Ten Bush Babies – Let’s Add

Ten Bush Babies – Let’s Add by Grace Nolan. Illustrated by Nancy Bevington.  2026 Big Sky Publishing. PB Hardback RRP $24.99. ISBN: 9781922896582.

Reviewed by Debra Williams

This book, designed for children aged 0-7 years, is a delight, and the illustrations of the adorable bush babies are both fun and gorgeous. The rhyming repetition goes hand in hand with the animals to count on each page, reinforcing the text. The end of the book contains six Fun Learning Activities pages, where an adult can guide the child in learning numbers and adding up sums for themselves. There are two pages where the child can both count and name all the bush babies themselves. There are two other books available in the series: Book 1, Ten Naughty Numbats, and Book 3, Ten Lively Lorikeets.

From the publisher:

‘Fun and learning go hand in hand in this engaging series. Perfect for children from birth to seven, these books introduce counting, addition and subtraction through playful rhymes and vibrant illustrations. Young readers will discover 30 native Australian animals while developing early numeracy skills in a joyful, interactive way. Each book includes simple reinforcement activities to extend learning and keep the fun going.’

Ten Lively Lorikeets: Let’s Subtract

 

Ten Lively Lorikeets: Let’s Subtract (Little Big Sky Publishing) Grace Nolan & Nancy Bevington

PB RRP $24.99 ISBN 0781922896599

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks 

Ten Lively Lorikeets is Book 3 in a picture book series for learning to count, add, and take away with Aussie animals. In Book 3, ten lively lorikeets are chatting in a line until… one chases a kookaburra. Each lorikeet disappears with the help of a different native Australian bird until there are none left, and then something surprising happens.

Grace Nolan is an author, script writer, composer and performer. She was a reviewer for the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Her love of nature and Australian wildlife inspired the One to Ten and Back Again series, which draws on her educational background and love of children’s literature.

Nancy Bevington’s artistic career spans over three decades, encompassing painting, illustration, and concept creation and execution. Picture books are one of her real passions.  She uses traditional media, including gouache and watercolour, as well as photography.  Many of her books have been sold worldwide and nominated for awards.

Grace Nolan's educational background as a teacher is evident in this story. As a teacher, I taught the ‘Friends of Ten’, and this lovely book is a perfect teaching tool.  The verbs are concise and suit the actions of our lively Australian birds. The text does remind me a little of the Five Little Ducks kids’ song, with the repeated refrain, "then there were…". Nolan’s love of nature, and particularly birds, shines. The added introduction of ten different types of Australian birds is a great way to teach kids how to identify our native birds.  The language is delightful and lyrical, and the text is concise. The backmatter is a wonderful way to practise subtraction and visually see it too.

Nancy Bevington has not only created realistic Australian birds but also added a touch of fun by having the lorikeets wear jester hats.  They are cheeky birds, and I think that is a little play into this. The use of big, wide blue skies and white space allows the birds and their actions to shine more brightly than the noise of too much colour. The birds have personality and bring lots of life to each page. The illustrations draw the eye from left to right across the pages so that the reader can see which individual lorikeet is meeting a new bird. Delightful, fun, and uniquely Australian are great ways to describe Bevington’s illustrations.

Ten Lively Lorikeets: Let’s Subtract is a lively subtraction picture book that is not only a fun read but educational too. Parents, teachers, and librarians alike will love using this book. This vibrant tale, told through birds, teaches not only counting but also subtraction. It’s a great interactive read-aloud for children from birth up to seven years old

Ten Bush Babies: Let’s Add

Ten Bush Babies: Let’s Add by Grace Nolan, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) HB RRP $24.99 ISBN: 9781922896582

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

A baby tree frog is joined by a juvenile glider, then a jumping joey and many other young Australian animals. One by one, the group gets bigger and bigger. When there are ten, they line up to run a race. Who wins the cup?

