Zippy Zoe

Zippy Zoe (Little Mates) by Susannah McFarlane, illustrated by Lachlan Creagh (Scholastic Australia)
PB RRP $4.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-884-7
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Zoe is zippy. This little Zebra Finch can zip from zero to a zillion in seconds. But all this zipping and zapping can tire out a small bird and when Zoe zonks, it can be really hard for her friends to wake her. What will they do?

Sadly, this entertaining little series is drawing to a close with Zoe and her friends. I have enjoyed the alliteration and the standard has been really consistent across the series. The illustrations have always been a fabulous part of the stories as well - uniquely Australian with humour, detail and many objects to find for each given letter.

The emphasis put on friendship, family and helping out has also been a great strength of these stories. It’s a lot to pack into a tiny book and this series manages it well. With so many titles to collect there are hours of fun to be had for littlies who are learning the alphabet - and for lovers of animals and words.

The Little Penguins of Manly Wharf

The Little Penguins of Manly Wharf by Felicity Pulman, photography by David Jenkins (Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife)

HB RRP $24.95

ISBN – 978-0-9875708-0-2

Reviewed by Emma Cameron

This book’s text opens with young Anna introducing herself and her friend Toby as National Parks and Wildlife Service volunteers on the team of Penguin Wardens who help guard the only Little Penguin breeding colony found in an international city. There’s lots involved in being a citizen scientist, including tracking progress of animals by keeping log books of observations, and alerting people to the dangers that threaten survival of this endangered species.

We all hear of how dogs, fish hooks, plastic bags and bottles pose hazards to these creatures, but it’s not until we see the extent of it that we truly understand what an issue it is. Anna’s grandpa says that when he was her age, in 1952, there were as many as 500 penguins in the Manly area. By 1990 there were only about 35 left. When readers meet a number of penguins in Anna’s tale and hear their stories, the tragedy that they face because people are either unaware or just inconsiderate is brought to the forefront.

Though penguins mate for life, partnership can only last as long as no harm comes to either member of a pair. Mr Stickybeak lost his first partner when she vanished after a series of misfortunes. Then his second partner was hit by a powerboat. Fortunately, he paired up with Mrs Silverwing whose mate had also died. The new couple had successfully raised two lots of chicks at the time of Anna’s writing the book, so the stories are not without joyful news.

Readers of this work will also see the many members of an interactive and cooperative community that all play different roles in achieving a common goal. Beaut colour photos, some covering a full page, show the action and the people introduced. These include rangers, scientists, park wardens and Taronga Zoo staff. I was taken in by the work these volunteers do and felt comforted to know how many people out there care enough to act this way.

Pages devoted to penguin facts as well as those about threats to the species help give a very clear picture of how fragile these animals are. Outstanding reading for those aged 8-14, the proceeds of book sales go towards the care and protection of these beautiful birds. And this is marvelous news, as the work of the volunteers and the many organisations that support them has seen things begin to turn around and any dollars will help it continue.

Enoch the Emu

Enoch the Emu by Gordon Winch, illustrated by Doreen Gristwood (Scholastic Australia)
PB RRP $15.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-871-7
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Enoch is not a very domesticated emu. He would rather be down at the Emu Club drinking billabong water with his mates than keeping the nest tidy or catching fat juicy grasshoppers for Wilhelmina as she sits on their clutch of eggs day after day. So it comes as quite a surprise when one day, Wilhelmina goes off on a holiday with her friends, leaving Enoch to care for their nine olive eggs and to raise the hatchlings.

Enoch and Wilhelmina are typical emus. In real life the males really do take care of the eggs after the female has laid them. And this book takes an amusing, imaginative look at this role reversal. Male emus make great dads and Enoch sets a new trend by bringing his chicks to the Emu Club.

Enoch the Emu has more words than are typically present in picture books for young children, but the text cleverly weaves the facts and fiction, making an entertaining and very readable story. And the book is one which adults will enjoy reading again and again.

