Can you name Australia’s longest-serving Prime Minister?
Which Australian sportsman is the only cricketer to have received a knighthood from the Queen?
What important scientific discovery is Howard Florey famous for?
If there’s a child in your life who doesn’t know the answers to these questions (oe even one who does), then Australia’s Greatest People and Their Achievements is an ideal offering. Filled with the names and achievements of some of Australia’s biggest achievers in areas including politics, science, sport, the arts and, satisfyingly, social justice.
Knight bases her selection of who is ‘great’ not just on fame, but on making a lasting contribution, so that achievement is important but so too is character, perseverance and success. Many of the people profiled are names that most Australians will be familiar with – Julia Gillard, Sir Donald Bradman and Mary MacKillop, for example – but many others are names children (and adults, too) may not have heard of, but who deserve to be known. An example is Graeme Clark, who invented the cochlear implant.
Profiles are in easy to understand language and are complemented by photographs and illustrations, as well as quotes and text boxes highlighting key achievements.
This is the kind of book which, though it could be read cover-to cover, is likely to be most enjoyed by dipping in to, and as such is just as suitable for home collections as it is for libraries or classroom use.
Australia’s Greatest People and Their Achievements, by Linsay Knight
Random House, 2013
ISBN 9780857980205
Available from good bookstores or online.