songs – Aussie Reviews

Sleigh Ride, L. Anderson & M. Parish, illustrated by Matt Shanks

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
Ring-ting-tingling too,
Come on, it’s lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

This popular Christmas song filled with mentions of snow and sleighs seems an unlikely choice for an Australian picture book, but illustrator Matt Shanks has given it a very Australian makeover. The words are unchanged, but the sleigh bells belong to an icecream van, and the sleigh is a trailer towed behind it. The ice and snow come from an esky. The pages are also populated with a cast of Australian animals – koalas, wombats, numbats, galahs, echidnas and more are picked up in the icecream van sleigh and end up at the beach where the van’s driver is revealed as a penguin.

Youngsters will love seeing the song interpreted in a beach and outback setting, and there is a bonus CD featuring the song performed by Hum,an Nature and Jessica Mauboy, so they will be able to sing along.

Christmas fun.

Sleigh Ride, by L. Anderson & M. Parish, illustrated by Matt Shanks
Scholastic, 2016
ISBN 9781760276928

Little Barry Bilby Had Fly Upon His Nose, by Colin Buchanan & Roland Harvey

Little Barry Bilby had a fly upon his nose…
Little Peter Possum had a mozzie on his ear…
Little Colly Cocky had a beetle on his beak…
And the bizzy buzzy bush bugs won’t go away!

This humorous picture book is filled with favourite Aussie animals – bilby, echidna, wombat, dingo and more – all afflicted by annoying bush bugs, from flies and mozzies to cicadas and even a bogong moth. The best solution is to tumble down the gully and jump in the creek. The repetitive text encourages children to join in, and can be either read or sung, with an accompanying CD coming in handy for the latter.

The illustrations are in gentle bush pastel tones with lovable animals and insects, with zany touches such as the slightly cross-eyed look of Barry Bilby.

Suitable for children from birth through to primary school age, Little Barry Bilby Had a Fly Upon His Nose is lots of fun.

Little Barry Bilby Had a Fly Upon His Nose, by Colin Buchanan and Roland Harvey
Scholastic Australia, 2015
ISBN 9781743621899

Available from good bookstores and online.

Square Eyes by Craig Smith ill by Scott Tulloch

I have a friend

Who sits inside all day,

Watching the TV,

Letting the day waste away.

I have a friend

Who sits inside all day,

Watching the TV,

Letting the day waste away.

Square Eyes features Panda with square eyes and his friend Bee. Panda is always watching television and doing little else. Bee would like him to do some other things and sets about enticing him away from the screen. Bee and other friends show the fun that can be had if the TV is turned off. Alternatives offered include scooter-riding, imagining, music, invention and more. Finally, Bee and friends convince Panda to leave his couch and have some fun with them. Illustrations are humourous and colourful and full of detail for young readers to explore. There is a CD with the author singing ‘Square Eyes’.

Square Eyes is a story about the limitations of a life linked to screen. Although this picture book depicts only the TV, it’s clear from the dedications of both author and illustrator that it is intended to refer to all manner of screens. Luckily Panda has determined friends who want to show him other ways to have fun. The CD performance by the author, Craig Smith, offers readers an opportunity to read along with the rhythm of the song and it won’t be long before the catchy tune will be ‘reading’ all on their own. A fun read/singalong for pre- and early-schoolers.

Square Eyes, Craig Smith ill Scott Tulloch
Scholastic 2014 ISBN: 9781775432692

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

The Rescue Ark by Susan Hall, ill Naomi Zouwer

The children gazed gloomily all around,

Oh dear! Oh dear!

Waste and rubbish littered the ground,

Oh dear! Oh dear!

The land was polluted, the rivers all dry,

with their habitats ruined the creatures would die.

So the kids decided to build an ark

To save all their animal friends.

The children gazed gloomily all around,

Oh dear! Oh dear!

Waste and rubbish littered the ground,

Oh dear! Oh dear!

The land was polluted, the rivers all dry,

with their habitats ruined the creatures would die.

So the kids decided to build an ark

To save all their animal friends.

The children are concerned about the impact of humans on the environment and the challenges this poses for animals displaced or threatened by humans and their activities. So they build an ark, and load it with as many endangered Australian animals as they can. They set them off to sea and then spend their time cleaning up and repairing the land. Eventually they deem it safe to bring the animals home again. The text is set to the rhythm of ‘The Ants Go Marching’ and illustrations are presented on coloured pages as if looking through a telescope, with the action spilling beyond the edges of the circle. Images are a combination of painting and collage. Final pages include images from the NLA collections and information about the animals featured.

