The lorikeet tree by Paul Jennings

I loved A different land by Paul Jennings and was thrilled to receive a copy of The lorikeet tree, a heart-rending story with many intertwined themes. A sister and brother, Emily and her twin Alex, are devastated when they hear that their father has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. They live on a bush property that their father has painstakingly begun to reforest. It abounds with native animals, especially the rainbow lorikeets, which Emily loves. Alex refuses to accept his father’s diagnosis, and tries to cope by adding increasingly elaborate additions to his treehouse, believing that will keep his father alive. Emily is the one who must be sensible and when Alex adopts a feral kitten that threatens her beloved lorikeets, she finds life very difficult.

Told in four parts, with an epilogue, as a school assignment by Emily, complete with teacher’s comments and grades, it is easy to relate to the tensions and grief that all the members of the family face. Emily has always been strong and capable, looking after Alex, and her journey as she grapples with her father’s illness and the introduction of a cat into the family dynamics is handled sensitively by Jennings through the medium of her memoir. The different ways that a family copes with a terminal illness are described with Alex pouring his emotions into making intricate buildings and loving a cat, while Emily tries to be the competent one keeping the bushland pristine, writing about her feelings in her memoir.

The theme of conservation is gripping. Both sides of cat ownership are vividly described by the author. It is heart-breaking when the cat Ditto escapes the house and kills a rainbow lorikeet, but Emily also can see the joy that her father has as he pets the purring kitten. The importance of keeping cats contained so that they can’t harm the wildlife is emphasised and the family’s dilemma is solved in the end.

Although the story is easy to read and relatively short, (182 pages), the themes of family relationships, grief, sibling differences and protecting the environment are complex. This would make a thought-provoking class novel or literature circle read and teacher’s notes are available from the publisher.

Themes: Brothers and sisters, Grief, Lorikeets, Feral animals, Family, Terminal illness, Love, Responsibility.

Pat Pledger