australian animal – Aussie Reviews

Lilli-Pilli's Sister, by Anna Branford, illustrated by Linda Catchlove

“I’m definitely going to have a sister. I can feel it in my wings.”

Lilli-Pilli is very excited. Mum is going to have a new baby, and Lilli-Pilli is sure it will be a sister. But as she helps to collect soft things for the baby’s cradle, her friends and family remind her that the baby could actually be a brother. Lilli-Pilli says she doesn’t mind, but could her senses be wrong? When she returns home, there is a surprise waiting for he r- in fact two surprises. She has a baby sister and a baby brother.

Lilli-Pilli’s Sister is a delightful story about new siblings, friendship and family. Lilli-Pilli and her parents are beautifully contemporary fairies, living in an Australian bush setting. Illustrations are whimsical but not saccharine, in watercolour suitable for the gentle nature of the story.

Suitable for any fairy-loving youngster.

Lilli-Pilli’s Sister, by Anna Branford & Linda Catchlove
Walker Books, 2014
ISBN 9781921977589

Available from good bookstores and online.

Christmas Wombat, by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley

It’s Christmas Eve. Mothball the wombat has no idea what Christmas is, or why there are strange, annoying dangly things hanging on the tree but she does know the smell of carrots, her favourite food. When she finds strange creatures are eating her carrots, she fights a battle of wills. Soon, though, her quest for carrots and a comfortable place to sleep sees her taking an unexpected sleigh ride around the world…

Strange creatures are eating my carrots!

Christmas Wombat is a wonderfully quirky Christmas picture book starring Mothball, the wombat who first starred in Diary of a Wombat. Text is funny and simple, from Mothball’s point of view and readers left to make their connections about what is happening. The reindeer (the aforementioned strange creatures) are delightful, but of course Mothball is the star of this book – and readers will love her.

A perfect Christmas gift for readers young and old.

Christmas Wombat, by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley
Angus & Robertson, 2011
ISBN 9780732291716

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

Rufus the Numbat, by David Miller

Rufus the Numbat is just passing through.

Rufus doesn’t walk very fast. He’s just trying to make it to the bush. But to get there he has to cross people-territory and that’s where the trouble begins. Unbeknownst to him he distracts a cyclist who then fails to see danger ahead…and on it goes. Rufus just keeps on plodding, unaware of the chaos and destruction he’s unwittingly caused. The text is very spare. Illustrations are David Miller’s trademark paper sculptures set on paint and ink backgrounds.

On the surface, Rufus the Numbat is a very simple story of an animal taking a walk through unfamiliar territory. It’s not Rufus’ fault that disaster follows, is it? There’s a clear environmental message here about the effect man can have on nature without really even knowing it’s happening. Young children will just love the chaos and calamity. Older children will see the world from a new viewpoint. Artists will appreciate the amazing paper sculptures. Recommended for all ages.

Rufus the Numbat, David Miller
Ford St Publishing 2010
ISBN: 9781876462963

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

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

Puggle, by Catriona Hoy & Andrew Plant

In a tall house on a hill…there’s a box. Inside the box there’s a towel. And curled up in the towel is Puggle. Puggle is a baby echidna.

Once Puggle lived safe and warm in is mother’s pouch, but one day there was a loud bang and mother stopped swaying. Puggle was picked up and brought to the tall house, where he is cared for with other sick and injured animals. As he grows, other animals in the house recover and return to the wild. Then, finally, the day comes when it is time for Puggle to go back to the forest.

Puggle is the touching story of an orphaned baby echidna (a puggle), based on a true account. It is also the story of the role of wildlife carers in healing and rehabilitating native animals. With bright acrylic illustrations and fact filled endpapers, and enough factual information for classroom use and enough story to entertain, this hard cover picture book is a perfect blend of heart-warming story and educational offering.

Puggle, by Catriona Hoy & Andrew Plant
Working Title Press, 2010

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

Thylacine, by David Owen

The Tasmanian Devil, or Thylacine, once inhabited most of Australia. By the time of white settlement it was limited to the island state of Tasmania. Then as the human population of the island grew, the world’s largest marsupial predator was deliberately hunted to extinction through ignorance, fear and greed. Yet even today, many Australians, including scientists, claim to have seen the Thylacine, alive and well.

Thylacine: The Tragic Tale of the Tasmanian Tiger tells the tragic story of how false beliefs and lack of care led to the extinction of the animal which has since become the logo of the state which eradicated it and a symbol of the conservation movement world-wide.

With a mix of scientific fact, recount and photographic evidence, Thylacine is both educational and enlightening, and highly accessible to the reader.

Thylacine: The Tragic Tale of the Tasmanian Tiger, by David Owen
Allen & Unwin, 2003