Review: The Drover's Son


Connections. I like the serendipitous ones the best. Unplanned, organic, braided by curiosity, like mindedness or rapt admiration. Which is how I embarked on a fascinating exchange with Dub Leffler, book illustrator, animator, mixed media artist, storyteller and foremost, proud Bigambul man.

I knew and had admired Dub’s work from books co-created by industry mates of mine but the artist’s true identity remained a mystery to me, one I’ve only began to appreciate through his daily social media story shares. Visual musings. Sneak peaks, Animations camouflaging a more encompassing tale, too abridged for the small screen. It felt like I was glimpsing something slightly off stage, in the wings, waiting full exposure …


I recognised part of what I saw, faces and images that seemed poignantly familiar. More than drafts and spreads, these late night, early dawn reveals were the heartbeats of a soul of a story soon to become a stirring new picture book, The Drover’s Son.

Penned by Leah Purcell AM, whose many creative abilities and accolades could fill their own book, this illustrated book version of The Drover’s Wife preludes The Drover’s Wife – The Opera, opening in Bris-Vegas this May, then moving on to show at the Sydney Opera House. Can you believe it?

The Drover’s Son is a story unto its own, suiting the younger reader because of the intimate and authentic first-person delivery by Danny, the son. Like many country kids of the time, virtually secreted away in the protective seclusion of the rugged Australian bush, Danny has to grow up fast, keep his siblings in check and carry the weight of providing for the family by one day leaving to go a-drovin’ as his father does; not someone or something Danny is in a rush to emulate.

Danny’s affection and ties with his mother, pregnant with her fifth child, run deep. Reluctance to leave combats responsibility and sense of duty. Until one day, Yadaka appears and Danny’s future assumes a new landscape of possibilities.

Artwork of Danny gifted by Dub Leffler

The Drover’s Son is deeply nuanced and elegantly portrayed. In Purcell’s words, it’s a yarn about fathers and sons, about mother’s love, fierce and true, and about family in whatever form that takes. As with its previous reincarnations, this tale pays homage to a time in our history that should not be overlooked nor forgotten. It is testimony to the bonds of friendship, the concepts of courage, the notions of honour and respect. Respect not just for each other but the land upon which we walk and breathe. It is this acknowledgment of ‘loyalty’ that is questioned, explored and finally embraced by both text and images.

And it’s the images that create a state of visual complexity, each incongruously soft and surreal in shades teals and browns and greys yet depicting a harsh rugged beauty that even on the page, seems to shield secrets we can’t quite make out. I love the precise ambiguity of Leffler’s drawings. They invite curiosity and questions. They reflect ancient knowledge that many young folk are (thankfully) better able to recognise and appreciate. They affect rapt admiration.

The Drover’s Son is a mighty read. As suits this mighty tale; long cherished by Purcell. It is a picture book children in upper primary grades can quietly appreciate and value and one easily shared with younger children through inspired reading sessions either at home or in the classroom; perhaps broken into parts to stimulate further discussion about …

Connections. How fortunate I was to make this one whilst witnessing the beginning of many more.

Thank you, Dub.

Title:  The Drover’s Son
Author:  Leah Purcell
Illustrator:  Dub Leffler
Publisher:  Penguin Random House
Publication Date:  3 May 2026
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978176134977
For ages:  6+
Type:  Picture Book

Buy the Book: Penguin Books       

 

 

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