"Late one night, for no particular reason, something stirred in the black mud at the bottom of Berkeley's Creek. The fish swam away in fright, and the night-birds in the trees hid their heads under their wings. When they looked again, something very large and very muddy was sitting on the bank. 'What am I?' it murmured." And so begins this classic Australian picture-book, which follows a bunyip's journey of self-discovery, as he sets out to discover who he is, and what he looks like. This first question is settled fairly quickly, as a passing platypus informs our hero that he is a bunyip, but the second is more involved, as each of the creatures he encounters, from a wallaby to an emu, gives him a very unflattering idea of himself. The worst is yet to come, however, as the bunyip meets a man - a scientist, no less - who, without even glancing at him, informs him that bunyips do not exist. Discouraged by this news, the bunyip set out (despite his nonexistence) to find a place for himself in the world...

Chosen as one of our April selections, over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme this month is "mystical/magical creatures," The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek has a gentle, compassionate sense of humor that is immensely appealing. "What a pity," the bunyip murmurs, when he discovers that he doesn't exist, and, rather than arguing, he seeks to withdraw, from the hurtful world which doesn't acknowledge him, and from its creatures, who (if they see him at all) sneer at his appearance. Jenny Wagner captures the poignancy of his isolation with her simple text, making the joyful conclusion, in which he finds a mate!, all the more satisfying. Rob Brooks' dark engraving-style illustrations are well suited to the story, and (as numerous other reviewers have noted) are reminiscent of some of Maurice Sendak's work. All in all, a lovely little picture-book, one that deserves to be better known! ( )

FROM LIBRARY CATALOG:
The mythological creature from Berkeley's Creek in Australia thinks he's a bunyip but no one agrees because bunyips simply don't exist.