NLA are producing a number of books for children which use images from their collections. ‘The Rescue Ark’ has a clear conservation theme, and suggests that children can play a role in addressing/redressing environmental impacts on Australian fauna. It also introduces young readers to the Library’s collections. There is ample opportunity for conversation, at home and in the classroom about Australian animals, habitat destruction and pollution, and the ability for each and all to effect their surroundings. Recommended for early- to mid-primary schoolers.

The Rescue Ark, Susan Hall ill Naomi Zouwer NLA 2014 ISBN: 9780642278104

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Along the Road to Gundagai, by Jack O'Hagan & Andrew McLean

It won’t be surprising if you pick up this book with the tune and lyrics already in your head:

There’s a track winding back to an old fashioned shack
along the road to Gundagai…

However, what will be surprising to most readers will be to discover that the opening lines of the song are quieter and less jaunty:

There’s a scene that lingers in my memory
Of an old bush home and friends I long to see…

(You may be interested, as I was, after reading the book, to hear an old recording of these lines here).

Most surprising of all, is the visual interpretation of the song in this picture book offering. Andrew McLean presents the song from the viewpoint of a soldier, yearning for his beautiful home as he fights and suffers on the battlefield. The contrast between scenes of horror on the Western Front, and the beauty of Gundagai are confronting, but in a beautiful, poignant way. On one spread soldiers and their horses flee a gas attack, the soldiers wearing gas masks, the horses’ eyes filled with fear and a ghastly yellow light surrounding them. This is in stark contrast to the preceding spread which shows young boys playing in the peaceful shallows of the Murrumbidgee river. Further contrast is added with the wartime scenes filling the whole spreads, while the remembered scenes of Gundagai are framed like favourite photographs or paintings. Most of the song lyrics are also on these home front spreads.

This a beautiful, haunting book, outstanding for discussions of Australian history. With the song first written in 1922, McLean’s interpretation is true to the experiences of the war years not long prior, which would still have been very fresh in the public memory. For classroom use, it would be an interesting exercise to offer children the lyrics without the illustrations first, to highlight the contrast of what is then shown in the book.

A surprising book, in the very best of ways. Stunning.

Along the Road to Gundagai

Along the Road to Gundagai, by Jack O’Hagan, illustrated by Andrew McLean
Omnibus Books, 2014
ISBN 9781862919792

Available from good bookstores or online.

Juicy Juicy Green Grass and other fun songs by Peter Combe ill Danielle McDonald

uicy juicy green grass,

Where have you gone?

Will you come back?

Juicy juicy green grass.

Juicy juicy green grass,

Where have you gone?

Will you come back?

Juicy juicy green grass.

‘Juicy Juicy Green Grass and other fun songs’ is, as the title suggests, a collection of songs from Peter Combe. The title song laments the lack of green grass and pleads for it to return. ‘The Silly Postman’ suggests that this particular postman isn’t doing his job quite as he ought. ‘The Tadpole’s Song’ tracks a tadpole through his transformation to a frog, complete with his lament for lost youth and ends with a celebration of his new form. The final song, ‘Red Says Stop’ explores and explains the different coloured lights at in traffic lights. Illustrations are brightly coloured and humourous and fill every opening. Juicy Juicy Green Grass comes with a cd of Peter Combe singing his songs.

Peter Combe has been delighting youngsters with his lyrical silliness for a generation. His songs encourage singing and dancing and the right amount of ridiculousness. Along the way, children will discover that sheep eat grass for breakfast, lunch and tea; there are some things that do not belong in the letterbox; that tadpoles might miss their tail as well as what to do at the traffic lights to be safe. Childhood is full of learning and it’s great that some of it has been set to song – a reminder that the world needs silliness and fun. Recommended for pre- and early-schoolers.

Juicy Juicy Green Grass and other fun songs, Peter Combe, ill Danielle McDonald Scholastic Australia 2014 ISBN: 9781743620649

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

The Bear Went Over the Mountain, ill Louis Shea

The bear went over the mountain

To see what he could see.

What do you think he saw?

A forest of squirrels singing,

Setting ears a-ringing.

Golly gosh! Oh my! Oh me!

It was a sight to see.

The bear went over the mountain

To see what he could see.

What do you think he saw?

A forest of squirrels singing,

Setting ears a-ringing.

Golly gosh! Oh my! Oh me!

It was a sight to see.

