Illustrations – Richard Pritchard, Sierra Pritchard & Max Pritchard
Wylah is now the Koorie Warrior and she’s determined to free her family and friends from the Dragon Army’s camp. Meanwhile, Tiller, Livingstone and Captain Frye are working on the duality machine, cooking up some alchemical evil.
As the Koorie Warrior, Wylah has great responsibilities. We are introduced to more people that need her help, some friendlier than others, and some new baddies who will be doing their best to thwart her efforts.
There are a lot of new megabeasts to meet as well, including scorpions, spiders and penguins.
This book is jam-packed with action, which young readers will enjoy. My favourite scene, though, was when Wylah was in the Dreamtime with Grandma. I love Grandma.
‘Times of great trouble are coming, Wylah. Many battles will be fought and a war must be won and you need to be ready.’
As with the books before it, this one ends in a cliffhanger. The Dragon Army are not done being dastardly yet.
Thank you so much to Albert Street Books, an imprint of Allen & Unwin, for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Wylah is finally the Koorie Warrior, but her troubles are far from over!
Her family and people are still prisoners of the cruel Dragon Army, and animals and children are disappearing. Faced with new responsibilities and a dangerous new adversary, can Wylah rise to the challenge and become the leader and protector her people need?
Excitement and suspense await in the thrilling third instalment of the best-selling Wylah the Koorie Warrior series. Inspired by First Nations history and grounded in culture, this is a must-read for adventure lovers of all ages!
Illustrations – Richard Pritchard & Sierra Pritchard
When we last saw Wylah and Po, they were on their way to the mountains to find Po’s sister, Merri, having received her message stick. Wylah has united the great tribal Guardians but the Dragon Army are still holding her tribe captive. In order to free them, they will need to go through the Valley of the Spirits, “a legendary place where terrible creatures dwell between our world and the Dreamtime.”
Wylah may not be great at climbing trees or balancing but she has determination, courage and resilience.
There’s plenty of action in this book. The megafauna are at the forefront a lot, much to my delight. Butt crashing his way into some of my favourite scenes was Tulna, an adorable mega wombat. That’s him saying ‘cheese!’ next to Wylah on the front cover. See? Adorable!
The release of this book during Reconciliation Week is perfect timing. It invites readers to learn more about Indigenous Australians and their history and culture.
I still love that Wylah doesn’t have a success only journey. She has to make tough decisions. She needs to choose when to fight and when to show kindness. You can easily imagine being her friend.
Unlike other heroes, she doesn’t magically have all of the skills she needs as the Koorie Warrior immediately. She has to train and learn from her mistakes. She’s still finding her feet as a warrior, gradually building her confidence and realising that it’s okay to ask for help. She’s a hero you want to get behind because she’s so authentic.
I love turning the page to in search of the next illustration. The humans and animals are expressive and the animals in particular are brilliant. My favourite illustration in this book features a happy Mama Yowie.
Consistent with the first book in the series, chapters where we follow Wylah are told in first person and have a boomerang picture above the chapter numbers. Those that focused on what is happening with the rest of the tribe are in third person, the pages are grey and the picture above the chapter numbers changes to an amulet.
Another feature I loved in the first book was replicated here, a glossary in table form at the end of the book that tells readers both the English and Peek Whurrong words for names, their meaning and how to pronounce them. For the animal characters, their species is also included.
A fun new addition in this book were two character profiles, Pippy and adorable Tulna.
While this is a kid’s book, it’s also an entertaining read for adults. I always enjoy finding gems in kid’s books that only adults will truly appreciate. Here, Alinta, who Wylah meets along the way, channels her inner Mick Dundee.
‘That’s not a boomerang, this is a boomerang’
Be on the lookout for one of Australia’s national treasures, drop bears!
‘Why are there so many creatures out here that want to eat us?!’
Thank you so much to Albert Street Books, an imprint of Allen & Unwin, for the opportunity to read this book. I am really looking forward to the next one.
Title: Custodians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior 2 Authors: Jordan Gould and Richard Pritchard Publisher: Allen & Unwin. I love the book’s activity sheet on their website. Published: May 2023. RRP: AUD $15.99.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Wylah has already accomplished the unbelievable feat of uniting the five Guardians, but her journey is far from over. Together with her megafauna friends, she must travel through the treacherous and forbidden Valley of the Spirits to face off against the Dragon Army.
