Meet... Douglas Mawson by Mike Dumbelton
Ill. by Snip Green. Random House Australia Children's, 2014. ISBN
9780857981950.
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. What a fabulous series this has proven
and many of you will be familiar with the titles so far such as The
Anzacs, Ned Kelly and Mary MacKillop.
Again focusing on a truly outstanding Australian, Mike Dumbelton
recounts the story of Douglas Mawon's ill-starred Antarctica
expedition with simplistic elegance. Mawson led the first Australian
expedition to the Antarctic surviving many dangerous challenges, the
cruel fate of his comrades and bravely survived against extreme
odds. In 2013 'The Australian' listed the Top 50 Australians and Sir
Douglas Mawson, honoured by his inclusion on our currency and
lending his name to suburbs and streets around the country, was
ranked at Number Eight 'for his brilliant brain as a scientist [and
for] making one of the most courageous solo journeys by any
Australian adventurer'.
However, as with all outstanding picture books, it is not just the
author's well crafted text but the astonishing illustrations which
bring this book into what surely must be a strong award contender.
Snip Green uses his considerable background in graphic art to give
the reader a powerful impression of the isolation, barrenness and
stark reality of the Antarctic landscape. By using tones of
blue/grey/white combined with uncompromising geometric patterns
Green more than ably conveys the frightening stillness of this
frozen continent. The placement of the text in framed white panels
in the amazing double page spreads allow the reader's eye to focus
on the illustration while giving the caption-like information.
Though all the 'Meet...' series has been a worthy inclusion for any
library, I think this one is undoubtedly my favourite so far given
this wonderful collaboration of text and illustration.
Highly recommended for readers aged around 8 and up - a must-have
for your library in my opinion.
Sample the book at Random
House or visit Mike
Dumbleton's webpage or see more of Snip Green's
work online.
Sue Warren