The soft colourful illustrations are fun - Wilhelmina sits on the nest with her curlers in – and match the tone of the text beautifully. They are also filled with other Australian birds and animals of the outback. Children and adults alike will enjoy this story of Wilhelmina and her lazy husband Enoch as he is forced to turn over a new leaf.

Welcome Little Scrub Fowl

Welcome Little Scrub Fowl by Sandra Kendell (Windy Hollow Books)
HC RRP $ 25.95
ISBN 9781922081261
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

How many readers know what a megapode is? Megapode is Greek for big foot. There are 19 species of birds that are megapodes and the Orange-footed Scrubfowl is one of them. This story is about the Scrubfowl, their laying and life habits.

From the beautiful shadowed illustrations on the fly pages to the vibrant, and eye-catching covers, every part of this book including the prose, is perfectly presented. The soft watercolour illustrations create a background of harmony and fluidity between the text and artwork.

Their house has legs. Their garden is ‘wild and green’, full of birds, fruit trees, lizards, frogs and vegetables. But the seedlings are found ‘scratched up’. Mum knows it’s the scrubfowl, and she gets cross. The child can hear them singing in the night and mum calls it courting. The child doesn’t know what that is, but imagines scrubfowls wearing crowns in the garden, surrounded by owls, possums, and tiny insects that have permanent residence there.

Mum knows they are scratching around to make a mound to lay their clutch of eggs. When it hatches, the little scrubfowl digs its way out of the earth to the surface. They are now independent beings.

This is a most informative, educational and entertaining story on the Orange-footed Scrubfowl found in the ‘Top End of the Northern Territory, north-eastern Queensland, and some islands in the Indonesian archipelago’. It has a double spread of information about this interesting bird at the end of the book.

Windy Hollow Books has caught the attention of lovers of children’s books everywhere with their excellent themes, beautiful productions and carefully considered presentation. They are a delight to read and learn from, and equally delightful to gift to anyone that enjoys quality in Australian children’s books.

Don’t Let a Spoonbill in the Kitchen

Don’t Let a Spoonbill in the Kitchen by Narelle Oliver (Omnibus Books)
HB RRP $26.99
ISBN 978-1-86291-931-0
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Don’t Let a Spoonbill in the Kitchen is a gorgeous, cheeky and very fun picture book. It is a book about Australian waterbirds and is perfect for all lovers of rhyming verse, funny stories and birds.

The text and illustrations work well together – first setting up each bird in their natural habitat with a smooth easy rhyme – then placing the bird in our human environment and imagining what a mess they’d make of it.

There is a steady rhythm to this story. First a verse about the bird and its habits, then a verse suggesting similarities to our actions with an added caution:

I’ll give a simple warning that

You’d better not ignore...

Then the page turn and the imagined results of such an unwise action - ‘Don’t let a Spoonbill in the kitchen’. I’m sure this will produce many giggles and children will join in to chant this conclusion line.

Oliver’s illustrations are a mix of linocut, cut paper and photographs. The birds in their natural setting are linocuts, beautiful and natural, and then the addition of the collage elements effectively enhances the total silliness of the idea of letting spoonbills into the kitchen, or pelicans into the airport!

I’ll add my ‘simple warning’ - don’t let this fun and beautifully illustrated book pass you by.

Aussie Animal Opposites

Aussie Animal Opposites by Elizabeth Lea, illustrated by Liz Faul (National Library of Australia)

BB RRP $14.99

ISBN – 9780642277664

Reviewed by Emma Cameron

Using vividly coloured images of native animals, this sturdy board book displays actions that children will identify with as they are introduced to adjectives and their antonyms. It’s an excellent tool to help expand vocabulary in a fun way. I particularly like ‘quiet quokka’ with a finger to her lips, hovering over her baby in its cot and then, on the opposite page, ‘noisy numbat’ bashing drums. This effectively instills opposite emotions in readers.

