The drought kangaroo by Jackie French. Illus. by Danny Snell

The third in the series about animals coping through extreme weather events, this book bristles with endeavour as the kangaroo can smell water far away and knows he must find it to survive.

The strong young kangaroo, Joseph knows his mob is in danger. They are all listless, nibbling at ever shrinking grass, no joeys being born. But Big Roo the leader of the mob is just as listless, and Joseph knows he must search for better feed and water. No one takes any notice as he leaves. He travels at nights, resting during the heat of the day. He sees other distressed animals , parched of water.

One night, he comes across two lights and tries to jump between them, falling to the ground, bouncing off the car. But he keeps going, he can smell the water close by.

When he finds it he munches the grass and drinks large amounts of water, when he notices a mob watching him. The leader of the mob comes over and after a few sorties, leaves him to drink. A grey kangaroo joins him, and later, when it rains he takes over as the leader, and he joins the mob, contented.

Snell’s wonderful images show the kangaroos and their body shapes throughout the story. Decidedly skinny and undernourished, Joseph must leave his mob to look for food. The readers will recognise the flora and fauna seen along his journey, and be concerned for him when confronted by the leader of the new mob. The Australian bush is shown in its changeability, from parched desert to flooding rain. The powerful image of the car which Joseph tries to leap over, becomes clear to the readers when they read Jackie French’s notes at the end, while the illustration recalls all those animals seen as road kill. I loved Snell’s images of Joseph across the top of several pages, giving movement and a sense of purpose to the journey. And the episode with the car in the half light at night is full of anticipation for the readers wondering whether Joseph will be able to avoid the car and survive.

Based on a true story of a lone kangaroo which came to Jackie’s property, the story of survival in our desperate times of drought is uplifting. A teacher's guide is available.

Themes: Drought, Kangaroos, Survival.

Fran Knight