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Jack’s Island (Norman Jorgenson, Fremantle Press, $16.95 pb, ISBN 9781921361197, June) ****

It is World War II and Jack’s father works for the Roads Board, building an airstrip on an island off the coast of WA. Jack and his best friend Banjo—like the poet—have free run of the island. It is a type
of childhood that must be unimaginable for today’s children. Canings from the teacher and completely unsupervised freedom are definitely alien concepts in the modern age. However, the story is not all
homemade street carts and fishing off the jetty. Jorgenson based the book on his father’s experiences as a boy and it is evident. The tragedies of real life are also present—a mother’s grief at the loss of her son; the damage done to a generation by the Depression and the Great War. Jorgenson doesn’t dwell overmuch on them but they are definitely part of the story. I would say the best audience for Jack’s Island are 9 to 11-year-olds who are interested in history. While the chapters are usually only a few pages long, Jorgenson doesn’t dumb down his language or avoid colloquialisms that are no longer current. While I don’t believe it will be universally popular, it is a fine and well-written story.

Liz Riley was a senior member of staff at The Little Bookroom for several years. She is now at the Australian Booksellers Association

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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