Christina Booth, Purinina, CSIRO Publishing, September 2024, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781486317264
This book is based on the 2008 Notable Picture Book Purinina: a devil’s tale, with a revised cover. Tasmanian devils don’t always have the best reputation but more recently they have been severely affected by Devil Facial Tumour Disease. This, combined with being hunted by farmers and the risk of being killed on the roads, has brought the devils close to extinction again.
They are a uniquely Tasmanian animal who are scavengers. Booth (born and bred in Tasmania) creates the life story of Purinina (the local Aboriginal word). It starts with her search for her mother’s pouch, how she grows and ventures outside along with her brothers. She learns to growl and fight while her mother continues to bring home food for them. One day her mother does not wake and Purinina has to fend for herself, frightened by the new smells of people around. She is joined by a new devil in her valley and she begins the cycle of life.
Booth has combined lyrical language, often curving around the page, with a wide variety of illustration colours, from warm and soft representing the pouch to the bright green of the valley and the dark and menace of the cave and the outside world. At the back of the book are ‘Devilish Details’: facts about Tasmanian Devils which support the narrative. There’s also a glossary.
This narrative non-fiction book, aimed at readers aged 5 to 9, about this fascinating marsupial will make a good addition to home and school libraries. Teaching notes are available at the publisher’s website.
Reviewed by Maureen Mann
