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Dexter the Courageous Koala
When Ashley’s long awaited puppy is snatched from her at the last moment, her parents send her on holiday to cheer her up. But the trip isn’t anything like she expected.
Picked up by her eccentric aunt Micky and driven out beyond mobile range to ‘Toad Hall’, Ashley’s troubles are just beginning. In a matter of hours she is facing a furious storm, a flooded creek and an electrical blackout – not to mention a koala emergency.
Ashley manages to save an injured mother koala and her joey, Dexter, who have been knocked from their tree. But the storm has cut off the only access road to the property, and the koalas desperately need help. Ashley and Dexter must be braver than they have ever imagined to find a way to safety.
Picked up by her eccentric aunt Micky and driven out beyond mobile range to ‘Toad Hall’, Ashley’s troubles are just beginning. In a matter of hours she is facing a furious storm, a flooded creek and an electrical blackout – not to mention a koala emergency.
Ashley manages to save an injured mother koala and her joey, Dexter, who have been knocked from their tree. But the storm has cut off the only access road to the property, and the koalas desperately need help. Ashley and Dexter must be braver than they have ever imagined to find a way to safety.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2015
13 people want to read
About the author
Jesse Blackadder
14 books162 followersYes, Jesse Blackadder really was born with that surname. An award-winning novelist, freelance writer and budding screenwriter, she is fascinated by landscapes, adventurous women and really cold places.
Jesse's forthcoming novel 'In the Blink of an Eye' is being published in the USA by St Martins Press in March 2019. (It was published in Australia as 'Sixty Seconds' by HarperCollins in 2017). The novel was inspired by her childhood experience of her sister's death in a swimming pool.
Jesse has recently been jointly awarded the 2018 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship to write a television series and a junior novel series set in Antarctica, in partnership with screenwriter Jane Allen. The pair will live at Mawson Station over the 2018/19 summer.
'Chasing the Light' (2013), is historical fiction based on the true but forgotten story of the first women to reach Antarctica. Jesse won her first Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship in 2011 and travelled to Antarctica to research the novel.
Jesse's novel 'The Raven's Heart', came about when she'd finally had enough of people asking if she was related to Rowan Atkinson. She travelled to Scotland to find the origins of the Blackadder surname and discovered the ruins of Blackadder House on the banks of the Blackadder River.
Her first novel, 'After the Party' (Hardie Grant Books 2005), made the Australian Book Review list of all time favourite Australian novels in 2010.
Jesse has been a writer in residence in Antarctica, Alaska, in the Australian outback at Byron Bay, and at Varuna The Writers' House, Australia's leading residential program for writers. She has a Doctor of Creative Arts from the University of Western Sydney. Born in Sydney, she now lives near Byron Bay on Australia's east coast.
Jesse's forthcoming novel 'In the Blink of an Eye' is being published in the USA by St Martins Press in March 2019. (It was published in Australia as 'Sixty Seconds' by HarperCollins in 2017). The novel was inspired by her childhood experience of her sister's death in a swimming pool.
Jesse has recently been jointly awarded the 2018 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship to write a television series and a junior novel series set in Antarctica, in partnership with screenwriter Jane Allen. The pair will live at Mawson Station over the 2018/19 summer.
'Chasing the Light' (2013), is historical fiction based on the true but forgotten story of the first women to reach Antarctica. Jesse won her first Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship in 2011 and travelled to Antarctica to research the novel.
Jesse's novel 'The Raven's Heart', came about when she'd finally had enough of people asking if she was related to Rowan Atkinson. She travelled to Scotland to find the origins of the Blackadder surname and discovered the ruins of Blackadder House on the banks of the Blackadder River.
Her first novel, 'After the Party' (Hardie Grant Books 2005), made the Australian Book Review list of all time favourite Australian novels in 2010.
Jesse has been a writer in residence in Antarctica, Alaska, in the Australian outback at Byron Bay, and at Varuna The Writers' House, Australia's leading residential program for writers. She has a Doctor of Creative Arts from the University of Western Sydney. Born in Sydney, she now lives near Byron Bay on Australia's east coast.
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February 20, 2015
The practical details of how to care for wildlife , such as koalas, is woven effectively into the story and indicates the author’s volunteer experience as a carer at the koala habitat centre.
At first,12year old Ashley comes across as petulant and mobile phone obsessed . She’s unable to have the promised pet puppy due to her father’s retrenchment.
Packed off to her non-nonsense Aunt Micky , she’s introduced to a more self sufficient, working lifestyle in the bush.That’s when Ashley shows her spirit.
Flood, flying foxes and injured wildlife. Ashley copes.
The ways in which Ashley has grown by the end of the book enable her to make some mature choices about her longed -for puppy.
The young joey koala’s viewpoint in mini-chapters, adds a poetic quality with terms like The Safe,The Tall, The Dry, The Delicious, and The Bright and experiencing the flooded world from his perspective.
The most interesting character is the so-called ‘eccentric’ aunt Micky, but she’s actually the most practical.
The poignancy with which the mother koala afflicted by Chlamydia relates to the joey is one of the strengths of this chapter book which is part of a series on animals.
I commend Jesse Blackadder’s book as a great read with a strong sense of place. It will appeal to animal-lovers, and also to educators seeking resource material. Check out her earlier titles in the series too.
Reviewed by Hazel Edwards www.hazeledwards.com
Displaying 1 of 1 review