Drover
Age 4+
Picture Books
The true story of an important pioneering woman in Australian history.
Courageous, clever and daring, Drover is one of a kind. Travelling through the heart of the outback, Drover delivers a mob of cattle. Searing heat, dust and flies, hardship and danger: these are just part of the job. But there's no place Drover would rather be.
The truly remarkable story of legendary drover Edna Jessop is celebrated through stunning oil illustrations and evocative text.
Creators
Neridah McMullin grew up surrounded by animals, with a thousand acres to run around in. Her grandfather was a stockman and he bred, trained and raced his own racehorses. As a farm child, she studied science at university and worked as a scientist in Research and Development in the Dairy and Confectionery industry for 16 years. Her dream job took her all over the world. Neridah is the author of seven books for children and loves history and true stories. Her picture book Fabish: the horse that braved a Bushfire was shortlisted for the CBCA Eve Pownall Information ‘Book of the Year’ in 2017. She loves reading until late, sleeping in, walking her dog and meeting other people’s dogs.
Sarah Anthony is a painter and metalsmith. She completed six years of art study in the UK, culminating in a BA Joint Honours in Fine Arts and Metalsmithing from Camberwell College of the Arts in London, in 1994. In 2009 she graduated from La Trobe University with a Masters in Art Therapy. Her early artworks were small metal sculptural pieces and contemporary jewellery; these were exhibited in Dublin, London, Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney. After a substantial break from art-making due to raising her young family, she has recently returned to artmaking and exploring the medium of oil painting. Drover is her first picture book.
Reviews
This book was a joy to read, and is perfect for teaching history and social studies at an early level in junior school
The Book Muse
This book tells the story of this remarkable Australian in a time before technology. Edna could do the work any male drover could do. As she puts it, “If you’re good at your job, it doesn’t matter out there.” Throughout the story, the author references all sorts of aspects of the drover’s life and their incredible skills—from the Bagman’s Gazette to milling cattle. This is a book about our Australian past. About the people who opened up the land and shows the wonderful heritage and legacy of droving in Australia.
Reading with a Chance of Tacos
Drover is a beautifully told, quintessentially Australian story which will give readers an insight into an interesting aspect of rural life. The energy of the story perfectly matches the pace of the cattle, from slow moving through to still and at rest and then onto the wild night-time stampede.
Momo Time to Read
This is a wonderful look at a time in the not too distant past, when cattle were not trucked, but herded across country, an almost unimaginable lifestyle recreated before our eyes.
ReadPlus
This is a fine, heroic tale, strong on iconic images of Australian ruggedness— and innovative in putting a woman in the saddle and in charge.
CBCA: Reading Time