Grace Nolan’s simple storyline shows three- to five-year-olds how to add up the numbers from one to ten – and the pages are so playful that the kids won’t even realise they’re learning. At the end of the book there are a few fun activities to reinforce the knowledge of addition.

Nancy Bevington supports the teaching of the text with an appealing assembly of characters hilariously accompanied by various baby accessories: dummies, rattles, bibs and bottles. Brightly coloured numbers present the sums to littlies who may not be familiar with the figures.

Part of a useful series, Ten Bush Babies: Let’s Add is perfect for Aussie children who have just started preschool or kindergarten. It is a gentle introduction to early mathematics that will get kids excited to discover more.

Ten Naughty Numbats – Let’s Count

Ten Naughty Numbats – Let’s Count written by Grace Nolan Illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing)  ISBN 9781922896575 RRP $24.99 (HB)

Reviewed by Jude Mullen

This beautifully written and gloriously illustrated counting picture book is one that every early educator and parent will want to have on their bookshelf.

Any children’s book with a hint of naughtiness or mischief in the title is sure to immediately capture the attention of young readers. This title is particularly clever: not only does it include the word ‘naughty’, it also features alliteration and a playful almost-pun, with ‘numbats’  being so similar to ‘numbers’.

The simple yet rich language continues throughout the book, with further alliteration such as ‘wobbly wombats’ and ‘perky possums’. The text also features smooth, unforced rhyme and a comfortable rhythm, making it perfect for reading aloud.

While appropriately sparse, every word of the text earns its place, and is brought to life by the  lively and engaging illustrations. As readers count from one to ten, they encounter vividly illustrated Australian animals that are swimming, playing, gliding, digging, or dreaming—and they are clearly having a great deal of fun. Full of movement, colour and animation, Bevington has also incorporated fun, quirky details in each spread which add freshness and humour. There are elegantly poised black swans wearing crowns, kookaburras peering through binoculars, kangaroos on pogo sticks, and my favourite, wombats wearing head-torches.

Rather than ending when the counting reaches ten, the book extends the enjoyment with four additional spreads, each featuring the animals engaged in new activities alongside different counting experiences to further reinforce early numeracy skills.

This is the first book in a series which introduces children to numbers and counting, while entertaining them with delightfully illustrated Australian furry friends and playful rhyming narrative. It will especially delight 3-6-year-old audiences who will have so much fun that they won’t realise they are learning.

Ten Bush Babies Let’s Add

Ten Bush Babies Let’s Add Written by Grace Nolan & Illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP AU$24.99 ISBN 9 781922 896582

Reviewed by Robyn Gillies

This is an adorable counting-to-ten book featuring Australian bush babies. As they race to win the cup, young readers can have fun learning to count to ten using rhyme, rhythm and a touch of repetition.

Well-known bush babies are used in the story, and other, less well-known ones are introduced, providing a great opportunity to explore beyond the book for inquisitive minds.

The illustrations are lively, fun, colourful and full of ‘baby’ antics. The pages include numbers and symbols for addition to support the language being used.

There are counting activities at the end that provide an opportunity to reinforce learning, but the story stands on its own in terms of enjoyment.

This book could be described as having at least three layers: it tells a simple story, its illustrations are delightful on their own, and it introduces symbols to demonstrate numbers.

This is book two in a series of three early learner books by the same author and illustrator: Ten Naughty Numbats Let’s Count & Ten Lively Lorikeets Let’s Subtract.

Ten Lively Lorikeets: Let’s Subtract

Ten Lively Lorikeets: Let’s Subtract, written by Grace Nolan, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Little Big Sky) HB ISBN 0781922896599

Ten Lively Lorikeets is a picture book series for learning to count, add, and take away with Aussie animals. Fun and learning go hand in hand in this engaging series. Perfect for children from birth to seven, these books introduce counting, addition and subtraction through playful rhymes and vibrant illustrations. Over the series, young readers will discover 30 native Australian animals while developing early numeracy skills in a joyful, interactive way. Each book includes simple reinforcement activities to extend learning and keep the fun going.

