PIERRE'S NOT THERE BY URSULA DUBOSARSKY AND ILLUSTRATED BY CHRISTOPHER NIELSEN

This is a magical tale that winds its way through scary forests, mountain tunnels and dangerous rivers. It starts during the summer school holidays in Sydney with Lara joining her mum on her cleaning job. Lara has always wanted to be a dog and that day on the ferry crossing the harbour, she meets a mysterious dog who then reappears in the park that leads to the house they are going to. The house is empty and uninviting and boring, so Lara goes off to explore. In an upper room, she finds a young boy about her age called Pierre who is all alone as his entire family has been eaten by wolves. He asks her to help him find his grandmother. He doesn’t know exactly where she lives apart from remembering someone mentioning that she lives on the other side of a river.

Pierre has a wonderful puppet theatre and a suitcase full of characters and this will be the way they find his lost relative. Lara digs into the suitcase to choose a character and out comes the puppet of a dog. When they go backstage to start the show, something strange happens and Lara becomes a dog with four paws, long ears and sharp teeth. She is just a little bit scary and Pierre asks her many times if she is sure she’s not a wolf. After easing his mind, they set off through a strange land where they meet some not so friendly people and a very helpful old horse who becomes an ally.

Wherever they go Lara is questioned about whether she is a wolf or not – everyone is terribly afraid of wolves. The three friends must endure plenty of tricky situations, but will they ever find Pierre’s grandmother?

Illustrated by the wonderful images drawn by Christopher Nielsen, the story comes alive with dark creepy forests and a set of characters that are both frightening and charming.

Ursula Dubosarsky’s middle grade book is a mixture of contemporary life and magical reality. It starts off as a novel, turns into a play and back into a novel again. The author has always been fascinated by puppets and puppet shows and this story is a delightful exploration into one of her favourite things, and we, her audience, are lucky enough to get to explore it with her. Readers will love the fairy-tale scenes, the stout loyalty of friendship and the strength of having trust in another being – whether they are a girl, a dog or even a wolf.

For Ages: 8-12 years

Number of Pages: 191 in paperback form.

Published: November 2020

Themes: Trust, identity and friendship

Rating: 4.5/5                                    

I wish: I could have a magical dog friend