10 Hooting Owls

10 Hooting Owls by Ed Allen, illustrated by Simon Williams (Scholastic Press)
PB RRP $13.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-698-0
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

I really enjoy these counting books based on the Ten Green Bottles song. 10 Hooting Owls is yet another enjoyable and amusing version, perfect to read aloud to young children.

The rhyme works well and is consistent throughout and each owl has an amusing reason for leaving the flock. In nine the owls are in disguise and the poor owl dressed as a magpie is being shuffled off by other magpies who don’t seem to notice the difference. In seven, one of the skating owls becomes a champion.

I love the illustrations. Williams’ owls are fabulous, especially their facial expressions and body language. In six, the fluffy pink owl gets chicken pox and is all droopy while the other owls have moved to the far end of the branch and watch him out of the corner of their eyes as they knit.

This is a vibrant, joyful book. One in which the pictures tell as much of the story as the creative and rhythmic text. And as an added bonus the relevant number is hidden on each page and is not always easy to find. 10 Hooting Owls is a really fun backwards counting book which will be enjoyed by adult readers and the young children they read it to.

10 Bush Babies

10 Bush Babies by Susan Hall, illustrated by Naomi Zouwer (National Library of Australia)
HB RRP $ 12.99
ISBN 9780642277695
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Ten Australian bush babies have gone to school where Mrs Roo is the teacher. But they decide to play a trick on her. Each time Mrs Roo rings the bell – ding-ding-ding-ding, one less animal appears. Who has gone missing? It’s up to the reader to check the animals and find who the missing one is. There is a hint at the bottom of the page to help discover the answer. To wind up their clever game, the bush babies have a surprise for Mrs Roo at the end.

It’s a countdown but also a counting up of Australian animals.

With their usual talented flair and insight, the authors and illustrators at the NLA have created another educational and simultaneously entertaining book for children featuring Australian animals while learning to count.

The delightful watercolour illustrations that accompany the text are charming. The book is produced in sturdy board with shiny pages that can easily withstand the frequent turning by small hands.

Possum Magic Numbers

 Possum Magic - Numbers [Board book] by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas (Omnibus books)
HB RRP $9.99
ISBN 978-1-86291-972-3
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Possum Magic is one of Australia’s best loved and well-known picture books, still widely popular after more than 25 years in print. Possum Magic Numbers brings those much adored bush characters back to life in a counting adventure for the very young.

This beautifully presented board book starts with Grandma Poss, ‘one possum’ climbing a tree and ends with a branch full of sleepy animals watching the stars. The artwork of Julie Vivas, who illustrated Possum Magic, is full of magic as well. These are gorgeous pictures, soft and gentle, bringing Fox’s characters to life. They flow wonderfully. Grandma Poss drops a slipper, which falls past ‘two kookaburras’ on the next page, who lose a feather which ‘three koalas’ then play with. This creates the narrative in the counting book. The slippers weave in and out of the pages which also tie the book back to the original Possum Magic.

This is a board book any parent could happily read many times a day and is sturdy enough for babies and toddlers to look at and play with over and over again. It would be a lovely Christmas gift for any new babies in your life. Read it and revisit the bush magic of Grandma Poss, Hush and the lamingtons.

Ten Bush Babies

Ten Bush Babies by Susan Hall,  illustrated by Naomi Zouwer (National Library of Australia)

PB RRP $17.95

ISBN – 978-0-642-27732-9
Reviewed by Emma Cameron

Giving a delightfully Australian twist to the well-known rhyme of Five Little Ducks, this version sees Mother Duck replaced with Mrs Roo, who takes on the role of the bush animals’ teacher. Rather than ducklings wandering out each day, it’s ten bush babies who go out “Into the sun to jump and play.” When Mrs Roo rings her bell, “ding-ding-ding-ding”, one less baby returns each day.

Given that there are ten different babies to begin with, readers will delight in perusing the illustrations to see who failed to return that day. Lifting the flap confirms whether readers are correct. It also reveals that the bush baby hasn’t simply vanished but has, in fact, headed off for a specific purpose, showing readers something about the characteristics and habits of that creature. Written on the back of each flap is also an interesting fact about the animal.

The sing-song rhyme and repetition of refrains are things that children aged two to five will easily latch on to and the lift-the-flap design is most inviting. This well thought out, quality production has fun and lively pastel illustrations of our native animals in their natural habitat. At the very end are duplicates of paintings done by Jon Gould, a naturalist who came to Australia in 1838.

Showcasing our wombat, echidna, koala, possum, bilby, platypus, kangaroo, quoll, dingo and emu, this book is perfect for Australian children, a must for pre-schools, and will make a beaut souvenir for visitors or a unique and special gift for overseas friends and relatives. From counting how many animals are left, to identifying each one, working out which is missing, and learning facts about them, this book gives much to do and is sure to be a favourite.

1-2-3 Count to Ten with Gumnut Babies; Colours, A Bush Rainbow with Gumnut Babies

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie present 1-2-3 Count to Ten with Gumnut Babies and Colours, A Bush Rainbow with Gumnut Babies illustrated by May Gibbs (Scholastic Australia)

HB RRP $9.99 each

ISBN 9781742830230 and ISBN 9781742830421

Reviewed by Dawn Meredith

What a lovely way to revitalize the beloved characters of May Gibbs!  Part of the proceeds of this book go to benefit Cerebral Palsy Alliance and The Northcott Society. Awarded an MBE in 1955 for her contribution to children’s literature, May Gibbs bequeathed the copyright of her bush characters to charities. The proceeds have supported thousands of Australian children with disabilities and their families also.

This nicely presented 216x178mm board book with matt finish works beautifully with May Gibbs’ charming soft pastel illustrations. Each page is a different number on the way to ten:

One special hug,

two friends together,

three buzzing bugs,

four cuddly chicks…

I love these mythical little people, tucked up in their gum leaf beds, with their little wooden hats and chubby cherubic bodies! My favourite in Count to Ten would have to be ‘Seven soft floating flowers’ in which pink gum nut babies parachute earthwards beneath pink flowers and in Colours  the cover illustration, depicting two bush babies swathed in fluffy pale yellow wattle blossom sitting on a twig. The text is simple and evocative:

Gold sunrise glow,

Silver morning star,

Brown gum nuts roll,

Orange bees buzz…

These uniquely Australian drawings and concepts have a place in the hearts of every generation and I am so pleased to see them once more grace the shelves. That these lovely keepsakes also help charities help those in need is a wonderful bonus.

Dawn Meredith writes from the Blue Mountains and is a May Gibbs Fellow 2011. Her new book, The Anything Shop will be launched October 15^th. See here for details: www.dawnmeredithauthor.blogspot.com