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Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan for Rewilding Every City on Earth

Ultrawild

Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan for Rewilding Every City on Earth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan for Rewilding Every City on Earth

Steve Mushin

A & U Children’s, 2023

80pp., hbk., RRP $A34.99

9781760292812

When the introduction to a book is entitled ” Ludicrous Ideas are Bootcamp for Brains” then you know you have something that is going to be out there and it’s going to appeal to your wild thinkers, your madcap inventors and all those other kids who dwell in the Land of What If?

This is a most unusual book in both format and content and yet it is also most intriguing.  The author himself says that he had been having “outlandish ideas” for as long as he can remember, some successful, some not-so, but he is on a mission to “crush climate change by transforming every city on Earth into a jungle (or whatever other type of ecosystem it was before humans trashed it)”.

So in a comic-like format that follows his thought processes, he designs habitat-printing robot birds and water-filtering sewer submarines, calculates how far compost cannons can blast seed bombs (over a kilometre), brainstorms biomaterials with scientists and engineers, studies ecosystems and develops a deadly serious plan to transform cities into jungles, rewilding them into carbon-sucking mega-habitats for all species, and as fast as possible. But, as a highly-respected industrial designer, artist and inventor these are not the random machinations of a child’s wildest dreams, but serious collaborations with scientists and others who are concerned about the planet and which incorporate futuristic materials and foods, bio reactors, soil, forest ecosystems, mechanical flight, solar thermal power and working out just how fast we could actually turn roads into jungles, absorb carbon and reverse climate change. Each project has been researched and while not yet necessarily put into practice, each is theoretically possible and some are already happening,

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

Underpinned by quotes from those who have gone before including 14th century philosopher William of Ockham who said that “the simplest solution is almost always the best” (Occam’s razor) this is one to inspire all those who are concerned about climate change but who want and need to do more than reduce their personal use of plastic and who can see that doing what has always been done might not work in time, let alone be successful. It validates the wacky and the wild ideas some students have and encourages them to go even further.

Who’s the Gang on Our Street?

Who's the Gang on Our Street?

Who’s the Gang on Our Street?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who’s the Gang on Our Street?

Susanne Gervay

Nancy Bevington

Big Sky, 2023

32pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9781922896810

There are lots of gangs on our street – a rock and roll gang with spiky hair; a soccer gang with bright uniforms; a billycart gang who race down the hill; a music gang, a dancing gang, an acrobat gang… so many gangs that I don’t belong to but I could if I wanted to!  Because I have funky-punky hair, I love to move and play; I can fly faster than any human can run; I can hang upside down and twist and turn better than anyone… 

This is a jaunty, unusual introduction to one of Australia’s most iconic birds, the sulphur-crested cockatoo, and, as if to prove Gervay’s point about their versatility, there is a gang of them investigating a newly-fallen tree outside my window as I write.  They’re hanging upside down on the food feeder chains, looking for bugs in the newly peeling bark, while there is always one standing guard… and their distinctive squaark always lets us know when they are in the neighbourhood.

But for all that I see these birds almost every day once the mountain weather starts to warm up, there is still a lot in this new book that I hadn’t noticed, such as the fact that they always use their left leg like a human hand, so I will be observing them with fresh eyes this summer. 

Narrative non fiction has overtaken the traditional facts-and-figures books that used to be the core of the library’s non fiction collection and between them, Gervay and Bevington have produced something that is unique, fun and very appealing bringing this Australian icon right into the realm of the reader.  A short quiz encourages the reader to explore the fun facts that are included and ensures that these birds that bring so much joy through their antics (even though these are provoked by the eternal search for food) will become favourites for a new generation.  

 

  

Butterfly Girl

Butterfly Girl

Butterfly Girl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Butterfly Girl

Ashling Kwok

Arielle Li

EK Books, 2023

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781922539564

When she lived in the country, Olivia had plenty of space for her Butterfly Garden and each day she was surrounded by all sorts of butterflies, content in her own company and theirs.  But when they move from the country cottage to an apartment in the grey city, there are no butterflies to be seen.  Even though she waited and waited, sang to them and danced and whirled and twirled as she had done to attract them in her old home, none came. 