Besides the commonly used emu, koala, dingo, wombat, goanna, crocodile, bandicoot and numbat, this production also displays our yabby, owl, frog, seal, quokka, honeyeater, mole, lizard, lorikeet, heron, cassowary, ant, snake, rat, turtle, and mouse. I found it refreshing to see such a wide range of species acknowledged and was pleased that ‘calm cassowary’ was not at all perturbed by ‘angry ant’. Ant was rather red with wrath too!

As ‘energetic emu’ heads for the finish line in a race, ‘lazy lizard’ lounges on a deck chair near the backyard shed. Toys are packed away by ‘tidy turtle’ but ‘messy mouse’ has spilled his breakfast.  A sand castle is kicked over by ‘mean mole’ while ‘kind koala’ helps baby put a band aid on its grazed knee. Clever use of everyday situations ensures young readers will easily understand the words.

The back of the book also includes a selection of images from the National Library of Australia’s own collection. Below each image are facts about each animal and suggested activities that will expand on the reading, ensuring the book is not quickly outgrown.

Have You Seen My Egg?

Have You Seen My Egg? By Penny Olsen, illustrated by Rhonda Garward (National Library of Australia)
PB RRP $ 17.95
ISBN 9780642277886
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Eddy emu is missing an egg. He sets out to find it. He asks magpies Maggie and Matt. They are watching their own eggs hatch. Young readers can lift the corner flap and view the hatching of each baby animal/insect represented from here on.

He asks Ella the echidna, but she’s occupied with her puggle. Lizzie lizard, Fiona the frog, and Suzy the spider who still has her babies in a silk bag, are all preoccupied with their newborns. By the time Eddy reaches Selena the snail and Connie the crocodile, he is extremely anxious.

Sandy the shark’s pup has just appeared, and so have all of Tessie the turtle’s hatchlings. But they haven’t seen Eddy’s egg.

As a last resort, he asks Pip and Poppy the penguins to help him. But they must mind their own eggs. When Eddy gets to Harriet the hen, he is desperate. She suggests he goes back to his other eggs. And he does.

Can you guess what happened to Eddy’s egg?

This exciting and educational book for young children introduces twelve Australian animals/insects. With glorious full-page colour illustrations of the parent on the left page, it identifies the name of each baby hidden under a die cut flap at the bottom corner.

The thoughtful presentation and attention to detail in these full-page illustrations is commendable for it will challenge questioning minds that thirst for information. There is a Did You Know? section on the twelve subjects’ lifestyle and habits, with accompanying photos referenced for further research.
 

Gus and the Driftwood Puppy

Gus and the Driftwood Puppy by Carrie Haworth, illustrated by Bianca Ramirez (Published by Carrie Haworth)

PB RRP $14.95 plus $1.80 postage

ISBN – 978-0-9872340-9-4

Reviewed by Donna Austin

In this story, the third in The Adventures of Gus the Galah series, Gus is developing his communication skills further. Now he no longer mimics what Auntie Hazel says but has conversations with her. And it’s just as well he can, because on a particularly windy day he spots ‘something shiny on the river’. He keeps watch and sees something else, and shouts to Auntie Hazel, ‘Look over there in the river. Can you see something on that piece of driftwood?’

Though Auntie Hazel can’t see what is on the driftwood she and Gus set off to investigate. Once closer they see a puppy clinging to the wood. The river is too rough to swim in so Gus suggests to Auntie Hazel that they get a piece of rope from the garage and if she ties a loop to it he can fly out to rescue the puppy.

On their way back to the river they meet up with the pup’s owner, Dawn, who is looking for her pup named Ebony. She joins them and Gus takes the perilous trip through the wind with the rope in his mouth. On reaching Ebony, Gus tells her not to be frightened as he will tie the rope to the wood and Auntie Hazel will pull her to safety. To Dawn’s delight, the rescue is a success.

