The Aussie A to Z, by Heath McKenzie

D is for Dingo and dugong and drop bear and damper and dunny and dual flush toilet and Daddy Cool and dog on the tucker box…and a whole lot more.

This gorgeous alphabet book has as much to offer adults and older children as it does the prereaders it is apparently aimed at. With a page devoted to each letter of the alphabet, the text for each is minimal, highlighting just one or two things that begin with the specified letter (D is for Dingo, for example). The illustrations, however, feature a bevy of things beginning with the letter, many more readily identifiable by adults than children. John Farnham features on the W page – as Whispering Jack, of course, Daddy Cool on the aforementioned D page and the Seekers on the S page. A back of book guide identifies the various objects and people shown in each illustration.

The illustrations themselves are comic and colourful, with plenty of detail for youngsters (and oldsters, too) to discover things on repeated readings. The colours vary from spread to spread, as befits the changing subject matter.

This is a fun offering for any young Aussie.

An Aussie A to Z, by Heath McKenzie
black dog, 2007
ISBN 9781921167447