Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140376763 ISBN 13: 9780140376760

Publisher: Puffin Books, 1998

In this sequel to The Last Polar Bears, Grandfather and his demanding, but delightful, dog Roo journey to Australia in search of Uncle Vincent, last heard of prospecting for gold. Their adventures are told in letters sent back to Grandfather's grandchild.

Review:

The Last Gold Diggers is a witty, charmingly original and beautifully illustrated adventure story for 6 to 8-year-olds by Harry Horse, the well-known political cartoonist (The New Yorker, The Guardian) and author of several children's books including The Last Polar Bears and The Ogopogo - My Journey with the Lock Ness Monster (winner of the Scottish Arts Council Writer's Award).79-year-old Grandfather and Roo--an annoyingly stubborn and independently minded small dog--fly to Australia on a steam-powered plane in search of Grandfather's long-lost brother, Uncle Vincent. The Australia they land in turns out to be much crazier than they ever imagined possible. "Sidney" is not the jewel in the Australian Crown but a place with a rusty bridge and a corrugated iron shed where they are met by racoon-type creatures who run off with their bags. And that's just the first of a series of wildly eccentric and funny adventures before they finally strike lucky and find, not just dear old Uncle Vincent, but a barn full of gold as well--down a rabbit hole, of course. --Tamsin Palmer