The Story of Rosy Dock

Baker, Jeannie. 1995. THE STORY OF ROSY DOCK. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN-10: 0688114911

PLOT SUMMARY
Rosy Dock tells the story of the central desert of Australia and its destruction because of careless settlers. We meet a gardener who has the best intentions as she plants her favorite plant the rosy dock. As the wind and rain spread the seed, the plant begins to grow out of control spreading like a wildfire across Australian desert. No longer seen as a beautiful thing the plant then begins to contribute to the extinction of other native plants and wildlife. The message of the story seems to be that even with the best intentions the introduction of plants and animals from other parts of the world can be devastating to native plants and animals.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In the Story of Rosy Dock, Baker’s collage illustrations do an excellent job painting a picture of what life is like in the Australian desert. Her use of oranges, reds, and browns give you the feeling of a hot dry land. The architectural structure of the house and yard seem to be typical for rural life on the outback. The tin roof and stucco walls of the house would be appropriate building materials in this rural location. Our gardeners clothing does not make a cultural statement. Her clothing is what any woman working in the yard around the world might wear. Because the story is told in third person we do not get to hear our gardener speak so we do not see any language pattern that would single her out as Australian.
Overall, the stories message is a good one but, it is often hard to follow. The story did not make sense the first time I read it. I found myself going back and rereading and checking to see that I did not skip a page. The ending was also a bit of a surprise. On the final page you see this beautiful field full of rosy dock and then on the next page you learn how destructive it is. The publisher recommends this story for K-4 grade students. I believe that Kindergarteners would not get the message of the story and feel it is more appropriate for older children.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
School Library Journal
Baker examines the consequences of introducing non-native flora and fauna into the environment. An unthinking gardener cultivates rosy dock in the central desert of Australia and the seeds spread over a wide area during a flash flood. Now, when precious rain falls, the imported plant thrives at the expense of native species. The book's final illustration depicts a field of gloriously blooming rosy dock hiding several rabbits, agricultural pests also introduced into Australia.

Publishers Weekly
"For thousands of years almost nothing here changed," writes Baker of the area around Australia's Finke River. Then come European settlers, among them a woman who "brought seeds from the other side of the world and planted a garden." One plant-rosy dock-is a special favorite of this fictional gardener. Seemingly three-dimensional but muted renderings of the riverbed landscape show the area ravaged by cyclical periods of drought and flood, until, after fierce storms, rosy dock "is spreading like a great red blanket farther than the eye can see."

Reviews accessed at:
http://www.amazon.com/Story-Rosy-Dock-Jeannie-Baker/

CONNECTIONS
Websites that contain educational activities to support the book.
http://www.nexus.edu.au/Divisions/Curriculum/units/html/english/rosydock/act-rosy.htm
http://www.discover.tased.edu.au/sose/environ.htm