This year the theme for Children’s Book Week is ‘Book an Adventure’.
One of my favourite places to travel to through a book is back in time – somewhere we can never go in real life.
Only Two is probably the closest I will ever come to experiencing life on a tall ship in the 1870s.
The story follows Eva Carmichael and her family as they travel from London to begin a new life in Australia. The book recounts life at sea in vivid detail, you can practically smell the salty air and feel the wind on your back. But after a long and arduous journey, the Loch Ard is tragically sunk just one day’s sail from Melbourne.
There are only two survivors – Eva Charmichael and a midshipman called Tom Pearce. The two teenagers find themselves washed up on a remote beach at the bottom of a gorge, with no way out. When they are finally rescued, they become unlikely celebrities, by virtue of being the ‘only two’.
This remarkable true story is immaculately researched and extremely compelling. The events of the shipwreck are emotionally challenging, so if your child is sensitive, it’s probably a good one to read together.
Only Two is a story of bravery and adventure, but also of the inner strength these young people find in the midst of their suffering.
-Katrina Roe, RRL
