animals – Page 6 – Aussie Reviews

The Bush Concert, by Helga Visser

It hadn’t rained for a very long time.
Food and water were hard to find.
Everyone was feeling low.
What could they do? Where could they go?

The land is parched and the birds struggle to find food, water and shelter from the relentless summer. A committee of galahs is determined to find a way to cheer everyone up. And that means a concert. The call goes out for singers, dancers, players. All are needed. And they come. So many birds together, so much noise! Maestro Linguini helps to concert-prepare some of the enthusiastic performers. Others do their own thing, while a city-slicker sparrow encourages his choir to sing faster and faster. And then it’s Concert Night. There are singers, dancers, players, acrobats, magicians and more. As the successful concert draws to a close with fireworks, the sky turns on its own fireworks and a storm breaks over their heads. Illustrations are ink and pastel on pastel paper, richly-hued, both fantastical and real.

The Bush Concert tale is told in rhyming couplets. There has never been a gathering of Australian birds quite like this! There are wrens and quail, waterbirds and penguins, pelicans and swans. All are united in their need to survive the drought with humour intact. Beaks are shown smiling, eyes are bright. Jesters wield saws, parrots walk with stilts in this imaginative romp through the bird world. The final opening offers names for all the birds appearing in The Bush Concert. Recommended for preschool and early primary children. Would be useful in introducing the wide range of birds who call Australia home.

The Bush Concert, Helga Visser
Omnibus Books 2011
ISBN: 9781862918863

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

This book can be purchased from good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Hairy MacLary, Shoo, by Lynley Dodd

Reviewed by Dale Harcombe

In the world of children’s books, no-one writes and illustrates the rhyming picture books better than Lynley Dodd with her Hairy Maclary series. Her use of language and rhyme is impeccable. She is wonderful for introducing young listeners and readers to new words. Her books are fun and Hairy Maclary and friends are cute dogs who get into lots of scrapes. In that, Hairy Maclary, Shoo is no exception.

I remember giving this to one of my grandchildren in hardcover. All my grandchildren loved hearing and then reading the Hairy Maclary books. They have several.

This latest edition of Hairy Maclary, Shoo is a board book version for those tiny fingers that cannot quite be trusted with the real thing. I have to admit I am not a fan of board books and never have been. I never bought them for my own children and refuse to buy them for my grandchildren, preferring to teach them the right way to handle books from a young age by using proper books. However if you like board books or your children or grandchildren cannot be trusted to care for books, then the board book version of Hairy Maclary, Shoowill be a welcome addition.

Hairy Maclary, Shoo has all the wit and charm of other Hairy Maclary books as Hairy Maclary’s curiosity gets him into one scrape after another and sees him ending up at Magnolia School. This is another gem from Lynley Dodd with the usual expressive illustrations. Great fun.

Hairy Maclary, Shoo By Lynley Dodd
ABC for Kids, 2011
HarperCollins Publishers
Board book RRP $14.99

This book is available in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond.

Goodnight Mice! by Frances Watts

Reviewed by Dale Harcombe

The rhyme and rhythm of this picture book is perfect for the story of four mice who are tired but suddenly become very active , skittering and scampering around when Mum and Dad say it’s time for bed.

The text and accompaniying illustrations take the reader through all the routines the mice do before bedtime, routines of bath times and brushing teeth and kisses goodnight that young children will be familiar with. The repetition of once and twice is effective in the story. Sometimes it is

Kiss Grandpa once,
Kiss Grandpa twice.

Other times it is

Mum sighs once.
Dad sighs twice.

This is a gentle tale that will delight young children and provide a satisfactory ending to a day. It is a story filled with warmth and family love.

The illustrations are cute. Although they are not overly imbued with colour most of the time, they are warm and suit the gentle text. The faces of the mice are very expressive. I particularly liked the bath Time illustrations and those of the scampering, scrambling scurrying fun. I loved the books on the bookshelf and the mice being read a bedtime book. Even the end papers are a delight to pore over with the little mice in various activities.

This is sure to become a book young children and parents will be happy to read again and again.

Goodnight, Mice!
Text Frances Watts
Illustrations Judy Watson
Hard cover picture book $24.99
ABC for Kids
HarperCollins Publishers

Available in good bookstores or online from Fishpond.

