The Road to Ratenburg
by Joy Cowley, illus. Gavin Bishop, Gecko Press
The story in this junior novel is narrated by Spinnaker Rat,
husband of Retsina and father of four little ratlets. The family lose their
nest when a city building is demolished and they vow to travel to Ratenburg,
known by all as a kind of rat heaven where life is easy. They begin their
perilous journey with a train trip, accompanied by a single rat called Jolly
Roger (who’s generally regarded as an annoying fellow). Following a memorised
map, they have to get across Sunsweep Lake with its killer eels, navigate the
Bottomless Bog, and keep safe through meadows, forests and a mountain range.
Inevitably, the end of their journey is not what they expect.
The plot is action-packed, with our intrepid band of rats
facing one life-threatening danger after another. But the subtext of the story
works away quietly underneath – the family dynamics change as they travel,
relationships develop, youngsters mature and take responsibility – and at the
end they all realise what is most important to them.
It’s beautifully written, and Gavin Bishop’s black ink illustrations
convey a lot of meaning with a minimum of clutter. Because it’s narrated by an
older rat, I think the story would be best enjoyed if an adult reads it aloud
to a group or to an individual child aged about six to nine. I imagine many
children would then want to read it again for themselves.
ISBN 978 1 776570 75 1 RRP $19.99 Pb
Reviewed by Lorraine Orman
During World War Two New Zealand played host to thousands of
United States GIs and Marines. These troops were either training for the
forthcoming invasions in the Pacific, or enjoying some rest and recreation.
Their time here was a memorable experience for the young American troops and
the New Zealanders who came into contact with them.
This story is narrated by 16-year-old Aucklander Bruce
Bickerton who befriends a group of GIs and looks after their flashy car, a
Studebaker President called Mabel. Bruce and the Americans go on lots of drives
to local milk bars, dances, and sly-grog dens, as well as sightseeing tours to
nearby beaches. It sounds idyllic, but trouble is brewing. Bruce discovers
racism is alive and well in his Air Raid Precaution Unit, while the GIs run up
against racism in their own ranks – and make an enemy of a vicious and violent
MP. When Bruce sees this MP strike a fatal blow to one of his American mates,
he fights desperately to bring the man to justice.
The voice of the narrator seems to be that of an older man
– so I decided the point of view
is that of an adult Bruce looking back on his experiences. The historical
setting of the story is interesting and very authentic, the style is economical
and easy to read, while the plot picks up speed about half-way through the
book, pulling the reader on towards a bitter-sweet ending where some problems
are resolved but others aren’t. It’s a book that deserves a place in all New
Zealand secondary school libraries.
ISBN 978 0 473 34861 8 RRP $28 Pb
Reviewed by Lorraine Orman (author of My Story: Here Come the Marines, Warkworth, 1943)
Posts
The people behind this quirky picture book are better known
as the producers of comic books, including the Blastosaurus series (you can
visit them at www.squareplanetcomics.com).
They took some steps a while ago towards traditional picture books with their
series about a boy called Morgan. Now they have found a traditional publisher
and have adopted some standard picture book conventions. The humorous heart of
the story is revealed in the title phrase: old people are often called
dinosaurs, and in this book the phrase is taken literally as well as
figuratively. Wanda can’t understand why nobody will accept that her grandpa is
an actual dinosaur. The fact that her big sister shreds chippies in an electric
fan, while her parents fish for their dinner in a glass of water is irrelevant
(but keen-eyed youngsters will find these pictures hilarious). The trope is
continued till Wanda goes to her grandfather’s retirement village and finds
many more dinosaurs. 
