The Triumphant Three

Blue #4

by George Man, Felicity Matthews (Editor)

Blue is a four-part children’s series that follows the life of a little girl called Sandra, who meets a truly special Australian cattle dog that she names Blue. They grow up together, dealing with both tragedy and triumph, becoming famous for their heroic adventures in Outback Australia and across Europe. The story concludes with book four, "The Triumphant Three". The Triumphant Three by George Man Sandra had finished high school and was moving to France with her beloved Australian cattle dogs, Blue and Honey, to study art at the Sorbonne University in Paris, while living in a beautiful historical castle. Every girl’s dream come true! Sandra and her amazing companions soon made headlines all over Europe thanks to their exciting adventures. They save the life of a tourist at the castle where they live and then foil a bank robbery in a nearby town, resulting in reward money and a life-changing operation for little Honey, who has been almost blind since birth. Through lifelike paintings of her beloved pets and the landscapes that were backdrop to her life, Sandra achieves notoriety and success in the art world. With the money she earns, she has one goal for her and her beloved companions, and that is to buy her own piece of land in Outback Australia and to return to their spiritual home, Down Under. Back in Australia, Sandra takes on the management of her friends’ cattle dog breeding program. While Sandra, Blue and Honey continue to face many challenges, "The Triumphant Three" prove their undying love for one another, and the legacy of their heroism will live on forever in Outback Australia.

187 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2019

About the author

George Man is a Dutch-Australian author who has published four books in the Blue series, including Blue, Sandra and Blue, The Return of a Champion and The Triumphant Three. George originally set out to write an autobiography, but soon realised that he simply couldn't face the task: having dealt with both triumph and tragedy throughout his colourful life. One night, Blue brought himself to life in George's imagination, and the rest is history! While the Blue series is made for children, it is loved and appreciated by the young and old and is a treasure to animal lovers of all ages.

George Man was born in Indonesia and spent time as a young child in a Japanese concentration camp during World War II. His family later moved to Holland, where he spent his formative years and studied tropical and subtropical agriculture at college.


George's first job was as a plantation assistant in Papua New Guinea, and he was soon promoted to plantation manager. After sixteen months of living there alone, his French fiancée, Joëlze, came over, and they worked together on plantations for five years. They went on to have two beautiful children: a daughter, Sabina, and one son, George.


After being employed by a mining company and an insurance company, George worked nineteen years for Caltex Oil in different parts of Australia and Papua New Guinea, where he managed many different roles in marketing, auditing, IT, training and strategic operations. During that time, he was involved with Dutch clubs, the New South Wales Federation of Dutch Societies and, with the help of his family, was President of The New South Wales Holland Festival on four occasions, which was an annual event at the Fairfield Show Ground in Sydney, Australia, that attracted crowds of up to 50,000 people.

In November 1988, George and Joëlze were host to Queen Beatrix and Prins Klaus of the Netherlands at a special festival. During that time, they had lunches with the royal guests at Parliament House in Canberra and state offices in Sydney.

From 1992-1999, George, his wife and children managed two successful service stations. After that they retired to the country town of Gunnedah, New South Wales--first in a beautiful house and later in a retirement unit. Sadly, George and his wife are no strangers to tragedy, as they lost both their daughter and daughter-in-law in the 2000s.

In his retirement, George plays golf and continues to write short stories. He is currently working on a bundle of Christmas books and a few other ideas are in the pipeline.

Reviews

[Web · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Triumphant Three is the fourth and final book in the delightful children's series called Blue.

In this book, we catch up with Sandra, Blue and Honey in France. Sandra is living there now and attending university at Sorbonne in Paris, where she is studying art. She also spends her spare time working as a tour guide at the castle where she lives with her friends, the marquis and marquise.

Early on, Blue and Honey become known heroes in France, as they save a little girl from a wild-dog attack. As a reward, Honey is given a life-changing operation to help restore her eyesight.

The drama continues when Sandra, Blue and Honey (The Triumphant Three) unexpectedly foil a bank robbery and become front-page headlines. They are rewarded significantly, and Sandra's dream of buying her own land in Outback Australia becomes a reality. She also is on the up-and-up in the art world, and her success with watercolour and oil paintings helps fund her dreams.

Moving back to Australia, Sandra takes on a role in managing her friends Australian cattle dog breeding program. However, upon returning to the Outback, tragedy strikes, and the triumphant three are no more.

This one is a bit of a tear jerker. After following Sandra's life with her precious dogs, it's pretty hard to deal with some of the challenges they face.

Again, a suitable read for upper-primary aged students, and for anyone who loves a good story about a dog.