Friday 27 April 2018

5 Australian Children's Books


I was browsing my bookshelves and realised that I have so many more books to share (two bookshelves worth to be precise) and I'm down to my last day of books.  So today I thought I would share some books for the younger generation to appreciate us.

Australian Story : 
An Illustrated Timeline

  • Format Paperback | 32 pages
  • Dimensions 210 x 297mm
  • Publication date 01 Feb 2017
  • Publisher National Library of Australia
  • Publication City/Country Canberra, Australia
  • ISBN10 0642279047
  • ISBN13 9780642279040
From Book Depository: "Once there was nothing. Then there was something . . . Come on a fascinating journey through time--from the explosive beginnings of our planet through the formation of the Australian landscape, from the deeply entrenched history of our Indigenous people to modern-day Australia. Beginning with the creation of our country's landmass and climate, Australian Story: An Illustrated Timeline presents the key moments in our country's geographical, faunal and floral formation, and later human settlement. Featuring succinct entries on historical moments over the past 47 billion years, Australian Story covers such topics as ecological change, social upheaval, politics, invention, the industrial age, war, immigration, celebration, culture and modern technology--and presents them in a way that is visual, fun and thoroughly entertaining for children. Illustrated with a striking collection of photographs and images from the NLA's collection, this is history for children like never before. A fascinating snapshot of our country, Australian Story tells who we once were, who we are today . . . and where we are going. Originally published in 2012, Australian Story is now brought up to date with events up to 2016 and a new cover."

One of my passions in children's books is to find books that are beautifully illustrated.  This one is a beautiful mix of illustrated graphics and photographs of the events in Australian history with keynote sentances for each event.  It's one of those books that are a joy to look through and will hold your child's attention.

  • Format Hardback | 32 pages
  • Dimensions 233.68 x 294.64 x 7.62mm | 340.19g
  • Publication date 01 Mar 2005
  • Publisher Kane/Miller Book Publishers
  • Publication City/Country United States
  • Language English
  • ISBN10 1929132735
  • ISBN13 9781929132737
 It's not an easy feet trying to explain the sheer expanse of Australia.  For children every trip is an adventure even to town.  Alison does an amazing job of taking you on a journey around Australia.  She highlights the beauty and things that Australia has to offer and the illustrations are beautiful. This gorgeous book is one well worth taking the time to read.


  • Format Paperback | 32 pages
  • Dimensions 236.22 x 251.46 x 5.08mm | 136.08g
  • Publication date 15 Sep 1991
  • Publisher Cengage Learning EMEA
  • Imprint THOMSON LEARNING
  • Publication City/Country London, United Kingdom
  • Language English
  • Edition statement Reprint
  • Illustrations note Illustrations, unspecified
  • ISBN10 0152632247
  • ISBN13 9780152632243
A children's Australian book list would not be complete without a book by Mem Fox.  Possum Magic and Australian children's story's are synonomous.  Beautifully illustrated by Julie Vivas.

From Book Depository:  "Grandma Poss makes bush magic. And her best trick of all is making Hush invisible. Now Hush will truly be safe from snakes. But one day Hush wants to become visible again. Grandma Poss looks and looks, but she can't find the right magic. Then she remembers. It's something to do with food! People food--not possum food. So the two set off on what becomes a fascination culinary tour of the cities of Australia to find the magic that will make Hush visible again."
  • Format Hardback | 40 pages
  • Dimensions 258 x 282 x 12mm | 521.63g
  • Publication date 15 Aug 2010
  • Publisher Cengage Learning, Inc
  • Imprint Sleeping Bear Press
  • Publication City/Country KY, United States
  • Language English
  • Illustrations note , colour illustrations, maps
  • ISBN10 1585364452 
  • ISBN13 9781585364459
D is for Down Under is part of the Discover the World Series.  These books are GORGEOUS and author Devin Scillian cleverly weaves together a clever story using the alphabet to introduce the reader to all things Australian.

  • Format Hardback | 160 pages
  • Dimensions 208 x 282 x 18mm | 819.99g
  • Publication date 01 Jan 1988
  • Publisher James Clarke & Co Ltd
  • Imprint Lutterworth Press
  • Publication City/Country Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • Language English
  • Edition Illustrated
  • Edition statement Illustrated
  • Illustrations note 188ill.(38col.).
  • ISBN10 0718827058
  • ISBN13 9780718827052
The History of Australia book is a beautiful read and wonderfully illustrated with black line drawings.  We are currently reading this wonderful book to learn more about the roots of this nation we hope to soon call our own.

