Rowan of Rin

Emily Rodda (author)

Scholastic, Australia: 1993, 2005; 144pp

ISBN: 9781862916357

Genres: adventure, allegory, fantasy

Issues: family, friendship, gifted, identity

1994 CBCA Book of the Year - Younger Readers

 'Seven hearts the journey make. Seven ways the hearts will break.'

Rowan is an unusual boy in a village of strong, hardy people. He is weak and sensitive and relegated to looking after the Bukshah, the cattle upon whom the village depend for milk, cheese, and wool.

The old witch, Sheba, sees him differently and when a great quest must be undertaken if the village is to be saved, she gives the magical map to Rowan. Resented by the stronger adults, who see Rowan as a 'weak link', the group set out to find out why the water in the village has disappeared.

The instructions that will guide the group through the dangerous traps on the mountain path are written in riddles, not something that the hardy villagers have much time for. Young Rowan is more quick-witted and again and again they find themselves relying on the weakest in the group to get them through so that they can save the village.

Readers are encouraged to challenge the common social perception that only those who 'fit in' are valuable in a community. Rodda uses the Rowan series to explore the idea of the Other, the outcast. Gifted children, especially, will relate to a child whose strength is his intellect rather than his muscles.

Series: Rowan and the Travellers; Rowan and the Keeper of the Crystal; Rowan and the Zebak; Rowan of the Bukshah

Same author: The Best-kept Secret; Pigs Might Fly; Finders Keepers; The Timekeepers