Accompanied by her dog, Tassie, Vi is busy checking all the articles she can find on the subject and making notes so she can produce a coherent essay. 

During the course of the evening, after all her hard work and concentration, she falls asleep on the computer and is suddenly awoken by the ghost of the last Thylacine that died. After a conversation with this female Thylacine, whom Vi calls Thyla, and, I have to say, Thyla speaks remarkably good English! Vi is invited to travel back in time by 100 years to visit Tasmania when Thylacines were still alive.

Vi's adventures are many and varied, but it does open her eyes to the true history of the species. Thyla explains in great detail the ecology of the time, and how the Thylacine slotted into the natural order.

There are quite a few facts I learned and the explanations are most helpful. These are written so that readers can understand this important subject. 

The time machine travels forward to present day Melbourne, with a visit to a laboratory where Vi and Thyla meet a bioengineer. She explains in great detail the story of de-extinction and how this can also affect endangered species.

Vi and Thyla then travel further forward in time to see what may happen due to successful de-extinctions and how this can also affect future ecological systems.

Thoughtfully well written this is a very interesting and enlightening book which is easy to read and understand with It’s many humorous asides and cartoon drawings of existing animals, endangered species and extinct animals. However, I noted a few typos, but this did not detract from the joy of reading this wonderfully entertaining, educational graphic novel.

The author

Renee Treml is the author and illustrator of several successful picture books for very young readers, including Once I Heard a Little Wombat, Sleep Tight, Platypup, and Wombat Big, Puggle Small. She is also the creator of the highly engaging and funny junior fiction graphic novels Sherlock Bones and the Natural History Mystery, Sherlock Bones and the Sea-Creature Feature and Sherlock Bones and the Art and Science Alliance, as well as the Super Adventures of Ollie and Bea junior graphic novel series. Renee has degrees in biology and environmental science, and has a passionate love of natural history.