Samantha Seagull's Sandals, by Gordon Winch & Tony Oliver

long time ago
there lived a young, silver gull
who wanted to be different.
Her name was Samantha.

Samantha wants to be different and although she is advised that in time she would be different, she just can’t wait. She decides that shoes will be what makes her different. So she tries high heels, gumboots and more, but each has limitations for a seagoing gull. When her shoes fail, her fiend Simon is there to tell her that she is beautiful just as she is. Not that Samantha believes it. And with each failure she has to endure ridicule from the other gulls (except Simon). The ridicule causes her to blush, red feet, red eyes and beak. Finally, she thinks she has found the perfect shoes to make her different. Illustrations are pencil and watercolour and realistic in style, although the hermit crab has a few extra features! His eyebrows are fabulous.

Many children are in a hurry to grow up, to find their way, their own special place. And because they are impatient, they can’t hear the advice they’re given, nor can they see some of the consequences of their actions. Samantha is keen to be different, but doesn’t realise – or perhaps doesn’t value – the unconditional friendship offered by Simon. Simon on the other hand is patient, uncritical and supportive. The crowd? Well they’re a crowd and act as one with no heed for the impact. This is a 25th birthday for Samantha Seagull’s Sandals , a tremendous achievement for a picture story book. In a post script, there is information about silver gulls. It’s true, their legs, eyes, beaks do really change colour as they become adults. Recommended for early primary readers.

Samantha Seagull’s Sandals , Gordon Winch, ill Tony Oliver
New Frontier Publishing 2010
ISBN: 9781921042591

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online fromFishpond.

The Fidgety Itch, by Lucy Davey & Katz Cowley

Down beneath the fru-fru trees
Timpkin was gleefully
gobbling his cheese,
when something began to bother his knees.

Poor Timpkin! When a mouse finds some cheese, he doesn’t want to put it down, not even to scratch the most fidgety itch. So he calls for help. Feather McDoo flies in to help. Now Timpkin is feeling better, but not poor Feather. She has an itch that ‘jiggles and tickles like porcupine prickles’. Next comes Possum. And…you guessed it…he develops an itch too! But when Fuzzy O’Hare arrives and develops an itch of his own, who will scratch it? Illustrations are in ‘watercolour and mosquito sweat’! The animals have very expressive faces and body language, reflecting the irritation and the relief of terrible itches.

There’s nothing worse than an itch that’s inconvenient to reach to scratch. And there’s nothing like the relief of having that itch scratched. The Fidgety Itch grows a chain of cooperative scratchers all happy to be helping out. Readers will enjoy finding the itch-maker on each opening. The text is in rhyme and cumulative, and full of interesting words, just made for repeating. As well as the rhyme, there’s repetition and alliteration. Recommended for pre-schoolers and early primary readers.

The Fidgety Itch, Lucy Davey, ill Katz Cowley
Scholastic NZ
2010 ISBN: 9781869439675

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond.

Monkey Red Monkey Blue, by Nicki Greenberg

Monkey Blue and Monkey Red
just don’t feel like going to bed…
Let’s have a midnight feast instead!

The house is quiet and everyone is asleep except for Monkey Blue, Monkey Red and their friend Chameleon, who is quick to suggest a midnight feast. Soon the monkeys are feasting pm popcorn, spaghetti, hot dogs, fruit and more – but Chameleon is a little too enthusiastic and soon crash splash splatter splotter there is a big foody mess everywhere.

Monkey Red Monkey Blue is a rhythmic, rhythmic celebration of food and of mess which will delight youngsters and the adults who read it aloud to them. The images, combining illustrations with photographs of real food in a digital collage, are full of detailed chaos, which are a real feast for the eye.

Lots of fun.

Monkey Red Monkey Blue, by Nicki Greenberg
Allen & Unwin, 2010
ISBN 9781742374437

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond.

The Staring Owl, by Luke Edwards

Owl took up staring at an early age.
While most parents discourage staring, Owl was raised to stare at everyone and everything.

Owl is fabulous at staring. His parents are proud but not everyone else is. He finds it tough to find a job, only partly because he has feathers. It’s his stare. It’s unsettling. Poor Owl despairs of finding a job. But when he has all but resigned himself to unemployment, he finds the perfect job. Illustrations are black and white and yellow, using graphite and Photoshop. The Staring Owl is a mid-sized hardback picture book, with a matt finish to the cover…except for those eyes. They shine.