So she decided to plant a little garden on her balcony so she could offer the butterflies the things they liked, but still none came.  Despite the little bright spot in her corner, the buildings around remained grey and bleak, seemingly only being populated by pigeons. And she still had no friends.  She sang louder, danced faster and coloured her world… Then,  one day she saw something amazing- and it wasn’t a butterfly.  Before long, she not only had butterflies but more friends than she could ever had wished for.

Moving house, whether it is across town or state, or from country to city, can be daunting for little ones, and the fear of having no friends is common.  So much so that it is theme in many books for young readers.  So this new story, well timed for those for whom a move to a new town or new school is on the horizon as year’s end nears, is one not only of reassurance but also suggests a pathway forward.  Olivia’s need for her butterfly friends and her creating of her balcony garden to attract them leads to the building of a community that crosses age and cultural borders and creates the connections that we all need.  Even if you live in a crowded apartment building you can still be isolated and lonely. There are instructions for building a butterfly garden in a small space, but even if that’s not a practical answer, it is the message of how reaching out to those with similar interests can bring untold rewards. 

 

 

Wombats Are Pretty Weird

Wombats Are Pretty Weird

Wombats Are Pretty Weird

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wombats Are Pretty Weird

Abi Cushman

Greenwillow, 2023

40pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780063234437

There are few Australian children who grow up without being introduced to Mothball, the real-life star of Jackie French’s Diary of a Wombat series which not only shone a spotlight on these creatures over 20 years ago but which helped to revolutionise the publishing of stories for preschoolers. Bruce Whatley’s sublime illustrations brought to life a character that has endeared wombats as a species to generations and they are often declared as a “favourite animal”. Certainly a younger Ms 17 was delighted when she got to feed one of the many orphans raised by fellow teacher librarian Anne Graham.

 

But there is much more to this descendant of the ancient diprotodon and this “(Not So) Serious Guide” provides younger readers with a lot more information about them.  Although written for an American audience (and using a number of American terms like miles rather than kilometres and “mombat” for the joey’s mother), it provides interesting facts and details that are the main part of the narrative while there is a secondary flow between the wombat and a snake also called Joey written in speech bubbles which young readers may find amusing. 

There are a few pages at the end which offer further information about various wombat species, photos, glossary, and links to further reading (although these would be beyond the scope of the target audience) . Any book which sparks awareness of and interest in Australia’s unique wildlife which perhaps leads to greater care and protection for them as their natural habitat disappears and they become victims of rushing motorists, deserves a place in the collection and for that alone, this has earned its place. 

Don’t forget to celebrate Hairy Nosed Wombat Day – May 11, each year.

Diprotodon: A Megafauna Journey

Diprotodon: A Megafauna Journey

Diprotodon: A Megafauna Journey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diprotodon: A Megafauna Journey

Bronwyn Saunders

Andrew Plant

CSIRO Publishing, 2023

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781486316762 

Despite being about the size of a modern rhinoceros, prehistoric Diprotodon faced many challenges from both the harsh environment and other megafauna that roamed central Australia during the Ice Age of the Pleistocene Epoch. Separated from his mother and his herd, he needs to stay safe, and find shelter, food and water in the barren landscape blasted by icy winds and dried up by drought as so much water is now stored in the ice caps.

This narrative non fiction story introduces students to these ancestors of the wombat while opening up so many other worlds to explore such as the creatures it shared the continent with and their evolution to those we know today as well as the causes and impact of the climate change that plunged the world into lower temperatures, as opposed to the warmer ones we are experiencing now.  Beautifully and accurately illustrated by Andrew Plant, it includes some brief, easily readable facts which expand the story, as well as teachers’ notes that suggest ways to explore further.

It could also be used in conjunction with both  Dippy’s Big Day Out and Dippy and the Dinosaurs  as a way to compare fiction and non fiction, contrasting the two different purposes (imagination vs information) but discovering how much they share.  What did both authors and illustrators need to know about the diprotodon and how and where it lived  to create the stories they did? Even though they are written for a similar audience, how do the language, structure and illustrations change for each format? 

Young readers have a fascination with dinosaurs and megafauna, often opening that first door into the world of non fiction for them, and this one is an ideal addition to that collection.  

