At the bottom of the world, on the edge of an island, through a deep valley lined with pines that point to the sky, deep in the darkest corner of a warm dry cave, Purinina climbs her way through the deep dark forest of her mother's fur. So begins style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Purinina, A Devil's Tale, a gentle story tracing the life of a Tasmanian Devil from infancy, suckling in her mother's pouch, to adolescence, playing with her brothers and feasting on frogs, insects, lizards and occasionally wombat meat. One day Purinina's mother takes a long time to return to their cave, and when she does, her body is still, afflicted by the facial tumour disease that affects many Tasmanian Devils. Humans come and take Purinina's mother away and Purinina grows up alone, in turn becoming a mother, repeating the process of birth and rebirth, a cycle that may be cut short in the future, as Purinina's children face extinction. Supplemented by a facts page with information about the animal, this beautifully illustrated picture book highlights the plight of the Tasmanian Devil, a creature many are working hard to save from extinction, the fate suffered by their cousin, the Tasmanian Tiger.… (more)