From the moment news of another Margaret Wild–Ron Brooks
collaboration was a mere whiff in the wind, you can imagine children’s book
pundits pacing up and down by their bookshelves, rubbing their hands in
anticipation. Well, the wait is over and no one is going to be disappointed. The Dream of the Thylacine is here – and
it will leave its stamp on your emotions.
This book smacks of sorrow. Everything about it is
hung with sadness, regret and longing. It is a lament to the Thylacine, the
Tasmanian Tiger, last seen – in captivity – in the late 1930s. The Dream of the Thylacine is as
confronting as it is haunting. It will stop you in your tracks. It will reach
its giant hand into your safe places and secure its grip on a fistful of
feelings you didn’t know you possessed. An utterance will swirl in your mind
until it burns in your thoughts – if only…
From the very beginning of the book, the mood is one
of yearning. The front cover depicts an arresting image of the Thylacine, followed
by the front end paper where the outside world is seen from behind wire. Then,
in sepia tones, the Thylacine is portrayed confined in its cage and the narrative
in the form of a poem: Trapped am I/in
cage of twisty wire, cold concrete/prowl/rage/howl …
The book alternates between the narrative against its sorrowful
sepia backdrop, and bold double-page colour spreads of the Thylacine in its
natural habitat. Throughout the book the images of the Thylacine fade, until it
eventually disappears, at last becoming one with the land in the form of a rock
formation on the last page.
As the lament concludes Rest now/Hear the stones chant/the wind console and on the last page,
Dreaming am I, the spirit of this woebegone
animal sours above the page.
The Dream of the
Thylacine is a book that stays with you and calls you back, time and again.
It would be suitable for middle primary school children through to adults and presents
teachers with a plethora of opportunities for discussion.
Allen&Unwin 2011
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