1. Art techniques
2. Behaviour
3. Birth
4. Childhood and youth
5. Death
6. Endpapers
7. Fathers
8. Friendship
9. Grief
10. Historical Fiction
11. Identity
12. Indigenous Australians
13. Intercultural communication
14. Kindness
15. Loneliness
16. Love
17. Mothers
18. Nature
19. Parent and child
20. Poverty
21. Respect
22. Violence
23. Visual literacy

Author Leah Purcell is known for the adaption of Henry Lawson’s ‘The Drover’s Wife’ into a play, a novel, a film and in 2026 an opera. Here she has written a version of the story through the eyes of Danny, the eldest twelve-year-old son. His mother Molly lives with her children in a remote bush shack in the high country of southern NSW. Their father, a drunk and violent man, is away droving for months at a time, a situation the boy knows his mother prefers.

It is Danny’s story but it also reflects on the resilience of the pioneer women left to cope alone in remote regions of Australia. Left to survive with children against the weather, the landscape, the isolation, the dangers and the tragedies while their husbands are away working.

Danny, now 12, believes he has no choice but to leave home and go to work droving like his father that is until he encounters Yadaka, an Indigenous man chopping wood for his mother. Yadaka tells him that now twelve he is ready for man’s business explaining that it is understanding the responsibilities he has to his family, the land and the animals and nature. Danny replies that his dad was off working at this age but admits that it is not what he wants, memories of his father drunk and angry in his thoughts. With Yadaka’s guidance, Danny sees a different path, where a man can be wise and gentle and a warrior too – ‘It’s not what you wear on your feet Danny. How you carry yourself is what makes a decent man.’

Set in 1893 the text is complemented by Dub Leffler’s soft yet luminous illustrations that capture both the harsh yet captivating landscape particularly in the book’s endpapers. The illustrations reveal an insight into the strength and depth of the characters’ emotions.

In the book’s foreword, Leah Purcell explains that ‘this is a yarn about fathers and sons, about a mother’s love, fierce and true, and about family in whatever form that takes. A tale of cautious meeting, bonding and the sharing of stories. Of lessons learnt and of mutual understanding and genuine respect. This is a story about a time in our history we shouldn’t forget.’

Leah Purcell AM is a proud Goa, Gunggari, Wakka Wakka Murri woman from Queensland. She is a playwright, actor, director, filmmaker, producer, screenwriter and author. At the heart of her work are female and First Nations themes, characters and issues. In 2021, she received a Member of The Order of Australia (AM) for her service to performing arts, First Nations youth and culture, and to women.

Dub Leffler is a proud Bigambul man. ‘In a career spanning twenty-five years, he has written and illustrated over thirty books for children and taught workshops in over 300 schools nationally and overseas. He has earned many shortlistings and won multiple awards along the way, including the CBCA’s Book of the Year in 2019 for the seminal work ‘Sorry Day’ (with Coral Vass).

1. ReadPlus 26 Mar 2026. Fran Knight reviews ‘The Drover’s Son’ by Leah Purcell, illustrated by Dub Leffler https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/the-drovers-son
2. Dim’s Write Stuff 12 Mar 2026. Dimity Powell reviews ‘The Drover’s Son’ by Leah Purcell, illustrated by Dub Leffler https://dimswritestuff.blogspot.com/2026/03/review-drovers-son.html
3. The Bottom Shelf 5 Mar 2026. Barbara Braxton reviews ‘The Drover’s Son’ by Leah Purcell, illustrated by Dub Leffler https://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/2026/03/05/the-drovers-son/
4. Wikipedia ‘Leah Purcell’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leah_Purcell
5. Dub Leffler website https://www.dublefflerillustrator.com/
6. shortstories. Henry Lawson ‘The Drover’s Wife’ https://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/DrovWife.shtml