Bush Babies

Lovely poetry book describing 15 different animals of Australia. I really enjoy books by the author and illustrator, Kim Dale. Following is the poem about Sugar Gliders.

Cousins to possums
but different in type,
our bluey-grey fur
is marked with a stripe.

Other possums can climb
in the branches of trees;
we can glide through the air
with the greatest of ease.

Our home is a hollow
Where boughs overlap.
The foods we like best
are nectar and sap.

Fair Dinkum Aussie Christmas

I bought this book from a Dymock's bookstore mostly because it was 40% off, but also because it included a cd. We love it and I am sure that we will be singing the Aussie version of these traditional Christmas songs this fall. Tessa thinks the songs are a hoot and enjoys singing them over and over again while Marra loves to dance to the music. Songs included are: Deck the Shed with Bits of Wattle, We Wish you a Ripper Christmas, Good ol' Wally King and many more!

The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency

The classic guide for realists and dreamers. Covers a little bit of everything: The Meaning of Self-Sufficiency, Food from the Garden, Food from Animals, Food from the Fields, Food from the Wild, In the Dairy, In the Kitchen, Brewing & Wine-Making, Energy Waste, Crafts & Skills, and Things You Need To Know. I would like to make the farm gates described. The book is easy to look at and read because there are a lot of illustrations on each page.

Sister Night & Sister Day

This is an adaptation from Grimm's 'Mother Holle". We have 'The Talking Eggs' which is another version. I prefer this one as the "good" daughter is dressed in black and at the end welcomes back her "bad" sister and they live happily ever after as opposed to the "good" daughter becoming wealthy, leaving her mean family and going off by herself. This author writes about the good and not-so-good in all of us.

The Bilby & The Bunyip - An Easter Tale

I have a fascination with Bilbies and there seems to be a lot of children's literature involving them. A Bunyip is a mythical creature of Australia. This is the story of a Bunyip hoarding her beautiful things. She eventually shares with the Bilbies and makes friends in the process.

The Midwife's Daughters

It's nice to read a children's book about midwives. In this book the midwife has 5 daughters that wash the town nappies and care for the mums for 3 weeks after their baby is born. Loved the story. The only issue some might have is that the husband went off to work and came back at the end of the day to his wife and new baby girl. I didn't find it offensive given the time period. Also, it did seem to give it a very strong feminine feel through the book of women helping women. Most birthing stories have a strong family center and this was more women focused. The illustrations were a bit crazy looking but appealing in a playful sort of way. I can't find any photo of the book online but one search led to another and now I'm interested in reading other books by the same author.

http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE2113b.htm

Platypus - world's strangest animal

The girls are really learning a lot about the animals of Australia. It's wonderful to be able to see the animals in real life after viewing a video or reading books. This is the story of a young German woman who goes to Tasmania to study the Platypus. She names a female Shy and follows her as she gives birth to her young. Platypus and Echidna's are the only mammals to lay eggs. Has an extra segment on the Banded Stilts which are also called the flamingoes of Australia.

Terrors of Tasmania

Great dvd that we're enjoying. We love watching any dvd on the animals of Australia. The devil is similar to the kangaroo in that it also has a pouch. The babies are born into a stream of mucous and they are about the size of a grain of rice. The mother can give birth to up to 40 babies and it's a race to see who gets the coveted 4 nipples. In the case of Manganini only 3 males make it to the nipples and after 3 months the pouch gets quite crowded.

Tessa's reading

We had one of these books in our library at home but the girls were never interested in them (they didn't like the pictures on the covers). It's so much bigger than we imagined and the libraries here have about 50 or more books in different series by the same author (Daisy Meadows). There is the Pet Keeper Fairies, The Weather Fairies, The Sporty Fairies, The Petal Fairies, The Fun Day Fairies. I'm sure there are more but that is what we have here now. Her enthusiasm for reading has increased with this series. They are short enough (roughly 70 pages per book) and her reading has improved so much that she can finish a book in an hour. And that keeps her going....

Emma's reading

Emma is reading A Fox called Sorrow which is actually a series but we didn't realize that until after she started book 2. She is looking forward to reading other books by Isobelle Carmody.

Hanna's reading

The series by Chris d'Lacey. Titles include: The Fire Within, IceFire, FireStar and The Fire Eternal.

Kangaroos & Wallabies of Australia

A nice little pocket book that tells you everything you need to know about Kangaroos and Wallaby's. I find them to be so fascinating. There are 45 different species. I'm fascinated with their pregnancies and their birth process. It's so amazing to think they can suspend their pregnancies until they can provide for it. At first the fertilised egg divides and multiplies the normal way but when it gets to a clump of no more than 100 cells, the baby stops growing if she is carrying another joey or if there is a drought and lack of food. The baby is born from a yolk sac, "swims" up through momma's fur and attaches to a nipple, which then swells up so the baby doesn't fall off. They often nurse an out-of-pouch joey and newborn at the same time. They have 4 nipples and each baby picks a nipple and the milk composition changes according to needs. A joey can't fall out of the pouch unless the mom wants it to. So if she thinks the baby is ready she loosens the muscles of her pouch and the baby falls out. Another thing I find fascinating about roos is that their farts are methane free, therefore, they don't contribute to global warming! Cows can burp up to 250L of methane each and sheep 25L. When a cow or sheep eat the food is broken down by bacteria in its stomach. Methane is a waste product of the process. Roos have special bacteria that break down the nutrients without producing methane. Cool! :-)