Penelope the Mountain Pygmy Possum

Penelope the Mountain Pygmy Possum by Gordon Winch, illustrated by Stephen Pym (New Frontier)

HB RRP $24.99

ISBN 978-1-92505-959-5

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Penelope is a Mountain Pygmy Possum which lives in the Snowy Mountains in Australia. She hibernates throughout the winter in her home under the boulders while her mate Percy and the other males spend the cold months further down the mountain where snow and ice do not reach. When spring arrives, Penelope hungrily snacks on Bogong Moths, but then her thoughts turn to Percy and she wonders why he has not made his way back to her yet.

This is a lovely story which finds the balance between make-believe and fact. It is a story about with these tiny endangered marsupials the impact humans have on their environment. But it also a hopeful story which shows that, with a little thought, humans and animals can exist together well and demonstrates how these little animals help to keep the environmental balance in check.

Even though this story contains a clear message, this is not a wordy picture book. The simple writing style makes it a good read aloud. It an easy story for young children to follow and they will empathise with plight of Penelope, Percy and all their friends. And the expressive eyes of the Pygmy Possums will make children fall in love with these adorable little creatures.

Beautiful soft muted illustrations give the story gentleness. The colour palette enhances the Australian setting and emphasizes the quiet humour in Percy’s brightly striped socks or the unexpected shock of the yellow bulldozer.

Penelope and the Mountain Pygmy Possum will make a nice bedtime story for 4 to 8 year olds. The happy ending sees a reunited Penelope and Percy at the end of ‘The Tunnel of Love’, snacking on their Bogong Moths ‘with a crackle and a crunch, a chomp and a munch.’

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.