The Tall Man & the Twelve Babies, by Tom Niland Champion & Kilmeny Niland

In a big, big city,
in a tiny, tiny apartment,
lived a tall, tall man
and twelve babies.
All the boys were called Alistair.
All the girls were called Charlene.
One day the door slams shut…with the Charlenes on one side and the Alistairs on another.
What will the tall man do?

This humorous picture book is a riot of babies and silliness. The tall man with his six boy babies and six girl babies strike a problem when the Tall Man and the Charlenes are trapped outside the apartment, with the Alistairs inside. Only through some quick thinking does the Tall Man solve the problem – with the babies’ combined help.

Youngsters will love the silliness of the storyline and the illustrations. Adult readers too will enjoy the fun. This book is a collaboration between Tom Niland Champion and his mother Kilmeny Niland, who sadly passed away before the book was completed. Her twin sister Deborah Niland illustrated the story, making this is a real family collaboration.

A joyful book.

The Tall Man and the Twelve Babies

The Tall Man and the Twelve Babies, by Tom Niland Champion & Kilmeny Niland, illustrated by Deborah Niland
Allen & Unwin, 2010
ISBN 9781742371153

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

The Aussie Night Before Christmas Board Game Book

’twas the night before Christmas
there wasn’t a sound.
Not a possum was stirring;
no-one was around.

Following on from the success of The Aussie Night Before Christmas hardcover, board book, pop up and activity book, this popular story has been rereleased as a board game book, containing both the story and 10 games for children to play.

The story is an Aussie version of Clement Moore’s poem The Night Before Christmas, complete with kangaroos, utes and thongs. At the back of the book there are boards for six different board games, and punch out cards for four card games, as well as tokens and instructions for all ten games.

An Aussie Night Before Christmas Board Game Book is a wonderful Christmas offering for young Aussies, or for sending overseas as an Aussie flavoured Christmas gift.

Lots of fun.

An Aussie Night Before Christmas

An Aussie Night Before Christmas Board Game Book, by Yvonne Morrison and Kilmeny Niland
Scholastic Australia, 2009

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

An Aussie Day before Christmas, by Kilmeny Niland

’Twas the day before Christmas
And in his beach shack,
Santa was snoozing,
Flat out on his back.

‘Shake a leg, love,’
Sheila Claus said.
‘Time to get ready
For the big night ahead.’

It’s the day before Christmas and Santa is in a tizz. He still needs to wrap the presents, check the ute and choose his roos. Will he get everything done in time?

This humorous offering is a poetic prequel to An Aussie Night before Christmas and, like the former, is filled with uniquely Australian references, both in the text and the illustrations. Santa wraps prezzies, dresses in grouse bright clothes and has a cuppa and a lamington before he heads off for his night’s work.

An ideal gift for a young Aussie, and wonderful for classroom sharing in the lead up to Christmas.

An Aussie Day Before Christmas, by Kilmeny Niland
Scholastic, 2008

Fat Pat, by Kilmeny Niland

Fat Pat was a very sweet dog.
Everybody loved him.

Everybody loved Pat. And everybody who loved him fed him and pampered him. Pat is an overfed, under-exercised, adored pet with a weight problem. So when the vet prescribes a weight-loss program, Pat is convinced that the family have ceased loving him. He runs away. Life on the run is full of danger and deprivation, until Pat is caught and taken to the Lost Dog’s Home. Reunited with his family, Pat discovers that his family still love him. His perspective on life has been subtly altered by his time away from home. Life will be different now, but better.

A bright yellow hardback cover with a roly-poly puppy on the front with watermelon slice endpapers – who could resist a view of the world from the perspective of this main character? Pat is very happy with his life, but it’s not good for him. The vet’s visit brings about a big change to Pat’s life and since food has been the symbol of love for him, he thinks he is no longer loved. As he roams the streets after his escape he experiences fear as well as hunger. His return home reinforces the love he thought he’d lost. ‘Fat Pat’ is a large square format picture book full of bright images, mostly set on white backgrounds. A bright red table at the vets signals a warning that things are about to change. Small vignettes take the reader through the first week of changes and are wordless except for the labelling of the days. The scene of Pat’s leaving is bleak and echoes his tears. His safe return home is simply illustrated with an image of his loving family. This provides a contrast to the opening pages where the focus is on what the family provides. A charming book for young children, with a subtle message for all dog owners.

Fat Pat

Fat Pat, written & illustrated Kilmeny Niland
ABC Books 2008
ISBN: 9780733322396

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

An Aussie Night Before Christmas Pops Up, by Kilmeny Niland & Yvonne Morrison

’twas the night before Christmas
there wasn’t a sound.
Not a possum was stirring;
no-one was around.

