The Island

John Heffernan (author)

Peter Sheehan (illus)

Scholastic Press, Australia: 2005

ISBN: 1865048135

Genres: alleogory, picture book

Issues: community, identity, values

CBCA Honour Book, Picture Book of the Year, 2006.

On an island live a tribe of hardworking, self-absorbed people who do not laugh much. A small, blind child lives by the sea and daily explores the beauty and wonders to found on the island's coast. Nobody pays any attention to him until one day he is seen playing with a great sea monster.

Fearing for his safety, members of the tribe try to rescue him, only to discover in their turn the joy of sharing the sea with such an amazing beast. They laugh for the first time.

This allegorical tale about the driven nature of many human societies questions not only our lifestyle but our definition of happiness. The blind child understands that happiness is the journey, the moments of shared discovery, excitement, love and laughter. The tribe sees happiness as a possession to be earnt and then owned.

The illustrations integrate beautifully with the text. Black and white tribe members live and move in a black and white world of simple, straight lines that contrasts starkly with the tumble of colours, curves and hidden shapes that is the world of the blind child - a wonderfully ironic commentary on the nature of sight versus vision.