Today’s book is the perfect pick for the depths of winter, when you need a bit of sunshine and dry, parched desert in your life. We received The Rabbit-Hole Golf Course by Ella Mulvey and Karen Briggs from Allen & Unwin for review and here’s the blurb from A&U:
A warm and funny story about a unique Australian experience with a fantastic rhythmic read-aloud text.
In the big old ute, on the long red road, in the desert of my home, we all set off for the rabbit-hole golf course. It’s the best place around here to find rabbits.We sit by the holes, we dig, we wait …
Thump tick, thump tick, thump tick
Where are all the rabbits?
A warm and funny Australian story.
The Rabbit-Hole Golf Course by Ella Mulvey & Karen Briggs. Published by Allen & Unwin, 28th June 2017. RRP: $24.99
From the moment we picked up this tome, we were positively disposed toward it, because we are actually acquainted with a family whose number plate is USMOB, so there was something familiar about the book before we even started reading. The familiarity soon wore off however, as this is one story that depicts an event that no doubt only a small percentage of the population have ever experienced.
The story follows a group of kids who live in the Australian outback and go on a quest to find a pet rabbit. Rabbits being plentiful in the wild in their part of the world, the kids begin digging in the dirt to uncover a rabbit hole and its inhabitants, but the rabbits are too wily and the kids go home empty-handed. Happily though, they have such a good time digging and scraping and sleeping under the stars, that the absence of a rabbity pet doesn’t smart too much.
The strength of this book is in the repetition and rhythm of the text. It is a “noisy” book, as I like to think of them, of a similar ilk to books like We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, that invites readers to join in the repeated refrains. As the day wears on, the cries of “Where are all the rabbits?” are expanded upon with noises relating to different activities – the bump-click of a ride in the ute, the shake-hop of bushes rustling with kangaroos, the pinch-pop of honey ant tucker – and little ones will no doubt love joining in with the different sounds. The beautiful ochre tones of the illustrations evoke the desert country perfectly and provide an homage to free range children and the joys of being outdoors.
The mini-fleshlings in the dwelling did have a little trouble following the story, simply because, being city-dwellers, it seemed so foreign to their experience. The fact that kids could just dig in the dirt and come up with a new pet was baffling to the oldest one, and he joined in the perplexity of the protagonists regarding the distinct lack of rabbits in the vicinity. Where were all the rabbits? How come the kids couldn’t find a single one? And why wasn’t anyone wearing a hat in that blinding sun? I suspect this story will be a bit of a sleeper; one that will require a few re-readings before the mini-fleshlings really warm to it.
Nevertheless, The Rabbit-Hole Golf Course is one that will fire the imaginations of city kids and have them yearning for an outdoor adventure. This would be a fantastic pick for illustrating concepts about diversity in living environments.
Until next time,
Bruce
The Bookshelf Gargoyle 