In this book, subtitled ‘One to Ten and Back Again with Friends Series,’ readers are invited to learn the first steps in subtraction with the happy, larking lorikeets who are busy doing flying tricks. They do this with the help of ten different native Australian birds. These include galahs, magpies, wattlebirds, and a variety that most children can observe in their own environments, except maybe a lyrebird or emu chick.

“It’s so easy,” the lorikeets say, “Minus just means take away!”  (Some pages even feature simple sums for the reader).

The book starts with ‘ten lively lorikeets chatting in a line’; however, when one chases a kookaburra, there are only nine. Eventually, of course, after ten birds are chased or found, etc., there are none left (though they met again at the end of the book, and then there are ten).

The book is brightly coloured with lots of empty space and details of Australian fauna (such as gum blossoms, berries, and wattle). 

Something idiosyncratic the illustrator has done is to put red-and-white-striped jesters’ hats on the lorikeets, which might annoy parents reading the book to their small child/ren.

Who’s the Gang on Our Street?

Who’s the Gang on Our Street? by Susanne Gervay, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) HB RRP $19.99 ISBN: 9781922896803

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

A ‘special gang’ lives on a suburban street in Australia. The members don’t kick balls, bang on instruments or eat birthday cake, but they do play games, ‘rock to the beat’ and nibble on ‘squishy bananas’. Who are they? Friends go in search of the gang and find a colony of sulphur-crested cockatoos.

Susanne Gervay’s snappy narrative non-fiction text swoops through a flock of fabulous facts about cockatoos before young readers realise that they’re learning something. Kids aged seven to twelve will squawk with delight when they solve the mystery of the gang’s identity. At the end of the book, there is information and a quiz for those who want to know more.

The flashy parrots in this picture book call for bright and dynamic illustrations, and Nancy Bevington’s cartoon-like images certainly fit the bill. If littlies look for long enough, they’ll spy the feathered creatures peeking at them from every scene. The diversity among the child characters is also brilliant to behold.

Colourful and creative, Who’s the Gang on Our Street? offers a unique way to discover one of Australia’s most iconic birds. Kids will get a kick out of the cockatoos’ antics, and develop a new appreciation for their local fauna.

Stacey Casey (Book 1): The House That Time Remembers

Stacey Casey (Book 1): The House That Time Remembers by Michael C. Madden, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781922615886

Reviewed by Kylie Buckley

Stacey Casey lives in the small town of Marksville with her dad, who works as an inventor in the basement of their house. She refers to him as a genius even though most of his crazy inventions don’t work. However, one day in 2022, one of his inventions works…. he has created a time machine! His invention takes them, and their current house (including its modern conveniences), back to 1964. Instead of going to school that day, Stacey, and her best friend Oliver go into town to explore what Marksville was like 58 years earlier. They are told explicitly not to touch anything and to try to remain unnoticed, but that’s easier said than done!

Stacey Casey: The House That Time Remembers is the first book in the Stacey Casey Series of fun middle grade novels, written in the first person by 12-year-old Stacey. Monochrome illustrations that complement the text are scattered throughout the pages. The fictional story includes a myriad of intriguing facts and notable events that occurred in 1964.

The next book in the series, Stacey Casey and the Cheeky Outlaw (Book 2), follows Stacey and Oliver when they travel 100 million years back in time for another adventure… this time back to a land when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Stacey Casey: The House that Time Remembers

Stacey Casey: The House that Time Remembers by Michael C. Madden, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN 9781922 615886

Stacey Casey is a fun and adventurous middle grade series that will take kids on a wild ride into the past. On their journey, readers will discover surprising and sometimes hidden and fascinating historical facts about the 1960s. Stacey and her friend Oliver travel back in time where they encounter villains, heroes, tantalising mysteries, and intriguing adventures that will keep kids guessing. The Stacey Casey series is a wonderful combination of time travel, friendship, courage, science, history, and mystery all wrapped up in one