The bear might start this story by going over the mountain but the action travels from mountain to the seaside and beyond before it finally returns to the beginning. The bear sees squirrels in the forest. Then a fox sets off to see what he can see and so on all the way around the world, through hills and flat lands, beach and undersea. Illustrations provide clues as to which animal will ‘take the baton’ and take the action into a new spread. Illustrations are full page colour and provide their own narrative separate to the words. The Bear Went Over the Mountain comes with a CD for singalong. The CD has the more traditional song structure where the book features an abridged version.

Young readers will enjoy the cadences of this story and with growing familiarity the song on which it is based. Illustrations are full of detail, and re-readings will reveal new secrets. There are opportunities to open discussions about animals and their differing environments or even to introduce actions to the song. Suited for pre- and early schoolers.

The Bear Went Over the Mountain ill Louis Shea Scholastic Australia 2013 ISBN: 9781742833712

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

We're Going on a Croc Hunt, by Laine Mitchell and Louis Shea

We’re going on a croc hunt.
We’re going to find a big one.
I’m not afraid.
We’re as brave as brave can be!

This fun read-aloud offering uses the rhythm and refrain of the popular ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’, but gives it a distinctly Aussie feel. The animal characters search for the croc in Australian settings – a reedy waterhole, trickly desert sand, red rocks and so on – and each time youngsters will be keen to join in the refrain:

We can’t go over them.
We can’t go under them.
We’ll have to go through them.

The final line of the story gives a little twist which will leave readers giggling.

Illustrations, by Louis Shea, feature a range of uniquely Australian animals – the croc is joined by (or, at least pursued by) a Tassie devil, a koala, a cassowary and more. The only one that is perhaps not native is a very cute cattle dog. There are lots of other Aussie animals throughout including birds, lizards and marsupials and eagle eyed readers will love searching for the crocodile who is hidden on each spread.

Accompanying the book is a recording of the song performed by Jay Laga’aia and a group of chidlren, as well as an instrumental version of the track, suitable for classroom use.

Lots of fun.

We’re Going on a Croc Hunt, by Laine Mitchell and Louis Shea
Scholastic, 2012
ISBN 9781742832487

Available from good bookstores or online

The Wiggles Go Bananas!

The Wiggles Go Bananas! is a collection of Wiggles songs about animals. Some, like ‘Cock-a-doodle-do’ are traditional songs given a wiggly workover, but others are original Wiggle songs. There are songs about monkeys, lions, crocodiles and even Wags the Dog. An extra feature on each opening is a fact box, with information about animals or about the origins of the song. Illustrations are photos on brightly coloured backgrounds. Wiggles members feature ears and noses to match each song. The Wiggles Go Bananas!is a mid-sized robust paperback with glossy cover and pages.

The Wiggles have been entertaining preschoolers for many years. Their songs and rhymes are designed to be easy to sing along with and include actions to get kids up and moving. This collection of songs includes both familiar and perhaps less familiar songs, and will appeal to Wiggles fans. It’s great to see old traditional tales getting a new life too in the irreverent Irish folk song ‘The Dingle Puck Goat’.

The Wiggles Go Bananas! The Wiggles
ABC Books 2009
ISBN: 9780733325762

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

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

Puff the Magic Dragon, by Peter Yarrow & Lenny Lipton

Known and loved around the world since it was sung by folk-supergroup Peter Paul and Mary in the 1960s, the song Puff the Magic Dragoncontinues to be loved by children and adults alike. Now it has been brought to life in a beautiful hard cover picture book with illustrations by Eric Puybaret.

The original lyrics are brought to life in vivid detail using acrylic on linen in soft hues and with a three dimensional feel. For those who remember the sad ending to the song, where Jackie Paper grows up and leaves Puff alone, the ending is a pleasant surprise, with Puybaret’s illustrations showing a new playmate coming to Honalee to play with Puff, showing the cycle of life and also, perhaps, representing the several generations who have enjoyed the song.

At the back of the book there are notes from the song’s authors, Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton, explaining how they came to write the song, and an accompanying CD features a recording of the song sung by Yarrow, his daughter Bethany and Rufus Cappadocia. There is also an instrumental version of the song, and two extra tracks, Froggie Went A-Courtin’ and The Blue Tail Fly.

This sturdy offering is a true treasure for children and adults of all ages.

Puff, the Magic Dragon, by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton, illustrated by Eric Puybaret
Koala Books, 2007

This book is available from Fishpond . Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.