Reunited with her pup, Dawn marvels that she has no idea ‘how you ended up here at the South of Perth Yacht Club when we live further along the Swan River, but I’m very pleased Gus saved you’. She suggests that Auntie Hazel and Gus might join her and Ebony when they next walk along the river. Auntie Hazel asks what Gus thinks of this idea but gets no reply as Gus is already snuggled up inside her coat asleep. A lovely ending to the story.

In keeping with previous stories the large font text is well placed between bold and bright coloured chalk illustrations that fill the pages and the addition of a Willy Wagtail in each illustration gives readers something to look for in every scene.

Gus and the Shiny Ring

Gus and the Shiny Ring by Carrie Haworth, illustrated by Bianca Ramirez (Published by Carrie Haworth)

PB RRP $14.95 plus $1.80 postage

ISBN – 978-0-9872340-4-9

Reviewed by Donna Austin

In this story, the second in The Adventures of Gus the Galah series, Gus is developing skills that see him mimic what Auntie Hazel says. He also responds to instructions. When Auntie Hazel sees that he needs some more bird seed, she prepares to drive to the pet shop. When she finally gets into the car she realises she’s left her car keys in the house but she sends Gus for them and he does this.

Along the way to the shop, Gus enjoys watching the people and birds they pass and readers are told that he even pretends he is driving the car himself. By the middle of the book Gus and Auntie Hazel reach the shop where Gus flies about to chat with the inhabitants. Purchase of seed complete, Gus and Auntie Hazel head back to the car where they notice a group of ladies gathered on the grass, looking for something. One of them, named Angela, has lost a valuable ring.

“We’ll help you look then,” says Auntie Hazel. Gus waddles about finding nothing until he moves to a section of longer grass where he spots something ‘glimmering in the sunshine’. He picks it up and takes it back to Auntie Hazel. She says “Oh Gus, you clever, clever boy. You found the ring!” and Angela is very pleased. Gus receives a tickle from Angela before Auntie Hazel takes him home.

In keeping with the first book the large font text is well placed between bold and bright coloured chalk illustrations that fill the pages and, as with previous book, the addition of a Willy Wagtail in each illustration gives readers something to look for in every scene.

Lyrebird! A True Story

Lyrebird! A True Story by Jackie Kerin, illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe (Museum Victoria)
PB RRP $16.95
ISBN 9781921833045
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

I immediately fell in love with this book. Set in the insanely picturesque Dandenong Ranges outside of Melbourne in the 1930s, Lyrebird! is based on the true story of James, a 'Miracle of the Dandenongs', and Edith, a flower grower.

The tall lush rainforest of this beautiful part of the world is home to many birds: robins, bell miners, magpies, wattlebirds and hundreds more. As Edith 'whistled, weeded and dug' her flowerbeds, the birds, some friendly, some shy, accompany her. One day, one of the shiest birds of all, a lyrebird, appears. Edith does not expect to see him again but he returns over seasons and years as a young bird and then as a father with a family. Over this time, the two develop an enduring relationship.

Snippets of notes, sketches and songs lets us in on their special friendship in a time before development had impinged on the flora and fauna of the Dandenongs. However, change was coming. Word spread of James' visits to Edith. The president of the Royal Zoological Society of Victoria, Mr Ambrose Pratt, asks to visit and is overawed by James' imitations of birds, and then a rock crusher and car horns.

Award-winning illustrator Peter Gouldthorpe fills out the story with colour and heart which brilliantly depict the Dandenongs and the era. I particularly love the opening double page spread with Edith working in her flower garden and the view across the valley.

The author's note at the end of the book reveals aspects of her research and you can check out more about the process at the Museum Victoria blog. There are brief biographies of Edith, Mr Pratt and James himself, as well as colour illustrations of a variety of birds found in Edith's garden.

Conservation and the environment are hot topics at the moment. Above all, though, Lyrebird! demonstrates the connection between people and the natural world. I highly recommend this book for any home or school library. It would also make the perfect international gift.