Stacey Casey’s father is a terrible inventor. But now, despite years of failed inventions, he has created a functioning time machine. Well…kind of! Instead of sending him back in time, he turns their entire house into a time machine, transporting everyone and everything in it. Stacey and her friend Oliver find themselves in 1965 faced with a series of extraordinary events. They find a bizarre artifact and encounter strange man who seems to know Stacey … but why is he chasing them? Who set the school on fire? And what’s with all the famous people they keep meeting? Can the friends solve the string of unanswered questions and find their way home?

This chapter book for readers aged 8+ years, has numerous black, white, and grey illustrations.                                      

There is another Stacey Casey title: Stacey Casey and the Cheeky Outlaw by the same author and illustrator.

Space Kids: Blast Off!

Space Kids: Blast Off! By Aleesah Darlison, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $12.50 ISBN 9781922615862

 Get ready to blast off on a fun-filled, fast-paced adventure that’s out of this world! It’s the inaugural Milky Way Space Race and teams from around the world converge on race host, Misty Space Station, to compete.  When billionaire inventor, Cooper Borgstein and his son, Finn, invite the Space Kids to race with them in their blaster ship, Ventura, it’s an opportunity too good to pass up. But when competitors take it too far and push the rules and each other to the limit, lives are put in danger. Things spiral out of control and it’s up to Nash and the other Space Kids to save the day.

There is another Space Kids’ chapter book (Sabotage) by Darlison, a multi-published, award-winning Australian author. Both books are illustrated in black, white, and grey by talented illustrator Bevington.

Space Kids Sabotage

Space Kids Sabotage by Aleesah Darlison, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $29.99 ISBN 9781922488305

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

It’s 2088 and Nash Steele travels to the space station Misty where his estranged Safety Officer dad Orson lives. Nash is there for a fortnight while Mum and his stepdad Mike are on their honeymoon. Space stations like Misty are built like giant cruise ships, the weather is climate controlled and the station caters for tourists’ every whim, including the biggest gymnasium that Nash has ever seen. Misty is privately owned by a multi-billionaire; however, a rival space station, Wordlink seems to want to destroy it.

The first chapter of this well-written novel for readers aged 8+ years starts dramatically, with suspenseful action, and finishes inside a space shuttle (with Nash and his dad aboard), hurtling to Misty. However, space junk has been deposited by Wordlink and causes alarm. Fortunately, the shuttle manages to avoid it and the shuttle lands safely at its destination. At the station Nash meets Captain Malek’s son Raj who has a pet ferrog (ferret-dog) called Rex. He also meets Bingo who is visiting with his grandma, as well as Mr Nakimoto who is regarded with suspicion.

When multiple malfunctions occur on Misty, Nash is convinced it’s the grumpy Mr Nakimoto sabotaging the station. But when Nash and the others go for a moon walk, Bingo reveals his true colours – and his true intentions. He is not a boy after all, but an assassin robot. Along with his criminal ‘Gran’, Bingo is out to destroy Misty space station.

Aleesah Darlison, the author, is an award-winning author of over fifty books for children and young adults. Her skill as a writer of fast-paced, humorous adventure stories is evident here. This is a well-written, engaging book which is sure to win her many more fans.

Space Kids Sabotage

Space Kids Sabotage by Aleesah Darlison, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $12.50 ISBN 9781922387

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Australian author Aleesah Darlison knows how to write books kids like to read. In this latest novel she combines science fiction, space and mystery rolled into a fabulous intergalactic adventure series complete with humour and fun. The book is ideal for reluctant readers and should appeal to those aged 7+ years.

