Childish

Childish

Morris Gleitzman

Penguin, 2025

176pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

9781761343759

When his new friend Dot breaks her leg when she is chased by Year 9 bullies and crashes her bike into one of the many potholes that litter the road, Arkie decides to do something about the dangers these lurking dangers pose – particularly when he discovers that they are both preventable and fixable if only the city authorities would talk to each other…

With idealism and focused purpose that is typical of eleven-year-olds but not the street-smarts of city kids because he has only lived there with his Nan for two weeks, Arkie sets out to find who is responsible for ensuring that AAICs (Access and Inspection Covers, formerly known as manhole covers) are flush with the road’s surface so they are not the hazards they currently pose. And regardless of the human roadblocks they meet in the kingdom of bureaucracy and red-tape, and becoming the targets of trolls online, both Arkie and Dot press on even though the threat of Arkie having to return to the country because his parents’ farm hasn’t sold looms larger and time becomes important.

While both Arkie and Dot are relatable characters in a relatable situation – they see a problem and want it fixed NOW, and, despite their determination being seen as “childish” by some of the adults they encounter, they have the tunnel vision and tenacity of children without the outside distractions that adults have to continue their campaign to its conclusion, albeit an unexpected one – this is more than just an engaging read for younger independent readers because it opens the door to Gleitzman’s remarkable body of work For forty years, Morris Gleitzman has been enchanting readers with his stories that focus on big issues seen through a child’s lens including the iconic Two Weeks with the Queen , his series about Felix and Zelda, Jewish children in Nazi Germany as well as Boy Overboard and Girl Underground written at a time when families risked so much to escape to Australia and he has lost none of his touch in being able to treat serious subjects with acerbic humour that engages the reader from the get-go because his characters are so real that we want to know what happened in the end – even Limpy the cane toad who is my personal favourite with his own series.  (All of his books are shown on his website, and a tap/click on the cover offers lots of information about how they came to be.)  

Gleitzman has gifted generations of children with stories of hope and courage, determination and resilience in a way that only a master storyteller who knows what kids are like and what they want to read, spotlighting issues that they face and exploring them with well-drawn characters who grow, change and mature as the story unfolds, can,  and IMO, it is our responsibility as librarians to ensure the gift keeps giving.  After all, what more can we do when he writes, “She is friendly and helpful and brave about protecting books so she must be a librarian.”  (Childish, p55)