Title: Iggy Wallaby’s Walkabout
Author: Karel Hawkins
Publisher: XlibrisAU
ISBN: 978-1-7960-0338-3
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Pages: 26 Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
Many lessons of kindness, honesty, friendship – and basically knowing right from wrong are subliminally woven into the fabric of author Karel Hawkins’ book titled Iggy Wallaby’s Walkabout.
The fanciful story begins with Iggy, a well-dressed Wallaby who is lost and believes if he follows the shore of a river he’ll come across a boat. Indeed he does, but upon boarding the boat he finds the gruff old captain very angry, and Iggy is chased off the vessel. Iggy needs to run away. It seems the captain had his gold watch stolen by a pair of snarly bunnies and he didn’t want anyone to be on his boat. Well after running for a while, Iggy finds himself under the shade of a gnarled river gum tree when coincidently he spies upon a pair of gruffy bunnies with a gold watch! Iggy captures the bunnies and returns the watch to the captain. Iggy is also found by his friend Kerry and everyone is happy again – Iggy isn’t lost, the captain has his gold watch back, and the bunnies are in police custody.
The story is captivating to the imagination of all readers, as the personification of Iggy and the mischief of the bunnies play roles of good vs. bad. The temperament of the old boat captain from being prejudiced at first against Iggy, then accepting him as a friend later, once Iggy’s true moral fabric is revealed, shows another morphing of human attitudes when people are wrongfully blamed for the bad behavior of others; then come to realize their mistakes. These are all very well played-out themes which makes Iggy Wallaby’s Walkabout more than a simple adventure story. It is a lesson on becoming a Good Samaritan.
There is also a fun little tidbit of entertainment within the illustrations of each page of the book. There are two possums, smiling in the periphery of the drawings. At first I didn’t understand why they were repeatedly in the pictures, but at the end the author poses a question to the readers which will cleverly have the children revisit the pictures.
With the combination of storyline, morals, adventure, action and a happy ending, Iggy Wallaby’s Walkabout is an entertaining book for all children around the world to enjoy the Australian Wallaby and his kooky associated characters in a humorous world of learning to become righteous and honest – as good deeds do get paid off!
