By Emily Rodda
This novel describes the journey of a young
timid boy named Rowan to save his town from impending destruction. Rowan’s town
of Rin is facing starvation and the helplessness when their main source of food
and trade the bukshah’s water supply is dwindling. The buksha’s special water
originates from a mountain where a dragon is said to live. The people of the
village Rin devise an expedition to resolve this problem. Against the wishes of his six companions,
Rowan becomes a necessity for this quest when the wise woman Sheeba dictates a
prophecy including him. The fellowship climbs the mountain, encountering
challenge after challenge, each time losing a member of their group. Until only
Rowan remains against the apparently un-mythological creature, Rowan proves his
courage and defeats the dragon and restores the flow of water to the town
becoming the hero that the town needed.
Rowan begins the book being perceived by his associates as being
comparable to a ‘…poor little skinny rabbit…’ (Rodda 1993, pg. 18), which he
himself believed. Oppositely upon the conclusion of the story Rowan was named
“…the strongest and bravest...” out of all of his companions. This transition
demonstrates an apparent example of a change from innocence to experience. This
theme is so emphasised because growing up is a process that everyone must face
at one time or another in their life, consequently young readers are able to
identify with this process, perhaps even come to the realisation that it is
difficult and sometimes even confronting.
The text describes the relationship between the bukshah
and the surrounding ecosystem. The buksha drink only a certain type of water,
and if this water is not available which is the situation befalling the village
that Rowan lives in, the bukshah will die of thirst. This would also cause a
shortage of dairy products and woollen materials for the village people. (Rodda
1993) Although composed of imaginary elements, this representation of an
ecosystem implants in the minds of the readers attributes of a biosphere and
the effects disturbances can have when introduced. This could easily be
connected to biology strand of science. A teacher could use the study of this
book to integrate science and English. An activity that could further develop
this idea of ecosystems is for students to construct their own ecosystems
including five or more elements, being prepared to explain the consequences of
the addition or removal of certain features.
Rowan of Rin is such a fantastic book, I enjoyed reading it last year! There are a lot of metaphorical references in the story in lieu of the prophecy which I think are important to teach young students about. Much of adult literature relies on metaphors so I think it is wise to introduce this style of writing to students early. I like the cross curricular ideas you have come up with Matt.
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