Windy Hollow Books
Walker Books
August 2026
ISBN13:9781922998279
Australia RRP:$29.99
New Zealand RRP:$34.99
I love trains. It’s been some time since I’ve been on a properly exciting train journey but I do love them. As I write this review, I’m also watching a documentary on the 100th anniversary of the Flying Scotsman, as it happens. And certainly, one of these days I am determined to take a ride on the Puffing Billy. So it was a given that I should request this gorgeous new book by these two absolutely great legends, especially as it’s based on a true history.
When Lionel and Beatrice Owen rescued and healed the dog they named Jerry, just as the 1920s became the 1930s, they had no idea that their ‘child’ would become a lasting part of Victoria’s history.
The Puffing Billy train which was already an iconic attraction for daytrippers and tourists, continues today with the assistance of a dedicated squad of volunteers (there have been several docos about this as well). While at first Jerry was nervous of the train’s whistle, it didn’t take long before he was Lionel’s constant companion on his driving shifts. And not long at all before he decided that the train was just not up to speed – literally! – and that he could best it, every time.
Corinne’s narrative is, as always, a terrific descriptive and informed text that children will enjoy and Mark’s illustrations – which I always love – bring both the bush of the Dandenongs and Jerry to life with such dexterity and skill, that we might almost expect to hear a bark!
There may be a few readers who have had the thrilling experience of riding a steam train – there are still a few around – and I know from my own experiences that it really is a very different train trip and always memorable. Isn’t it a lovely thought that this small piece of history about two kind people who took in a dog and essentially saved his life continues on almost 100 years after the event?
Of course, there are teaching ideas you could bring in with a shared reading of this one -mapping, timetables, transportation – all that sort of thing but really, why not just read it and talk about it from that point of view that history is lasting. Some things are never truly forgotten.
A triumph for these two extraordinary creators and very easily a chuffing 5 🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂 rating for readers from around Prep up to Year 4/5.
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