Junior Review: Mister Cassowary

Flynn is a nine-year-old boy who lives in Brisbane. 

When Flynn and his dad go to his grandpa’s old farm his life gets turned upside down and inside out. 

His grandad died a year before, and Flynn’s dad was too upset to return to the farm beforehand. But the cause of his grandpa’s death remains a mystery and Flynn is desperate to know the answer.

After a while at the farm Flynn realises how dangerous cassowaries are – they can kill a human if provoked. But his main question other than his grandad’s death is: how will Flynn protect the cassowaries without getting hurt?

Flynn is a shy but confident and stubborn character in this story. His Dad is somewhat the opposite of Flynn:  shy, upset and has a temper. I think the cassowaries in this book represent hope that Flynn can help them and stop their numbers decreasing.

I highly recommend this book and all of Samantha Wheeler’s books for animal lovers because they give you a good dose of animal knowledge. The reason I love this book is because Samantha Wheeler is such a really good author and when you read her writing it’s like a river of pictures flow through your mind. Out of all of Samantha Wheeler’s books Mister Cassowary is one of my favourites.  

Title: Mister Cassowary
Author: Samantha Wheeler
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Publication Date: 23 September 2015
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780702253881
For ages: 8 –12
Type: Junior fiction