Eleven-year-old Nash lives with his mum on Earth and spends time with his estranged dad on Misty Space Station thousands of outer space kilometres away. When Nash arrives at the station, he meets new friends nicknamed the Space Kids. However, danger awaits the trio: someone is sabotaging Misty. Perhaps it’s Mr Nakimoto. Or could it be their new friend Bingo Crafter?

Darlison is a multi-published, award-winning Australian whose much-loved stories promote the concepts she explores in this latest novel: courage, friendship, and teamwork. Her story is fast-paced and compelling. Her book is illustrated with black and white pictures by Nancy Bevington who has illustrated some beautiful and award-winning books.

Space Kids Sabotage is sure to garner many fans and is highly recommended.

 
Happiness is a Cloud, written by Robert Vescio, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing, 2020) ISBN: 9781922265715

Paperback, 32 pp RRP $14.99 

Reviewed by Julie Thorndyke

This picture book is a refreshing, uplifting look at cloud-spotting. Harry and his father, together with dog Jasper, enjoy cloud watching. The book takes us through different moods with different cloud shapes, from happiness to sadness, fear, and loneliness, and back to happiness again.

A background of photographs provides a realistic backdrop for the hand drawn figures of the father, boy and dog.

A narrative arc is provided as the characters walk on the beach observing clouds. Jasper the df goes missing. The mood turns dark like the sky. But a happy ending is assured with the return of Harry’s canine companion.

In a subtle but strong way, this book shows the importance of being in the natural world and the beneficial effect nature can have in our human lives.

“. . . that day, Harry floated home, just like a happy cloud.”

Something we all can use more of.

 

 

Kisses in your Heart

 Kisses in your Heart by Sonia Bestulic, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN: 9781925675924

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

Kisses in your Heart is as warm as a woolly blanket and twice as comforting. Children aged from four to eight years will beam as the young protagonist snuggles into bed and receives kisses from her mum that carry her love inside them. ‘I close my eyes, and I always know, these kisses follow where I go,’ the girl muses. And she is right. Whenever she is feeling the chill of sadness or fear, she remembers the love that ‘burns like a happy star’ in the kisses and begins to ‘glow with pride’.

With just one rhyming couplet per spread, Sonia Bestulic’s text is succinct – but she has made the most of every emotive word. Readers will find their ‘sparkle smile’ as they discover the energy that radiates from the parent–child bond and lights the way during dark times.

Nancy Bevington’s illustrations will melt hearts with their mellow tenderness. The muted tones are perfect for bedtime, as the colour palette calms spirited little souls. With her spiral hair and sweet smile, the protagonist is especially appealing, and the flock of rosy hearts fluttering across the pages emphasises the theme of love at the core of the book.

Kisses in your Heart is a gentle story that is ideal for reading to children before they go to sleep. When they share this book together, parents and children strengthen their relationship and stoke the fire of the ‘love that strongly burns’.

Kisses in your Heart

Kisses in your Heart by Sonia Bestulic, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) RRP PB $14.99 HB $24.99
ISBN 9781925675924 (PB) 9781925675931 (HB)

Reviewed by Kylie Buckley

Kisses in your Heart is a sweet bedtime story for young children, written in rhyming verse from the point of view of a nameless young girl. The beautiful soft watercolour illustrations complement the story well, along with bright red hearts which highlight the focus of the tale.

Throughout the book the little girl seeks constant comfort from her favourite teddy. However, naturally it’s her mother’s love that she holds most dearly. When her mother kisses her goodnight, she explains that the kisses hold love inside and can be kept in her heart. The young girl then knows that wherever she goes and whatever she does that her mother’s love is always with her. So, when the little girl feels shy, sad, scared or lonely she thinks about those kisses in her heart. Her smile and confidence soon return at the thought of her mother’s love.

This picture book is aimed at children aged under eight and can be a great conversation starter about feelings and the love that ties families together. The figurative concept of ‘kisses in your heart’ is a beautiful one, and may be especially helpful for anxious children to remind them that their parents love them and care about them even when they’re not around.