Can Wylah defeat the perils that lay ahead and become the ultimate Koorie Warrior?
Embark on a heart-stopping journey filled with danger and excitement with book 2 in the bestselling Wylah the Koorie Warrior series. Inspired by First Nations history and grounded in culture, this is a must-read for adventure lovers of all ages!
Illustrations – Richard Pritchard & Sierra Pritchard
Spoilers Ahead! (marked in purple)
Meet Wylah (pronounced Wheel-la). She is confident in her artistic ability but not so much in the skills you’d find in the average warrior. Her claim to fame to date has been winning a throwing competition (she was the only competitor because everyone else was sick that day).
Wylah is going to need to find the warrior within though because the dragon army have stolen her Tribe and their animals, and it’s up to Wylah to save them.
‘You can do this, you can save our people, Wylah, the Koorie Warrior. Rise up, rise up within.’
To do this, Wylah and Po, a fellow artist, will need to find the five Guardians.
‘Guardians are the protectors of Tribes and the lands they live on. Powerful creatures that reside inside Totems’
When I was growing up there were an abundance of books available with characters I could easily identify with so I can’t imagine what it must be like to not have that. The first in a new series, Wylah is the Indigenous hero that’s been missing from the shelves for too long.
I loved that when most of the characters were introduced I learned the meaning of their name. There’s also a glossary in table form at the end of the book that tells readers both the English and Peek Whurrong words for names, their meaning and how to pronounce them. For the animal characters, their species is also included.
Without a doubt, Wylah’s name meaning has the most significance. Wylah comes from the word Wilan and means yellow-tailed black cockatoo. This is absolutely perfect because the yellow-tailed black cockatoo is author Jordan Gould’s tribal totem.
Wylah doesn’t immediately fully embrace her new role as the Koori Warrior, which made her more relatable. She has doubts about her abilities and she doesn’t magically become skilled in all of the areas she will need to be. It’s especially evident when she’s training that this isn’t going to be a success only journey.
Despite her lack of experience, Wylah has the heart, courage and determination of a warrior, and I’m keen to watch her grow into her new role as the series progresses.
I’m interested in finding out how old Wylah is. This would have been important to me as a kid as I preferred to read about kids who were my age or older.
I liked all of the animals (even the dragons) but my favourite was Bunyip, who’s not quite as fearsome as they may like to think they are. The Guardians spoke and some other animals did as well. However, some didn’t and I’m not quite sure yet what the distinction is between those who speak and those who don’t.
I really enjoyed the illustrations. The megafauna are realistic and the people are expressive.
The chapters where we follow Wylah were told in first person and had a boomerang picture above the chapter numbers. Those that focused on what was happening with the rest of the tribe were in third person, the pages were grey and the picture above the chapter numbers changed to an amulet. The boomerang and amulet were both appropriate design choices and the distinctions prevented me from ever having to wonder what perspective a chapter was being told from.
As I’d expect in a book that’s introducing a series, the premise was set up and I met some of the characters who will be important in future books. Some answers were provided but there are multiple plot points that will be ongoing.
I did have questions about a particular event in this book that weren’t answered. Why did Livingstone ask the people from Wylah’s Tribe where their home was when they’d just been taken from there by the dragons? Couldn’t the dragons have taken him to it?
Content warnings include death of a family member.
Thank you so much to Albert Street Books, an imprint of Allen & Unwin, for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Meet Wylah: warrior, hero and friend. Her adventures have been 40,000 years in the making!
Wylah is brave, clever and strong-willed, and all her best friends are giant megafauna animals. But she isn’t a warrior. Not yet, anyway.
Then comes the day when her family is stolen by the dragon army, and her life is forever changed. She must find the courage to set out on a journey to save them. What will it take for Wylah to become a warrior, like her Grandmother before her?
Introducing an unforgettable cast of characters, Wylah the Koorie Warrior is a heart-stopping and imaginative adventure, inspired by First Nations history and grounded in culture.
Schizanthus Nerd 