Elaine Ouston has used her experience and knowledge from her time on grazing properties, to create strong and believable Australian country stories.
In A Close
Call, Courtney has a new horse and she’s dying to ride him. Her old horse
Bluey is neglected and when her dad reminds her he needs exercise, she
reluctantly agrees to take him out.
Dad’s warning not to go near the emu nest goes through one ear and out the other.
From the hill, Courtney can’t tell if the emu eggs have hatched. She considers it safe enough to get closer when she sees the female emu some distance from the nest.
Dad’s warning not to go near the emu nest goes through one ear and out the other.
From the hill, Courtney can’t tell if the emu eggs have hatched. She considers it safe enough to get closer when she sees the female emu some distance from the nest.
But it is the male emu that sits on the eggs. How
could she have forgotten that? It’s when she gets into trouble after the male
does what he must to protect the eggs, that Courtney learns a powerful lesson.
Bluey proves his love and loyalty by saving her life.
Jake
to the Rescue is relayed in first person narrative by the
leading character. Jake is home schooled by his mum. Her new word for the day
is initiative. She asks Jake to define it, giving his towels
left on the floor as an example.
When their dog Laddie comes home without his dad,
mum shrugs it off as a common thing. But Laddie is acting crazy, pulling at
Jake’s trouser leg, running to the veranda and barking; trying to get his
attention. When Jake thinks he wants playtime and follows Laddie out further
into the dark, he realizes that something is not right. He uses his initiative to follow the dog to
where his father lies hurt. He splints dad’s broken ankle and wrist and leads
him home on his horse.
Jake learns what initiative is by putting it into
practice as his mum suggested. But he is reminded that for safety reasons, he
shouldn’t have gone out into the night alone.
These are two great stories with a strong
Australian outback flavour. Descriptions of the surroundings and happenings
bring the reader closer to what is going on. Both include a lesson to be learnt
in a non-preaching way, and the illustrations allow the spotlight to fall on
the main characters.
Elegant fine-line black and white illustrations
accompany the text and add visual reinforcement to the story. Because the
stories are short and are about children and adventure, they are ideal for
reluctant readers - boys and girls. This is the second book in the Bush Tales
series, with more to come.
Title:
Bush Tails: A Close Call & Jake to the Rescue
Author:
Elaine Ouston
Illustrator:
Emma Middleton
Publisher:
Morris Publishing, $12.95
Publication
Date: October 2018
Format:
Paperback
ISBN: 9780648164722
For
ages: 5 - 8
Type:
Junior Fiction
