Banjo and Ruby Red - Hardcover

Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood have been nominated for CBCA awards for their past three books. Maudie and Bear won Picture Book of the Year for Younger Readers in 2012, Clancy & Millie and The Very Fine House was nominated for the same award in 2010, and again for Banjo and Ruby Red. Freya Blackwood is also a Kate Greenaway medalist.

PreS-Gr 1—Banjo is a chook (chicken) dog in this Australian import. His job is to round up the chooks and get them back into their coop. When Banjo starts his barking, the chooks all squark (Aussie for squawk) loudly and fly around until they finally settle on a roost in their shed, except Ruby Red up on the wood heap. She needs a lot of additional encouragement when it's time to go in. And so it goes, until the day that Ruby Red goes missing. Banjo searches high and low, until he finds the unresponsive chook under the wood shed. He brings her to his kennel and watches over her for two days. On day three, Ruby Red lifts her head and looks out of the kennel; on day four, she stands up and pecks some seeds; on day five, she walks to the fence, and it's a full recovery. Now when Banjo rounds up the chooks, they all fly around squarking until they are roosting in the chook shed, except for Ruby Red. She spends her nights roosting on Banjo. The text is integrated with Blackwood's realistic illustrations, which do a great job of conveying the confusion of the flying chooks, Ruby Red's resistance to moving, Banjo's enthusiastic barking, and his gentle care in looking after Ruby Red. Great bits of farm detail add interest but do not overwhelm. This sweet tale of interspecies friendship is good for storytime and one-on-one reading, but be prepared to answer the question of why Ruby Red was unresponsive—that part is unclear.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH