds, those yellow-eyed smart currawongs.  If you aren't Aussie or haven't been to Oz to hear them, you are missing out. They are total star bids.

 

Sally Rippin [what a rippin awesome name] pulls us through the book with her collage-scratchy drawings of a boy's affinity with the birds. If the kid wasn't called Gleeson, I would not have known the gender in the drawings, a fact I really like. Just a kid embracing one of the many wonders of the world. I like the fact that the dad is bald too, which is realistic. I like the colour palette, I like the happiness, I like the movement of David Metsenthen's words that gush us along with the pictures. Doll out cash for it.

 

It recieved an 'Honour Book' stamp by the CBCA and duly so.  

 

Where to buy: Regular shop if they are smart enough to stock it or online.