Review – Pearl Verses the World by Sally Murphy
Children’s Novel in Verse by Australian Author
May 4, 2009
Written by Australian author and book reviewer Sally Murphy, Pearl verses the World (Walker Books, 2009) is a touching story exploring the sensitive issues of dementia, grief, loss and loneliness from the viewpoint of a young girl.
Pearl Verses the World
At school, Pearl can see that everyone is part of a group. There are footy boys, ballet girls and a range of other groupings of students. Pearl feels disconnected from them all and sees herself as a group of one, held separate from the bustle and busyness of the other children.
At home with her mother and grandmother Pearl feels more connected, however her security is threatened by the continuing decline in her grandmothers health and the vagueness of Alzheimer’s. When her grandmother dies, Pearl is left feeling shaken and adrift as she loses one of the few people who truly understands and loves her.
Pearl has been learning to write poetry at school, but she has struggled with the structured format preferred by the teacher. Pearl wants to use her poetry to express how she feels, but finds herself feeling limited and frustrated by the need to write in standard rhythms and rhymes.
At her grandmother’s funeral, Pearl finds herself sharing a poem that comes from her heart, a poem that came when it was needed and wrote itself. Through this final gift from her grandmother, Pearl finds herself slowly connecting with others.
A Story for Children Told in Free Verse
The free verse format chosen by Sally Murphy for this story perfectly compliments the emotional honesty of Pearl, whose mind and heart are focused on her home life. Using the verse form, Murphy is able to convey with touching simplicity Pearl’s struggles to deal with her grandmother’s decline, both physically and mentally, and her own sense of isolation and loneliness.
Pearl struggles in class with the structured poetry format that her teacher prefers, feeling stifled by the limits that this puts on her one outlet for expressing her true feelings. As much as this story is about loss, loneliness and the need to connect with others, it is also a celebration of the beauty and power of poetry and the ability for emotion to be expressed with honesty and passion through this form of writing.
Illustrations by Heather Potter compliment the text beautifully and ensure that the emotional focus of the text is supplemented with visual cues for younger readers.
Sally Murphy and Aussie Reviews
Sally Murphy’s passion for the written word stems from her childhood and is well expressed through her career as an author of children’s books and educational material. Her previous children’s book titles include Pemberthy Bear (New Frontier Publishing, 2006) and The Floatingest Frog (Scholastic, 2004).
Murphy is also an experienced book reviewer, co-ordinating the Aussie Reviews website featuring reviews of books by Australian authors across a range of genres.
A Novel About Loneliness, Loss and Grief for Children
Despite the difficult and sensitive subject matter, Pearl verses the World is ultimately an encouraging and uplifting book as Pearl finds that in expressing herself freely she is able to begin to establish connections with those around her.
The seriousness of the storyline dealing with the emotional effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s on Pearl’s family is offset by the very simple style. This novel succeeds in presenting these issues and those of loneliness, loss and grief in a way that children aged 7 – 10 will find approachable and understandable.
Pearl verses the World is highly recommended for creating opportunities at home or school to discuss dementia, Alzheimer's, loneliness and related issues with children and encouraging them to share their feelings about similar situations in their own lives.
Pearl Verses the World (ISBN: 978-1-921150-93-7, 79 pages)
 |
