Tiger Stone (Deryn Mansell, Walker Books)

Tiger Stone is set in the 14th century in a small Indonesian village on the Prambanan Plain in central Java. Kancil and her mother must escape to the village after Kancil’s father is killed and her brother goes missing. Unfortunately, Kancil’s father was Sunda, a people not trusted by the villagers after Sunda bandits stole treasures from the village temple a few years earlier. To protect her identity as half-Sunda, Kancil must hide her accent by pretending she is mute. She makes friends with a prankster called Kitchen Boy, and together they uncover a mysterious plot involving the visiting Majapahit prince. To save the village, they must engage in some Enid Blyton-style snooping and manipulate the adults into doing the right thing before it’s too late. This is a great book for readers aged 12+ who are learning Indonesian, as some traditional words are used throughout the text and explained in the glossary. The story gives readers a feel for Indonesian culture at a particular time in history, and readers will enjoy putting the pieces of the mystery together.

Andrew Wrathall is publishing and digital media coordinator for Books+Publishing

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews