Sydney of the Antarctic

Coral Tulloch (author/illustrator)

ABC Books, Australia: 2007

ISBN: 9780733321597

Genres: adventure, picture book, science

Issues: environment, history

The delightful adventures of a lion-hearted soft toy that is accidentally left behind when his owner visits the Antarctic.

Coral Tulloch's information text, Heart of Antarctica, won the 2004 Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature and was a Notable book in the 2004 CBCA Awards. She is an accomplished writer and illustrator across a number of genres.

Sydney accompanied Tulloch on one of her research voyages to the Antarctic. Unfortunately she was distracted by an interesting rock and went to look at it; poor Sydney found himself left behind to survive the Antarctic winter in Scott's Hut. These are his adventures as he puts into practice those skills applied by many great explorers and scientists before him. Although he misses his family, he relishes the opportunity to learn from the great Emperor with whom he shares living quarters.

As its cover states, this is ‘a tale for those who have ever wanted to be lost... or found' - an enchanting narrative that explores universal themes such as identity and a sense of place. Antarctica is a magnificent icy wasteland and images of it often, understandably, represent that remote and dangerous beauty. Tulloch's mixed media illustrations have an appealing personal touch to them that gives a great immediacy and realism to Sydney's adventures. They are full of characters and their interactions with and reactions to this isolated place - wonder, joy, fear, loneliness, curiosity and that sense of peace that comes when one becomes immersed in a landscape.