Owl tries very hard to find a job. Although he has very well-developed staring skills, none of the jobs he considers are quite right. All use staring but not his unrelenting staring. And he feels a little victimised because he’s not human. But he finally finds his place. And having done so, he remembers what it felt like to be an outsider and he sets up a support group for those like him. This gently humourous story suggests that there is a place for everyone in the world, even if that place is not easy to find. It’s a lovely fable. Recommended for all staring owls.

The Staring Owl, Luke Edwards
Omnibus Books 2010
ISBN: 9781862919112

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author www.clairesaxby.com

This book can be purchased in good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Saving Pandas, by Dr Carla Litchfield

Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are massive bears, just like black bears, polar bears and brown bears. They share the same habitat as red pandas, but are not closely related to them. Surprisingly little is known about the behaviour of giant pandas in the wild – except that they spend about 12 hours a day eating bamboo!

Saving Pandas is a new addition to the non fiction series of picture books from Black Dog Books. The books are large format paperbacks, with beautiful photos of animals and their habitats. Extra info bites extend the non fiction narrative and are displayed in different fonts. Words that might be unfamiliar are in bold and a glossary at the back gives their meaning. The final page also provides extra ‘panda facts’ and website addresses. Saving Pandas is full of photos of young and mature pandas. Red pandas might share the name and a similar habitat, but are not closely related to Giant pandas.

Giant pandas look cute and cuddly but with her opening words, Dr Litchfield reminds us that they are also enormous and well…they are bears! Few people would want to cuddle a big black bear, but there’s something about pandas that makes them seem cuddle-able. Despite the size. Despite the claws. This new series ‘Rare Earth’ from Black Dog Books looks at endangered animals and the programs in place to help them survive. Some readers may only respond to the cuteness of these giants, but for others, it’s an introduction to the world of animal conservation. Pitched for lower- to middle-primary aged readers, the language is simple but informative and perfect for lovers of animals and of non-fiction.

Saving Pandas (Rare Earth) Dr Carla Litchfield
Black Dog Books 2010
ISBN 9781742031149

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Crocodile River, by Diana Lawrenson

Cranky escaped swiftly through the muddy water.
‘This river has too many crocodiles,’ she thought.
‘I need a place where there’s plenty of food for me.’

Even before she hatches from the egg, Cranky the crocodile’s life is a constant battle for survival. Predators steal unhatched eggs from the mother crocodile’s nest and, after the eggs have hatched, snatch baby crocodiles, too. Even as she grows, Cranky must avoid being trapped by human hunters, or eaten by bigger crocodiles. What Cranky really needs is a place of her own.

Crocodile River is a fictional story of one crocodile’s journey from egg to adulthood, but it is also the story of both the life cycle of a crocodile, and of the crocodile’s fight for survival.

With rich acrylic illustrations by Danny Snell, and end papers laden with lots of crocodile facts this beautiful picture book is both entertaining and educational. Delightful.

Crocodile River, by Diana Lawrenson and Danny Snell
Working Title, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Wildlife in Australia, by Louise Egerton

By world standards, many Australian animals look, well, a little strange. Take kangaroos, Koalas, the Platypus, the Southern Cassowary or the Gippsland Giant Worm. Extraordinary as they are, these animals are well adapted to their habitat but through what evolutionary hoops have these creatures jumped? It is almost as though the wildlife of Australia has experienced a separate evolution from the rest of the world and so, indeed, to a large extent it has.

Australia’s rich and diverse wildlife includes some unique creatures – including the Platypus, the koala and the kangaroo – which arouse curiosity throughout the world. But whilst these creatures may be well known, Australia is also home to may lesser known creatures – from mammals to fish, from birds to invertebrates.

Wildlife of Australia is a comprehensive hardcover guide to the animals which inhabit our land. With the help of over 70 experts, zoologist Louise Egerton and photographer Jiri Lochman have compiled a reference which details the animals, their environments, their behaviour and the threats to their existence. With stunning colour photographs on every spread, this is both an invaluable reference and a pleasure to browse.

Suitable for home collections as well as libraries and research, this authoritative offering is worth owning.

Wildlife of Australia, by Louise Egerton & Jiri Lochman
Allen & Unwin, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.