Pip and Houdini by J. C. Jones
Allen and Unwin, 2017. ISBN 9781760296056
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. Dogs, Running away, Family. A
disarming story of dislocation and reunification will grip readers
from the start as they follow Pip and her loyal hound Houdini when
they run away from home, after she has upset the applecart once
again. Knowing that she has damaged the tenuous relationship she has
with her foster family weighs heavily on her but with a nine year
old postcard and a name, Cass and a place where her birth mother
lived, Byron Bay, Pip and Houdini set off from Sydney.
There follows a road journey where she must survive on her wits,
taking chances with people she meets and always being solicitous to
the needs of her dog. Mid primary people will love reading of her
adventures, sneaking onto a train, keeping Houdini hidden, busking
on the streets, finding money for a little food and water for the
two of them, avoiding the police who are searching for her.
Children will be able to follow her journey stopping at various
points along the way, sigh with her when the train is delayed, and
be angry when the young woman she has befriended, steals her
remaining money.
But in meeting a lone surfer and warning him of the shark nearby,
she finds a friend, and piecing together the clues from her
memorabilia with the information given her about her mother, Cass,
she is able to find some of her family, family that in the main were
unaware of her existence.
The loving relationship between Pip and Houdini is wonderfully
drawn, and children will melt reading of the two of them avoiding
contact with others in case they are found out. In meeting the young
woman with a guitar she does not play, readers will hear of some of
the tricks of the trade that reality shows use to engage their
audience, and the effect these tricks have on the participants.
A wonderful road story of hope, of not finding what you are looking
for but finding something else almost as good, leaves the tale of
these two delightful characters open for a third outing, which
children will anticipate with real pleasure. The first story of Pip
and Houdini, Run, Pip, run, was shortlisted in 2016 for the
CBCA Book of the year, and won the Readings Children's Book Prize,
2016.
Fran Knight