MARSDEN, JOHN / TAN, SHAUN
Grade 28An allegorical picture book about ecological and cultural destruction, illustrated with remarkable and highly stylized art. Small, reddishbrown armadillo/numbatlike creatures describe what happens when newcomers arrive in their homeland The rabbits came many grandparents agoâ¦. Their numbers and technology take over, with devastating effects: Sometimes we had fights, but there were too many rabbits.⦠They chopped down our trees and scared away our friends⦠and stole our children. In the end, the land is devastated and the animals wonder, Who will save us from the rabbits? The brief, bleak text is simple, and its message fairly obvious, but it is the stunning ink, oil, and wash artwork that adds complexity and the visual experience of a culture and landscape being overrun. The sharpangled, streamlined white rabbits in formal suits and uniforms start out the same size as their rounded unclothed compatriots, but soon take over the foreground in everexpanding size. The tiny innocent smokestack of their first vehicle and the predatory prow of their massively looming ship become the ominous portent of mechanization that runs amok. Though aspects of both illustrations and text make the parable particularly pertinent to Australia, the nonspecific language and highly stylized art are easily generalized and parallels can be drawn to any study of colonial history. The story`s point of view provides a clear understanding of, and unsentimental empathy with, the experience of indigenous cultures, while its extraordinary art offers a thoughtprovoking, powerful look at a land and people overwhelmed.Nancy Palmer, The Little School, Bellevue, WA
JOHN MARSDEN JOHN MARSDEN ha ganado numerosos premios de literatura juvenil tanto en Australia, de donde es originario, como en el resto del mundo. Prueba de su valía como escritor es que la primera entrega de la saga, Mañana, cuando la guerra empiece, ha sido reconocida en Suecia como la novela más susceptible de acercar a los jóvenes a la lectura. La saga MAÑANA, que comprende siete títulos, ha sido todo un éxito internacional: se ha traducido a siete idiomas y lleva más de dos millones y medio de ejemplares vendidos. Marsden ha explicado que al escribir esta historia sus personajes parecían querer cobrar vida. La adaptación de esta epopeya a la gran pantalla le ha dado la razón y promete prolongar aún más su fulgurante trayectoria.