From Book Depository: "Written with young readers in mind, this lively, lucid account of Australia and its people begins with the geographic shaping of the continent millions of years ago and continues to the present day. Here is the fascinating story of a land inhabited since the Ice Ages by Aboriginal tribes, a land which remained undiscovered by the rest of the world until the birth of the industrial age, when European settlement reshaped it in political and social terms. Original sources are used to highlight episodes that will especially appeal to young readers: we hear the voices of Aborigines bewildered by the advent of the Europeans, and of those who made the perilous journey across the world in sailing ships ...We share the weariness of explorers trudging towards a far horizon, and the elation of a lucky gold-digger ...We storm the heights at Gallipoli alongside the Anzacs, and realise what it must have been like to go hungry during the Great Depression, or to fight in the Jungles of New Guinea ...This history, a distinguished collaboration between Manning Clark and Meredith Hooper is lavishly decorated throughout in colour and black-and-white by Susanne Ferrier, whose illustrations perfectly complement the text and give the book an extra, vivid dimension of sheer visual enjoyment. History of Australia is a book to be shared, appreciated and enjoyed by all those eager to discover the story of this great new country."


This is post three of the Homeschool Review Crew 5 Days of Homeschool Blog Hop 2018. The other posts in the series can be found here:
5 Days of Australian Literature


Looking ahead on the host blog:

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Thursday 26 April 2018

The Dig Tree: The Story of Burke and Wills

It took nearly 200 years to map the circumference of Australia and discovering the interior became a race between the states. It had already been 72 years since the first colonists had arrived and yet no one had yet crossed the continent.  The Burke and Wills expedition was determined to open up new fronteirs in Australia.


With the help of original source documents Sarah Murgatroyd has woven together the most beautiful living book history of the expedition to find a way through the center of Australia.  Follow Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills as well as Chales Sturt.


  • Format Paperback | 384 pages
  • Dimensions 130 x 196 x 26mm | 281.23g
  • Publication date 04 Jan 2010
  • Publisher Text Publishing Co
  • Imprint The Text Publishing Company
  • Publication City/Country Melbourne, Australia
  • ISBN10 192152099X
  • ISBN13 9781921520990 
From Book Depostitory:
"Murgatroyd has brought together for the first time new scientific and historical evidence, and tells the story of Burke and Wills, the explorers who set out to cross Australia from coast to coast, in brilliant detail. Here, at last, is the book that brings to life Australia's most infamous story of exploration. The Dig Tree describes vividly the remarkable courage, the suffering and the moments of sheer lunacy, as Burke and Wills struggled to survive in a harsh land they did not understand. Sarah Murgatroyd's style is immensely readable. She has written with warmth about Burke and Wills and their party, and reveals fascinating detail - for example, that Burke had a notoriously bad sense of direction, and was famous for getting lost even on the way home from his local pub! Though we all know the basic story of the Burke and Wills expedition, The Dig Tree reveals just how little most of us know of the individuals, the politics, the blunders and the ambitions behind this extraordinary event in Australia's history. This is essential and utterly compelling reading."


  • Format CD-Audio
  • Dimensions 134 x 146mm | 258g
  • Publication date 01 Dec 2009
  • Publisher Bolinda Publishing
  • Imprint Bolinda Audio Books
  • Publication City/Country Tullamarine, Australia
  • Edition Unabridged
  • Edition statement Unabridged edition
  • ISBN10 1742334601
  • ISBN13 9781742334608 
  • Read by Catherine Milte
We loved listening to Catherine read The Dig Tree on our Outback Adventure a few years back.  I gained such a new appreciation for the Outback listening to this book.

This is post three of the Homeschool Review Crew 5 Days of Homeschool Blog Hop 2018. The other posts in the series can be found here:

Day 1 - The Switherby Pilgrims and Jamberoo Road.
Day 2 - Australian Historical Fiction
Day 3 - ANZAC Books


Looking ahead on the host blog:





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Wednesday 25 April 2018

ANZAC Books

Today is ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Cor) day in Australia. It's a natioanl day of remembrance in Austrlai and New Zealand that commemorates all Australians and New Zeealnaders who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping endevours. Today I want to share some beautiful books that bring ANZAC day to life and touch the hearts of those who read them.

If you love poetry you may want to look at  ANAZC Day - An Ode to the Fallen (along with extra resources) a poem by the English poet and writer Laurence Binyon and was published in London in The Winnowing Fan: Poems of the Great War in 1914.


