Opal dream by Ben Rice
Random
House Australia, 2006
Age 12+ The film tie-in of the story originally titled Pobby and Dingan tells the story of
Ashmol, an 11 year old boy and his sister Kellyanne who inhabits a
fantasy world with her two imaginary friends, Pobby and Dingan. After
her father fails to bring her invisible friends back from the opal
mine, Kellyanne insists that he goes to search for them. He strays onto
another miner's claim, and is accused of 'ratting'. Kellyanne, grieving
for her lost friends, becomes seriously ill and Ashmol, in a desperate
bid to help her get well, organises the whole town to search for Pobby
and Dingan.
Rice captures the atmosphere of the Australian outback in this quirky
and moving story. The story is told by Ashmol, who loves his sister but
considers her a 'fruit-loop'. All the characters are vivid and real.
This story would perhaps respond to being read out loud and could
promote much discussion about imagination, dreams and the power of
love.
Contained in the same volume is another novella, Specks in the Sky, set
in a camel safari centre in America. A mother and her two daughters see
specks in the sky which turn out to be a team of crack parachutists who
have bailed out during a top- secret mission. Questions are raised
about identity and family relations in this unusual story.