World Famous Comics: My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch
My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch
By: Graeme Base Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Harry N. Abrams Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 21 Publication Date: September 01, 1990 Reading Level: Ages 4-8
"...Near Bandywallop East..." My Grandma lived in Gooligulch, Near Bandywallop East, A fair way north of Murrumbum (Five hundred miles at least)...
In Sydney and in Melbourne Town, They all knew Grandma's name, And all about the animals, That Grandma used to tame.
THe Australian place names and the premise of the Grandma taming exotic animals (exotic to most non-Australians kids) is as colorful as Grame Base's 11 2-page spreads. The story concerns Grandma (while we're told that everyone "knew her name," we're never told what it is), her taming, training, and befriending of wombats, kangaroos, dingos, goannas and local birds, including kookaburras, galahs, magpies, and coots. The color pictures are beautiful and often wonderfully improbable: A goanna (some kind of reptile) is shown in an easy cair, quaffing some type of drink (Foster's?), while he and a dingo (wild dog) watch a rat balance an Australian coin.
After introducing the animals who overrun Grandma's house, Base's brief plot concerns Grandma's journey (via pelican) over the desert sands and mountins, "until at dusk they reached a place, Where giant tree-ferns grew. There's a lush picture of this riverbank oasis, followed by a dark, fun/scary night illustration of the wombats--their eyes open in fear--"looking nervously around...for a wombat-eating snake." Grandma and pelican journey to next to the sea, where she dons "frilly bathing gear," and rides the waves on a blowup sea-dragon.
HOwever, things take an unexpected turn when Base decides that Grandma will be taken by the tide: "ANnd no-one's seen my Grandma/Even to this very day." This sudden disappearance is tempered by the narrator's speculation that Grandma probably landed on an island and thence to England , Spain, San Francisco, or Tingoor, or (her best bet), that Grandma's "back in Gooligulch, just like before." While the fantasy elements of the book make Grandma's fate less important, and the narrator's speculation more plausible, this turn of events may make the book somewhat unsettling for toddlers, restricting the book's audience to those around the ages 4-9 or so. You'll have to use your judgement. There's no hint that Grandma had a disaster, she pictured (in the narrator's fantasy taming animals "in thejungles of Tingoor" an d heading to San Francisco "On a Western Union train." Still, you might want to consider whrther the ambiguity of what happened to Grandma will be upsetting to your readers. Still, in keeping with the light, silly narrative poem (which is very imaginative and well-written), I think a zanier, more explicit conclusion would have been a better fit.
The other non-color picture are a monochromatic dark brown, made interesting by Base's lined shadings. Unfortunately, these are sometimes too dense, his most effective picture leave more "white space." In addition, Base introduces some of the animals without a nearby reference illustration: You have to go to the inside of the front cover to get the key to the two-page illustration of all the animals located inside the back cover! This is a little inconvenient. Overall, a very good book, with excellent color illustrations, and a clever poetic narrative that will draw engage individuals kids or in group reading.
Wonderful Fun Book! Clever wording. My kids really enjoy this book. It was a gift from Grandma for my oldest son because he likes to say funny words. This book is full of funny words and names that all three of our kids love. At the end of the book, my daughter always wants to know "what happend to Grandma", so we come up with all kinds of possibilities. This is a wonderful book and is read often as our bedtime routine.
Billiantly Beautiful This is definitely the best picture i have ever read to my children and i would recomend it to all parents and children alike. It makes you smile and feel so content and happy as you reach the last page. The illustrations, superb, the story, edge of your seat stuff.
Recommend t for everyone, young and old.
A beautifully illustrated multicultural animal book. This beautifully illustrated book set in Australia's outback has the most interesting animals I've ever seen! The multicultural theme can be used in classrooms and at home to promote an understanding of native animals of Australia, relationships with elders, women of independence, and travel. The story is beautifully written in prose and the illustrations are patterned in pencil/charcoal and brilliant pictures.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
