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eucareads's review
2.0
Written in 1933, this book did not age well. At first, Blinky Bill seems to be about a koala family living in the bush of Australia. However the moment you turn the page to chapter two, all the cute innocence of it being a kids book fades away. Mr. Koala is shot three times before dying curled up with his wife and son. It took Mrs. Koala a few days to understand why her husband wasn’t moving, then just left him dead in a tree while her and Blinky Bill move. I’m 22 and I sobbed. It was so descriptive for no good reason. I would never let a child read this. Later on the book there is a group of frogs that fat-shame a larger frog, literally calling him “fatty” and then Blinky Bill accidentally commits murder and just pushes the little frog body into the lake and leaves. Also Blinky’s character changes from a cute little joey to a complete asshole. It’s mischievous and funny, but horrible behavior to display to children.
I’d give it one star for a kids book, but I have to give it two stars. Solely because Blinky Bill is a National icon in Australia and perhaps there is something I’m missing here. It’s not like a lost in translation kinda issue, but perhaps it’s a lost in culture and lost in time kinda issue.
I’d give it one star for a kids book, but I have to give it two stars. Solely because Blinky Bill is a National icon in Australia and perhaps there is something I’m missing here. It’s not like a lost in translation kinda issue, but perhaps it’s a lost in culture and lost in time kinda issue.
babyleo's review against another edition
3.0
A longer version of this review was published on Lost in a Good Book
First published in 1933 the time period is evident in Wall’s writing style and the events in this book. The notion of Australian animals is a fascination and similar to May Gibbs with the Gumnut stories, telling stories of “the Australian bush” was the way to go. We’re introduced to Blinky after he’s born and how the animals around comment on him, watch him get named, and then, in a weird turn of events see him being nannied by a wallaby and almost get eaten by a snake. Why a newborn koala is being taken from the tree to the ground is not even the first question, the better one is why his mother can’t raise him herself. But such was the times I suppose and Wall is reflecting human behaviour onto these animals.
To give her some slight credit, Wall doesn’t overly anthropomorphise the animals. There is a group that live around the tree and are neighbours, animals hunt and are preyed upon, and we see Blinky’s early life. He is cheeky and mischievous, the iconic red “knickerbockers” on him from a young age.
Wall doesn’t hold things back either, there is a proper depressing description of the death of Blinky’s father in the first chapter, one told from both his perspective and the others. Definitely something I wasn’t expecting. It isn’t graphic, but it is rough to listen to. As Blinky grows up and explores the bush we see more of the animal life and the balance with humans and see the tense relationship between them.
Blinky has always been portrayed as being cheeky, but he is a lot rougher and harsher in the book. He hates his neighbour, he also runs away a lot when he doesn’t get his own way. The “reality of bush life” is through this story, Wall obviously wanted a cute tale about the Aussie bush creatures but it isn’t quite as cute with hunters culling koalas for no reason and animals preying on others, but it also has a simplicity about it where Blinky comes across various Australian animals and having brief encounters with them. Wall’s Australian knowledge only goes so far as Blinky’s mother is called Mrs Bear for most of the book until it switches to Mrs Koala and Blinky is called a cub not a joey, but given the actual weirdness in the story that part I might forgive her for.
First published in 1933 the time period is evident in Wall’s writing style and the events in this book. The notion of Australian animals is a fascination and similar to May Gibbs with the Gumnut stories, telling stories of “the Australian bush” was the way to go. We’re introduced to Blinky after he’s born and how the animals around comment on him, watch him get named, and then, in a weird turn of events see him being nannied by a wallaby and almost get eaten by a snake. Why a newborn koala is being taken from the tree to the ground is not even the first question, the better one is why his mother can’t raise him herself. But such was the times I suppose and Wall is reflecting human behaviour onto these animals.
To give her some slight credit, Wall doesn’t overly anthropomorphise the animals. There is a group that live around the tree and are neighbours, animals hunt and are preyed upon, and we see Blinky’s early life. He is cheeky and mischievous, the iconic red “knickerbockers” on him from a young age.
Wall doesn’t hold things back either, there is a proper depressing description of the death of Blinky’s father in the first chapter, one told from both his perspective and the others. Definitely something I wasn’t expecting. It isn’t graphic, but it is rough to listen to. As Blinky grows up and explores the bush we see more of the animal life and the balance with humans and see the tense relationship between them.
Blinky has always been portrayed as being cheeky, but he is a lot rougher and harsher in the book. He hates his neighbour, he also runs away a lot when he doesn’t get his own way. The “reality of bush life” is through this story, Wall obviously wanted a cute tale about the Aussie bush creatures but it isn’t quite as cute with hunters culling koalas for no reason and animals preying on others, but it also has a simplicity about it where Blinky comes across various Australian animals and having brief encounters with them. Wall’s Australian knowledge only goes so far as Blinky’s mother is called Mrs Bear for most of the book until it switches to Mrs Koala and Blinky is called a cub not a joey, but given the actual weirdness in the story that part I might forgive her for.
caseycausley's review
2.0
Okay, from a serious perspective, this book has a truly unlikeable protagonist. Blinky Bill is the devil’s spawn and not in a cute way.
Secondly, the volume of violence in this chat is too damn loud. Why does every second character die or get tortured in some way? Okay maybe not every second character, but far too many for a children’s book. It’s not even allegorical, it’s just straight up murder half the time and I don’t get it, and I know some may say - Casey, why are you, a twenty-nine year old woman, reading a book for kids and this is why - if you think I’m buying this for my new niece/nephew, you are wrong.
It’s also just poorly written, there’s nothing interesting about it AND as if there are hedgehogs and porcupines in the Aussie bush, like do you even live here, it’s a -ing echidna.
Secondly, the volume of violence in this chat is too damn loud. Why does every second character die or get tortured in some way? Okay maybe not every second character, but far too many for a children’s book. It’s not even allegorical, it’s just straight up murder half the time and I don’t get it, and I know some may say - Casey, why are you, a twenty-nine year old woman, reading a book for kids and this is why - if you think I’m buying this for my new niece/nephew, you are wrong.
It’s also just poorly written, there’s nothing interesting about it AND as if there are hedgehogs and porcupines in the Aussie bush, like do you even live here, it’s a -ing echidna.
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