The Drought Kangaroo

By Jackie French & Danny Snell

Reviewed by Mia Macrossan

Jackie French’s publications take up two whole pages of very small print so I won’t try to summarise here. Suffice to say that she was a very much loved Children’s Laureate in 2014-15,  and has continued to publish consistently outstanding works including this, her latest picture book, The Drought Kangaroo. Danny Snell’s books have also won a number of awards including the CBCA Eve Pownall Award, the Environment Award for Children’s Literature, and The Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Award. His best known book is probably The Truck Cat.

The scene is set – withered grass, skinny tails, listless, no baby joeys. Then a breeze comes and Joseph waits for the Big Roo to lead the mob to new grass and water but nothing happens. Joseph begins his journey alone, down the mountain, onto plains of dust and rock and then he sees fresh water. Unfortunately there is a car in the way. Joseph’s story continues as he finds his way into a new mob, in a different place that becomes home, a story that contains all Jackie’s trademark environmental sensibilities, love of nature and animals, and deep understanding of life on this earth.

Danny’s illustrations bring the words to life, showing us an Australia coloured and changed by drought. We experience the world of the kangaroo mob, fighting, running, resting, surviving. In the author’s note (Jackie often has these wonderful chats with the reader afterwards), we learn that this story is inspired by her meeting a thirsty kangaroo in the middle of the 2019 drought.

This is a story of courage, adventure, resilience, exploration and acceptance, useful for any school studying the effects of drought on land and animals. It is a brief snapshot, beautifully told in words and pictures, of how everything on our earth is interconnected.

Teaching guide

HarperCollins AU 2025

Jackie French

Danny Snell