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y separately published work icon Cat on the Island single work   picture book   children's  
Issue Details: First known date: 2008... 2008 Cat on the Island
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'It was raining outside, so I said: 'Gramps, tell me a story.'

This is the true story of David and his father, who came to Stephens Island - a remote and pristine island off Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand in 1894. There they built a lighthouse to protect ships entering the strait. Oblivious of the potential damage to the environment, they chopped down the trees and ferns where the local birds sheltered, thereby demolishing their habitat. But worse than that, they brought their pregnant cat with them. The tiny Stephens Island wrens, being flightless, had no natural defences against the predators and were wiped out in less than two years. The event is cited as the only instance where one species has been directly responsible for the extinction of another. Of course, once they realised what had happened, conservation authorities began the official eradication of the cats, but by then the damage had been done. The strikingly beautiful illustrations reinforce the tragedy of the obliteration of this tiny Eden, a timely metaphor for that other paradise known as Earth.' (Publication summary)

Exhibitions

9603642
7627332
12389891
8967475

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Pymble, Turramurra - Pymble - St Ives area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: HarperCollins Australia , 2008 .
      image of person or book cover 5063574131838584955.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 1 v.p.
      Description: col. illus.
      Note/s:
      • Published September 2008.

      ISBN: 9780207200717 (pbk.), 9780207200700 (hbk.)
    • Pymble, Turramurra - Pymble - St Ives area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: HarperCollins Australia , 2017 .
      image of person or book cover 7419509342899743596.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 32p.
      Description: illus.
      Note/s:
      • Publication Date:   21 August 2017
         

      ISBN: 9780207200717

Works about this Work

Untitled Judith James , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 52 no. 4 2008; (p. 27)

— Review of Cat on the Island Gary Crew , 2008 single work picture book
[Untitled] Lyn Linning , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , September vol. 23 no. 4 2008; (p. 31)

— Review of Cat on the Island Gary Crew , 2008 single work picture book
Untitled Helen Dargan , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 27 - 28 September 2008; (p. 25)

— Review of Cat on the Island Gary Crew , 2008 single work picture book
Untitled Julia Jackson , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , July vol. 88 no. 1 2008; (p. 46)

— Review of Cat on the Island Gary Crew , 2008 single work picture book
Untitled Julia Jackson , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , July vol. 88 no. 1 2008; (p. 46)

— Review of Cat on the Island Gary Crew , 2008 single work picture book
Untitled Helen Dargan , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 27 - 28 September 2008; (p. 25)

— Review of Cat on the Island Gary Crew , 2008 single work picture book
[Untitled] Lyn Linning , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , September vol. 23 no. 4 2008; (p. 31)

— Review of Cat on the Island Gary Crew , 2008 single work picture book
Untitled Judith James , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 52 no. 4 2008; (p. 27)

— Review of Cat on the Island Gary Crew , 2008 single work picture book
Last amended 15 Feb 2021 15:19:37
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  • Ugar (Stephens Island), Torres Strait Islands, Queensland,
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