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!

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

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.

Baby Bilby, Where do you Sleep?

Nice toddler book as it discusses desert animals of Australia in a playful manner.

Run, Hare, Run!

The story of a drawing. One author's take on how a famous author (Albrecht Durer of Germany) came to illustrate the "The Hare". I have never even heard of the painting. It's amazing what you can learn from children's books. :-)

The Bilbies of Bliss

What a great story! A nursing home for Bilbies upset by someone who comes to live there. Nina becomes the catalyst for change to improve the lives of those who live there. They overthrow the Matron and live happily ever after.

An Aussie Night Before Christmas

We have enjoyed finding books by Australian authors. And believe me it's not easy as the library closest to us doesn't put the children's books in any order. We know they're out there, we just have to go through a lot of books to find them. This has been one of our favorites. Ray has enjoyed reading it in the best Aussie voice he can muster, which has improved considerably since we first came here. Here's a line from the book:

Guess what had woken us up
from our snooze.
But a rusty old ute
pulled by eight mighty 'roos.
The cheerful man driving was giggling with glee,
And we both knew at once
who this plump bloke must be.