The house on the mountain by Ella Holcombe and David Cox
Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760636968.
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. The House on the Mountain is a
deeply atmospheric story that follows a family's journey as they
rebuild their lives after the devastation of the Black Saturday
bushfires. Ella Holcombe draws on her most difficult memories, the
loss of her parents at Kinglake, Victoria on the 7th of February
2009. The build up to the bushfires and the aftermath of the
harrowing events is told in a beautifully lyrical style: there is a
rawness and honesty portrayed. Sights, sounds, smells are
realistically portrayed. 'The sky looks strange, dark and glowing,
and there is a distant roaring sound, like an aeroplane
approaching.' The author writes of hope rising from the ashes as the
family slowly rebuilds their lives. She explains the range of
emotions, the rawness and numbness at times, as the little girl
experiences grief, loss, anger, wonder and despair.
She begins simply with the children playing in the bush, splashing
each other in a cold bath, while the parents quickly prepare and
pack their essential emergency items. Fleeing to safety as the smoke
surrounds them and debris hits their car, the family watches from
the safety of the oval as the mountain is covered in fire. Photos of
teachers and students who lost their lives, displayed in the school
corridor are constant and confronting reminders for the other
students. Community and state supportive services, art therapy,
music sessions, counselling, well-wishers from near and far provide
comfort as well.
Life goes on, the family lives with their nana in her little white
house, where her brothers fight more often, Mum and Dad argue and
Ruby the dog follows them everywhere. This a new kind of normal,
nothing will ever be the same. Day by day as the plants' green
shoots appear and their mud brick home is built, hope rises from the
ashes.
David Cox's evocative illustrations capture the family's life in
small vignettes and then the power of the raging fire as they travel
down the mountain, surrounded by smoke. He captures the emotions of
Emma's story with dark earth tones of brown, black, greys and
purples. Light shines in the darkest times, the camp lantern's glow
and the yellow moon and twinkling stars representing hope.
The story concludes with Emma Holcombe's personal recount of losing
her parents, her dog Brittany and their home on that fateful day. The
House On The Mountain is an inspirational picture book, an
important one to share with families and classes with readers from
seven plus; opening up dialogues about life and death, hope and
despair, natural disasters and the power of the human spirit to
rebuild.
Rhyllis Bignell