Thiele's approach to conservation and the environment speaks to the nature lover, but he takes a realistic, adult approach. The Indigenous character, Fingerbone, is woven intelligently through the story as an equal without stereotyping or infantalising. It does have a difficult ending, but it's sad / not sad. But his poetic narrative also imbues the reader with a feeling of the place - you can smell the sea, feel the wind, and hear the birds. It was a joy to read this story with my daughter, so evocative, so sad, so beautiful.įirst published in 1963, "Storm Boy" explores the relationship between a boy and his friend, even when the friend is a pelican, as well as touching on hunting, conservation, and the isolation, remoteness, and hardships of parts of Australia. Colin Thiele (who died in 2006 at 85) is a South Australian Icon, and his books are a part of our social history. I don't know if I read "Storm Boy" when I was child, but I did see the movie, and grew up visiting Mr Percival at Marineland (well, the pelican who played him). It's a lovely, moving story for children and I'm glad to finally understand why it has remained a favourite for young readers (and their parents). Though all three pelicans were released Mr Percival returned and remained by Storm Boys side. This story is focussed upon his friendship with Mr Percival, one of three pelicans he rescued and hand raised when their mothers' nest was vandalised. Storm Boy has such compassion for the wildlife, paricularly the birds, in their area. He lives with his father, Hideaway, in a humpy with nature filling the roles of backyard, educator and friend. It's downright un-Australian to have grown up without having read this at some point, and yet somehow I'd missed out on the experience.Ĭolin Thiele has brought to life the story of a young boy living in a remote South Australian location. It's the latter which prompted me to borrow this book as I'm thinking of going to see it at QPAC, our peforming arts centre. Storm Boy is an Australian childrens classic, first published in 1964, it has endured the decades and has been remade into film and performed live on stage. Sad at times, touched on death in a respectable manner for tween readers. In my opinion, this is a morally important book for kids, showing the bad side of human behaviour and disrespect towards our wildlife and animals. A lover of animals and wildlife of all kinds, she found their relationship endearing and humorous, especially when it came to Storm Boy training Mr. Percival coming together and their interaction, she was in her element. Some words she’s never come across before, and this broke her concentration when she was required to look it up. For a 60-page book, the scenery took up nearly half. While I enjoyed the detailed description of scenery in this book, my girl didn’t appreciate it so much. When my girl brought it home to read for her literary circle, I thought I’d take the opportunity to read it for myself.
#Storm boy colin thiele movie
I never read Storm Boy as a child but I do recall watching the movie several times. Percival, whom the boy saves from a group of thugs that threatened their sanctuary, killing off wildlife for their own amusement. It’s a heartwarming tale of a bond between a young boy, Storm Boy and a pelican, Mr. Storm Boy is an Australian childhood classic that takes place along the South Australian coast of Coorong.
I realise this became a bit of a movie review as well, but the two feel very linked, especially because of the photos.
I can't think of what a new version would bring to a well done, classic film, but hopefully it adds something worthwhile. There is a more recent remake that I may watch eventually, though I wonder if it was needed - I prefer remakes to be done either if the original had potential but fell short, or if technological limitations from the time period meant key elements had to be left out or rearranged. The book and film are both excellent, the differences between the two making sense, especially the ending which varies slightly - probably because incredible as the pelicans were, you couldn't get one to act out the final pages.īoth versions are beautiful and both made me cry, though they aren't gloomy by any means. This edition features plenty of photographs - I don't think they are all film stills but I am not sure. There are a few different versions of this book, and I will keep an eye out for the various different illustrators who have been used over the years as I think it will be interesting to see different takes on the story. I watched the 1976 film version of this earlier today, and then immediately read the book.
0 kommentar(er)
