The Cocky who Cried Dingo, by Yvonne Morrison

Cocky is a young Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and he’s rather proud of his snowy white feathers and his fine yellow crest. He likes a party and a joke and really isn’t taking much account of others around him. When other birds around him are keen to settle in to sleep, he wants to party on. When they ignore him, he decides to play a trick that will wake them for sure. So he pretends he is being attacked by a dingo. Well, that certainly wakes the flock and they hurry to his aid. A great joke! It works so well that he repeats the trick the following night with similar success. The other birds are now seriously cross with him and when on the third night, as in ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’, his call for aid is real and urgent, they are reluctant to respond. He’s in a bind and only narrowly escapes, sacrificing some of his prized crest. He is suitably chastened, and has a temporarily diminished beauty to remind him of his near escape.

The Cocky Who Cried Dingo is a new take on a traditional tale and brings Australian birds into play the roles otherwise played by a boy, a village and a wolf. But the message loses nothing in translation. Yvonne Morrison’s rhyming yarn rolls easily off the tongue as the story moves to a familiar conclusion. Heath McKenzie uses torn paper as his backgrounds, using different shapes and depths of colour to convey emotion. His slightly manic but beautiful birds look capable of most anything, particularly as their sleep is yet again disturbed. Children will join in the refrain with Cocky, waiting to see what will happen when the dingo is real. Cocky is taught a lesson, and is duly chastened, but less the reader think he is totally reformed, McKenzie provides a final cheeky image. Recommended for early-primary readers.

The Cocky Who Cried Dingo

The Cocky Who Cried Dingo, Yvonne Morrison, ill Heath McKenzie
2010 ISBN: 9781921541421

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

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

My Aussie Dad, by Yvonne Morrison & Gus Gordon

Dads come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. In My Aussie Dada range of children present their dads and the wonderful things they do. Each dad is presented as being wonderful, even when their skills are shown as being less than perfect. For example the barbecuing dad sometimes grills the snags just a fraction more than he should. The language is rhythmical and rhyming and includes a range of Aussie slang. Illustrations on the left of each opening show Dad and the skill that makes him wonderful, while the other side reflects the somewhat less shiny reality. Illustrations are a mix of loose watercolour, collage and pencil. Images on the left are set in lots of white space, while those on the left spread colour over the page. The closing image is of a smiling father and child.

My Aussie Dad pays homage to a range of fathers, the majority of them iconic ‘Aussies’. The text is simple and humorous and the illustrations extend on the humour by depicting the Dads in a variety of activities. Throughout disasters large and small and behaviours appropriate and not, the dads are unfailingly presented as relaxed and caring. They all depict warm relationships with the child who is speaking about them, even if it’s to share an unidentifiable invention/creation, or to share a burnt snag. There’s even a place on the endpapers for the inclusion of a photo of Dad. Endpapers include many essentials for the everyday (summer) dad: big hat, footy, fly swat, hot sun and more! Recommended for preschool and early primary readers.

My Aussie Dad

My Aussie Dad, Yvonne Morrison, Gus Gordon
Scholastic 2010
ISBN: 9781741692280

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

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

Brucie Saves Christmas, by Yvonne Morrison & Michelle Pike

All the other kangaroos,
Thought him rather shy and small.
They didn’t think poor Brucie,
Could be any help at all…

Brucie is a small joey who isn’t brave and is not good at any of the Christmas things the other kangaroos can do. So, when Christmas time comes, he feels sad and left out. But when Christmas Eve comes and it’s foggy and cloudy, it is Brucie who comes up with a solution.

Brucie Saves Christmas! is a fun rhyming tale for Aussie kids. A sequel to An Aussie Night Before Christmas, it also has some parallels with the story of Rudolph, with the odd man (or, in this case kangaroo) out, being the very one who can save Christmas. At the end of the story, there is also a song about Brucie, to the tune of Rudolph the Red Nosed reindeer.

With humorous illustrations by Michelle Pike, this is sure to appeal to youngsters and would make a great Christmas gift.

Brucie Saves Christmas!

Brucie Saves Christmas! by Yvonne Morrison and Michelle Pike
Scholastic, 2009

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.

My Aussie Mum, by Yvonne Morrison

From the snapshots of Aussie Mums in the endpapers, My Aussie Mumis a celebration of mothers in general, and Aussie Mums in particular. This Aussie Mum loves to be a part of everything. She plays sports, supports whales, battles peak hour traffic, does the washing and makes lunches, loves lollies and can pick a fake sickie from ten paces. The illustrations from Nicola Bright are bright and colourful and full of family humour. There is plenty of white space to keep the focus on Mum and her antics. This Aussie Mum is perfect in her imperfection and is well-loved by her children.

My Aussie Mum is full of Aussie vernacular like ‘My Aussie Mum’s a ripper, yep, she’s as tough as nails’. This is not a stuffy Mum at all. She’s down to earth and fallible, but always passionate. She has three children and each of them celebrate and endure her various enthusiasms. The illustrations are somewhat at odds with the text, adding humour to the simple affirmations. Young readers will soon pick the gap between the words and text and are sure to provide examples of their own. The second-last opening shows a wide range of Aussie Mums, different ages, sizes and cultures. All are smiling, all look loved. Easy to imagine this being a Mother’s Day favourite. Recommended for 4-6 year olds.

My Aussie Mum

My Aussie Mum, Yvonne Morrison, ill Nicola Bright
Scholastic Australia 2009
ISBN: 9781741692297

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

This book can be purchased online at 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

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