This Place Is Lonely: The Australian Outback (Imagine Living Here)

Nearly a third of this addition to the ``Imagine Living Here'' series describes life in the Australian outback, where ``a mid-sized station with eight thousand sheep is two hundred square miles.'' Cobb states that ``If you lived on the outback of Australia, the only people you would see every day would be your own family''; indeed, the illustration shows a man shearing by hand with just his wife and two children assisting. Is it possible for two adults to shear 8000 sheep without assistance? Balance is a problem throughout; e.g., only one page discusses aboriginal people, while Captain Cook rates three. And, though decorative, the landscapes are so stylized as to be useless for identification, while not only sheep but the platypus, emu, and spiny anteater are all sky blue. Visually striking, but this adds little to the understanding of flora, fauna, or people. (Nonfiction. 8-10) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Grade 3-5-- This entry in the series looks at the isolated outback area of Australia. The rich earth-toned illustrations provide a sense of the remoteness there, although some pictures are too stylized to depict accurately the unique animals of the region. The color of the sheep's coat and the feathers of the emu and cassowary appear to be predominately blue. No ethnic diversity is portrayed, with the exception of one page that discusses the aborigines. Cobb's sentence structure is occasionally stilted, and the factual information will serve primarily as supplemental material with titles such as Dolce's Australia (Chelsea House, 1990). Purchase where other books in the series are popular or where picture-book information on Australia is needed.
- Jeanette Larson, Mesquite Public Library, TX
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.