School Spirit

‘Ouch,’ said Limpy. ‘Why’s my back hurting?’

A horrible thought hit him. Perhaps it was a fork wound. Perhaps while he was unconscious the human had tried to eat him. He looked around.

‘Stack me,’ said Limpy.

All he could see was blue plastic.

Limpy’s on a quest to find toad heaven. A place where cane toads won’t be blown up with bike pumps or bashed over the head with folding chairs. Limpy’s determined to find this place if it takes the rest of his life.

But first he has to get out of the bucket.

The first sequel to Morris Gleitzman’s original Toad book, Toad Rage, Toad Heaven continues the adventures of Limpy the cane toad and his goal of finding a way to keep the rest of his cane toad relatives safe from being run over on the highway by humans in their cars. Whereas the first children’s novel focused on Limpy trying to make humans treat cane toads with respect, Toad Heaven sees Limpy trying to find a fabled ‘national park’ where all living things are protected from harm. Joining him on his adventures once more are his younger sister Charm and his bigger, stronger, more handsome, somewhat stupider cousin Goliath.

Once more, Goliath intends to bash up any human he can find along the way, and eats pretty much anything he can get his tongue around, including a few creatures he probably really shouldn’t. Along the way the cane toads must face a flock of sheep, a scientist intent on killing them all with virus germs, a swarm of fire ants, a flooded national park and the cunning plans of Malcolm, who intends to sell the other cane toads prime real estate at very reasonable rental prices.

Published at the end of 2001 in Australia, it races along again through 30 short, sharp chapters that generally keep the kids laughing along and wondering what mess the cane toads will get themselves into next time. It can also introduce them to various national parks and places in northern Australia, and fits in nicely with a theme on rainforets, which is nice as that’s the theme we were working on at the time.

Like Toad Rage, and the third book in the series, Toad Away, Toad Heaven is another book I read religiously each year with whatever grade I teach. In every case, once Toad Rage is complete, the kids wait impatiently for the following term so this second book can be read. They’ll wait eagerly for third term again for the final book in the series.

It’s a great, quick read, full of fun characters and exciting, humourous adventures but with a heart of gold and a few morals the kids can soak in as well. If you’re interested, you can read the entire first chapter of Toad Heaven here at the Morris Gleitzman Collection.

Related Posts: Review - Toad Rage

Seven hearts the journey make,
Seven ways the hearts will break.

So begins the witch, Sheba’s, prophecy concerning the great adventure to take place during the journey to the top of the Mountain, and young Rowan’s role in it all. With the mountain stream that supplies the isolated village of Rin with life-giving water failing to flow, six sturdy villagers are chosen to make the dangerous journey to the summit of the Mountain to set the stream flowing again, and Rowan is to be the unwanted seventh member.

Rowan of Rin, winner of the 1994 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year - Younger Readers, is a delightful, classical adventure story for young readers, or those still young at heart. Written with a keen eye for the more traditional fantasy adventure stories of the past by Australian children’s author Emily Rodda, children travel with Rowan to face the legendary Dragon at the top of the Mountain, hoping to set the stream running again to save his beloved bukshah, the cattle-like beasts he cares for in the fields. As one by one his six brave and courageous companions fall to the dangers of the Mountain, Rowan faces his fears and terrors to fulfill the prophecy the witch, Sheba, foretold.

Written for young readers from about the age of 8 years up, Rowan of Rin is a fantastic children’s novel to introduce children to fantasy topics, as well as the age-old theme of the smallest proving to be the strongest hero of all. While Sheba foretells that the ‘bravest heart shall carry on’, Rowan, who fears everything, discovers the strength within himself to prove that the smallest of us can prove to be the strongest. Filled with fun and intriguing riddles for the adventurers to solve along the way, as well as various dangers to test and break the heart of each member of the party, Rowan of Rin brings this genre of storytelling into the imaginations of children in a manner filled with heart.

While the first few chapters of the story move slowly as the plot develops, once the journey up the Mountain gets under way, the children I’ve read this great story to all find themselves hanging on every paragraph as it leads to it’s climactic conclusion, the terrible encounter with the Dragon of the Mountain. Before long each chapter closes with the kids begging for just one more, which is just what you want from a story such as this.

The latest edition of the story features all five Rowan stories combined into one hard-cover tome entitled ‘The Journey’. The remaining four adventures are titled ‘Rowan and the Travellers’, ‘Rowan and the Keeper of the Crystal‘, ‘Rowan and the Zebak’ and ‘Rowan and the Bukshah’.

Personally, I have read this novel to every grade I have ever taught, and with four sequels now to continue Rowan’s adventures, the series gives the kids plenty of extra reading to satisfy the curiosity of those who wish to continue the adventure for themselves. While it doesn’t move along as quickly or with as much blatant humour as modern children’s novels tend to do, this little story is a fantastic throwback to what traditional fantasy stories were always supposed to be, and is well worth introducing to any kid with an imagination.

Another review of Rowan of Rin - Twisted Kingdom.

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