Published: October 1st 2009
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Illustrator: Adam Stower
Pages: 32
Format: Paperback Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Star
Cockatoo has traveled all the way from Australia to Polar Bear’s home to see the white snow. But it’s not what he expects. When he invites his friends to see the purple snow that falls in Australia in summer each year, they laugh and laugh. Only Polar Bear is willing to make the trip. But at the end of an exhausting journey he is too tired to look for the purple snow. He falls asleep—and wakes up to a big surprise!
Under the premise of visiting his friends in the North Pole to see snow, Cockatoo visits and meets all of Polar Bear’s friends the penguins and the walrus. Cockatoo then invites everyone back to see the purple snow of Australia.
This is a simple story, nothing overly complicated and there is no explanation about the environment or Australian nature. Whether I was expecting a full story filled with conversations about Australia’s ‘snow’ and even just extra narration about where they had actually gone instead of picking up clues from the illustrations. Perhaps this is to keep it an ‘anywhere in Australia” feel, but having Grafton on the train station sign is a tad giveaway.
There is an environmental message about climate change but it isn’t a focus of the story. Instead Lobbecke shows the magic of snow and how the animals wish to see it again and the journey Cockatoo takes with his friend all the way to Australia and then through the harbour and on the train to see the purple snow.
It was a charming read but I do wish it was a bit more complicated, it has the potential to have a great Australian environment aspect, though the surprise and mystery has its appeal as well.
You can purchase Purple Snow via the following
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