  • Format Paperback | 304 pages
  • Dimensions 128 x 198 x 19mm | 206g
  • Publication date 15 May 2009
  • Publisher HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
  • Publication City/Country New South Wales, Australia
  • Illustrations note maps
  • ISBN10 0732285402
  • ISBN13 9780732285401
It is 1915 and three young woman Midge, Ethel and Anne start a canteen in France, reaching out to and caring for the wounded who are returning from the front. Midge is recruited by the ambulance service and finds herself in carnage and scenes of courage she could never have imagined.    Her twin Tim has been listed as MIA in the devasting defeat of the ANZAC forces at Gallipoli.
When the 'War to end all Wars' is over, all three discover that going 'home' can be both a strange and wonderful experience.

A Rose for the ANZAC Boys was awarded the 2009 Honour Book, Children's Book Council fo Australia and shortilisted for the 2009 ABIA Awards.


  • For ages 12-17
  • Format Paperback | 224 pages
  • Dimensions 129 x 198 x 13mm | 162g
  • Publication date 01 Apr 2009
  • Publisher HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
  • Publication City/Country New South Wales, Australia
  • ISBN10 0732288398
  • ISBN13 9780732288396 
Simpson and his donkey is a well know from the war.  Together they saved over 300 men over a span of 24 days. He died at Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915.  We are looking forward to reading this story after seeing the bronze memorial statue of the two of them here in Melbourne.

About the story:   "The famous story of Simpson and his donkey - a true Anzac legend Most Australians know of Simpson and his donkey, who became heroes at Gallipoli, even among the Turkish forces. Few know where the donkey came from, or what happened to him after World War I. Or that another man carried on rescuing the wounded with the donkey after Simpson died. This is the story of a small unassuming donkey. It's also the story of Gallipoli, of Jack Simpson, and New Zealander stretcher-bearer Richard Henderson, who literally took up the reins after Simpson's death."


A Story of Courage in World War 1

  • For ages 9-12
  • Format Hardback | 32 pages
  • Dimensions 210 x 282 x 12mm | 322.05g
  • Publication date 30 May 2008
  • Publisher Candlewick Press,U.S.
  • Publication City/Country Massachusetts, United States
  • Language English
  • Edition statement Us
  • Illustrations note chiefly col. Illustrations
  • ISBN10 0763639133
  • ISBN13 9780763639136
We read this book a few years ago and enjoyed learning about Jack Simpson and his donkey at ANZAC cove.

From Book Depository: "Two unlikely heroes rescue hundreds of men wounded in war in a poignant picture book based on a true tale of World War I. When Jack Simpson was a boy in England, he loved leading donkeys along the beach for a penny a ride. So when he enlists as a stretcher bearer in World War I, his gentle way with those animals soon leads him to his calling. Braving bullets and bombs on the battlefields of Gallipoli, Jack brings a donkey to the aid of 300 Allied soldiers -- earning both man and donkey a beloved spot in legend. This engaging nonfiction tale includes a map and brief bios of key characters."



  • Format Hardback | Paperback  32 pages
  • Dimensions 242 x 262 x 9mm | 395g
  • Publication date 05 Nov 2013
  • Publisher HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
  • Publication City/Country Pymble, Australia
  • ISBN10 073229360X
  • ISBN13 9780732293604
ANZAC Day is a public holiday and as such a special day when we remember and honour those that have died to preserve our freedom.  In this book Jackie French shares the traditions that have been passed down from the first march of the veterans in 1916 to the descendants who march today.  She references the many plays the ANZACs have fought and the various ways in which they keep peace and support civilians in war-torn parts of the world today.  Beautifully illustrated by Mark Wilson.


  • For ages 6-8
  • Format Paperback | 36 pages
  • Dimensions 202 x 281 x 4mm | 190g
  • Publication date 01 Dec 2015
  • Publisher Random House Australia
  • Publication City/Country North Sydney, Australia
  • Language English
  • Edition statement Reprint
  • Illustrations note colour illustrations
  • ISBN10 0857981935
  • ISBN13 9780857981936
Meet... is a series of books introducing famous historical figures from Australia's past who have shaped our history and the country we are living in today. These books have been written for a younger audience but we love finding them at the library and bringing them home.

Meet ... the ANZACS  "ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It is the name given to the Australian and New Zealand troops who landed at Gallipoli in World War I. The name is now a symbol of bravery and mateship"



This is post three of the Homeschool Review Crew 5 Days of Homeschool Blog Hop 2018. The other posts in the series can be found here:

Day 1 - The Switherby Pilgrims and Jamberoo Road.
Day 2 - Australian Historical Fiction

Looking ahead on the host blog:


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