This is a remarkably well-timed book, describing events presently happening in inland Australia. It begins: `One day a monsoon from the north and a cyclone from the east collided over the plains of Queensland', and the narrative goes on to describe the transformation of Lake Eyre in South Australia as flood waters roll down rivers and creeks, bringing life to the desert. For his plot, Thiele harnesses the dramatic turns of our continent through cycles of drought and flood with the land the major character and a focus on a family of pelicans - Pinta, Portly, Preen, Plume and Pannikin - and Sam, the son of a wildlife officer, who names them. The pelican family initially thrives but struggles when the lake waters recede, leaving millions of animals to flee or starve. The pelicans leave for the coast, thousands of miles away across the desert, with little hope of making the sea. Their challenge is made plain in Gouldthorpe's exceptional illustrations where the land stretches on forever below the flying birds. He indeed captures Sam's thought that Pinta appears as `a spirit bird'. It is a pity such a grand narrative is lessened by unnecessary coincidence but this is nevertheless a fine book, a moving survival story beautifully presented for all ages.

Kerry White is a bibliographer, major contributor to The Source, a forthcoming on-line guide to children's poetry and fiction, and proprietor of Bookphile. 

C. 2000 Thorpe-Bowker and contributors

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