Pat Clarke (text) and Graeme Compton (Illustrator), In Search of the Goonoobee, Little Steps Publishing, December 2022, 80 pp., RRP $25 (hbk), ISBN 9781922833686
This is the second in a series of books on magic in the forest of Goonoo. Goonoo is a small forest not far from Dubbo in New South Wales, close to Pat Clarke’s home. Hers is a magic pudding of a tale, complete with a fairy prince, a mint-chocolate tree, a giant goanna and the Goonoobee themself, the two-headed emu.
Clare, about eight years old, and her younger brother Alex, have recently lost their mother. Though the novel begins with the disturbing phrase, ‘After the funeral’, the tale itself soon brightens into one that offers these children the gifts of being special, being loved, and being valuable. In return they bring curiosity and bravery to their new experiences in the forest of their grandmother and grandfather. They have moved to the forest, and their grandparents’ home, with their father while the family’s grief is close and real. As often happens in these sorts of stories, there is a larger plan and larger fate in store for them than they had imagined.
Graeme Compton’s full-colour realist illustrations offer a balance to the fantastical elements of the story—bringing the feel of an actual farm where the children live, but one where each animal has irrepressible personality and vitality. The illustrations bring charm and gentleness to the book. If there are further sequels to this story, and it feels as if there will be, then readers will have the chance to watch these children grow and test themselves in both their actual and their imagined worlds. It will be like riding on a two headed emu, knowing that if you fall off, a kindly adult will pick you up and possibly put you straight back on that strange creature.
Reviewed by Kevin Brophy