Since it was first published in 2005, An Aussie Night Before Christmas has been one of Australia’s most popular Christmas offerings. Now this title is available in a pop up format, certain to delight young Aussies.

With the text an Australianised version of Clement Moore’s famous A Night Before Christmas, the book is filled with Australian images – from Santa arriving in a ute, to thongs, farm dogs and gum trees. The pop up elements are delightful, including the outback house, a big Christmas tree, kangaroos with wagging tails and Santa sliding down the aforementioned gum tree.

This would make a great Christmas gift, appealing to kids aged 2 to 8, though as with any pop up book, the smallest readers may find the pop ups just too tempting.

An Aussie Night Before Christmas Pops Up, by Kilmeny Niland and Yvonne Morrison
Scholastic, 2007

Blossom Possum, by Gina Newton

Blossom Possum can’t sleep, but when she climbs down from her tree, something falls on her head. Certain that the sky is falling, Blossom races off to tell the Prime Minister. Along the way she meets up with her friends – Rocky Cocky, Joanna Goanna, Toey Joey, Abacus Platypus and Echo Gecko – who all decide to come with her. When the friends meet By-Jingo Dingo, he thinks he might be able to get a feed, so he tries to trick the friends by promising a shortcut to the Prime Minister. Fortunately for the friends, they are rescued just in time by I-Seen-You Emu and his minders.

Blossom Possum is a retelling of a favourite folk tale with an Australian twist, sure to delight preschool age children. The animal characters are brought to life in earth Australian tones by the talented Kilmeny Niland and the receptive, tongue-twisting text, whilst a challenge for the adult reader, will have littlies giggling.

Very cute.

Blossom Possum, by Gina Newton and Kilmeny Niland
Scholastic, 2006

An Aussie Night Before Christmas Activities, by Kilmeny Niland & Yvonne Morrison

The 2005 offering An Aussie Night Before Christmaswas a runaway success. Now, in time for Christmas, Scholastic has followed up with two activity offerings for fans of the picturebook.

An Aussie Night before Christmas Sticker Book includes text and illustrations from the original picturebook, with stickers for children to complete the scenes. Readers can add Santa to the night sky, festoon the house with lights and decorate the Christmas tree, with over 80 stickers to use for these tasks.

An Aussie Night before Christmas Activity Book features activities for slightly older children, including word searches, art and craft and even recipes. There are 32 pages of activities developing skills in counting, discrimination and more.

This pair is loads of fun and would make a good addition to a gift of the original picturebook, or even on their own.

An Aussie Night before Christmas Activity Book and An Aussie Night before Christmas Sticker Book , both by Kilmeny Niland and Yvonne Morrison
Scholastic Australia, 2006

The Gingerbread Man, illustrated by Kilmeny Niland

Run, run as fast as you can,
You can’t catch me—I’m the Gingerbread Man!

Youngsters love novelty books with flaps and folds, and Little Hare’s Storytime series is sure to delight, combining classic fairytales with the novelty of a flip the flap format.

The Gingerbread Man brings to life a traditional telling of the tale, with the illustrative skills of Kilmeny Niland and a flap to be lifted on every story. The flaps, which cover either the top or the bottom half of each page, open to reveal more text and cleverly use the non-flap half of the page, so that it forms half of each illustration.

My six year old, who was already familiar with the story, enjoyed the novelty of this version and insisted on flipping the flaps himself. The sturdiness of the pages means that repeated readings will not affect them and the solid hard cover adds to the appeal – this is a book designed for young hands.

Sure to satisfy.

The Gingerbread Man, illustrated by Kilmeny Niland
Little Hare, 2006

How Many Dogs in the House? by Beverley Boorer

On the front porch lies a big old dog named Nemo:
A snoozing in the sun dog.
A dreaming of a bone dog.
A come and scratch my back dog.
But Nemo isn’t the only dog in the house. In fact there are dogs in every room of the house – dogs of all shapes and sizes. Just how many dogs are there?

This delightful counting book will have youngsters guessing, counting and eagerly turning pages. The rhythm of author Beverly Boorer’s text makes for a fun read-aloud, which parents and teachers will enjoy sharing with preschoolers.

The illustrations of award-winning artist Kilmeny Niland use bright pastels and a combination of whimsy and cute in a style which youngsters will love.

All round, a cute little number with the added bonus of helping youngsters learn to count.

How Many Dogs in the House, by Beverley Boorer, illustrated by Kilmeny Niland
Scholastic Press, 2004