The AR in Sydney Harbour

The AR in Sydney Harbour by Judith Barker (Woodslane Press) ISBN  9781923350045 RRP $19.99 (PB)

Reviewed by Jude Mullen

Award winning author Judith Barker and illustrator Janie Frith take readers on an exciting adventure exploring the stunning sites of the city of Sydney in this vibrant and richly illustrated children’s book.

We travel to iconic landmarks like the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, and view Cockatoo Island and the Prime Minister’s residence at Kirribilli. We stroll through the beautiful botanic gardens; visit animals at Taronga Zoo; sail on a ferry from Barangaroo to ride roller coasters at Luna Park; and watch whales passing while eating fish and chips at Watson’s Bay.

It's not only the sites of Sydney that young readers will discover in this book. Barker has also cleverly imbedded a lesson in phonics, which is an essential skill for both reading (or decoding) unfamiliar words and for spelling. In a close reading, children will discover the many ways that letters can combine to make the sound ‘ar’ in different words (I counted six in this text). To highlight the examples of ‘ar’ sounds in the story, the letter combinations are typed in a different colour from the rest of the text, making them easily identifiable.

The story is written in rhyming couplets and is sprinkled with alliteration and assonance, which amplifies the richness of the reading experience for children. With its potential links to the Australian Curriculum in English and Humanities and Social Sciences, this book may be read for enjoyment as well as for learning.  It will find its place in primary school classrooms and libraries as a wonderful teaching resource, and in home bookshelves as an engaging and delightful non-fiction read, especially for newly independent readers aged from around 7-10 years.