Walk With Us: Welcome to Our Country

Walk With Us: Welcome to Our Country

Walk With Us: Welcome to Our Country

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walk With Us: Welcome to Our Country

Adam Goodes

Ellie Laing

David Hardy

A & U Children’s, 2023

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781761065071

When Harvey and his mum go for a walk in their favourite park, they are invited to walk with indigenous Elder Uncle Boris and learn about the wonders of the Cammeraygal (North Sydney) land on which they are treading.  From the healing powers of the leaf of the tologurã (lemon myrtle ), to the wildlife near the waterfall and even seeing a large canoe tree,  mother and son see and learn things that they have passed by many times but have taken for granted.  Harvey has already astonished his mum by reciting the Acknowledgement of Country that he has learned at school, and now both of them develop not only a new insight into the significance of their surroundings but also experience a sense of calm and tranquility as they view the landscape with new eyes and absorb its significance..

Based on a phrase in the final line of the Uluru Statement from the HeartWe invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future – this is the fourth in this brilliant series designed to teach both children and adults a little more of the meaning behind those now-familiar words of the Acknowledgement of Country.  Using people and symbols that are important to them (these are explained on the verso page). the authors have crafted a simple but significant story that will encourage young (and not-so) readers to start to look at their surroundings through a different lens.  Who walked this Country before I did?  What did they know about it that I could learn?

As with the previous titles, this starts with a visual glossary of indigenous words for the familiar items featured in the story, and given that October 22-29 marks the inaugural Aboriginal Languages Week in NSW,  it would seem appropriate to compare the words of the Cammeraygal people for things such as fire, snake, wallaby, frog and so forth to the words used by local peoples, perhaps even starting to construct your own visual glossary.

In my opinion, this series is one of the most significant publications available to help our young children understand and appreciate the long-overdue recognition of our First Nations people in schools, so that when they hear a Welcome to Country or participate in an Acknowledgement of Country or even just take a walk through their neighbourhood, they do so with a new knowledge of and respect for all that has gone before.

Nightsong

Nightsong

Nightsong

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nightsong

Sally Soweol Han

UQP, 2023

40pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780702266188

Lewis has been in the noise of the city all day and he is really looking forward to the peace and quiet of his country home.  But on the way home, the bus gets a puncture and they are stranded.  Straight away the adults start to chatter-chatter-chatter so Lewis moves away and as he climbs into a field a whole new world of sound and songs opens up to him…

Anyone who, like me, lives in the country, will empathise with Lewis in his desire to escape the noise and busyness of the city.  Han has used a clever technique of using speech bubbles and words in the illustrations to convey all the sounds in this story, and this emphasises the continual and constant cacophony that we are surrounded by every day, particularly if you live in the city.  So not only is the peace of the countryside so different, it is very welcoming and restful.  And sometimes, even then, it is not until we are forced to listen do we actually hear, as Lewis does.

In her book,  Tiny Wonders, the focus was on the greyness of the city where everybody is too busy to stop and look at the colours in the cracks and crevices, and this is similar as we seem to be so busy making our own noise we don’t hear the songs that nature provides us with. 

Mem Fox once said that reading a story at bedtime is like “drawing the curtains on the day” and this story offers an additional element to that.  By taking the time and having our children listen to the sounds of night falling – the natural sounds of Mother Nature closing some things down while others awake to start their new day – can be very calming and soporific.  What sounds can be heard? What is making the noise?  Why are some creatures waking up when others are going to sleep?  All questions that can be explored in the morning…

 

Alex Neptune (series)

Alex Neptune (series)

Alex Neptune (series)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alex Neptune (series)

Dragon Thief

9781474999236

Pirate Hunter

 9781474999274

Monster Avenger

 9781474999298

David Owen

HarperCollins, 2022-2023

250+pp., pbk., RRP $A15.99

Alex Neptune lives in Haven Bay, a town whose history and currency is intertwined with the sea, and particularly the legends of the Water-Dragon and the pirate, Captain Brineblood, But Alex hates the sea because he is convinced it wants him dead and besides, strange things have happened to it since a mysterious factory was built and it is now so polluted that visitors no longer come to the town, let alone support the family gift store Neptune’s Bounty.  And what’s happening with the long-closed aquarium at the top of the hill which mysteriously glows green at night time?

This is new series for independent readers (best read in order for story continuity) that contains all the elements of relatable quirky characters, sea creatures that can talk and adventure that has  been described as  perfect “for fans of Percy Jackson and Dragon Realm”. With his tech-genius best friend Zoey, legend-lover Anil, and a sharp-shooting octopus, Alex discovers that he actually has power over his nemesis , the ocean, and embarks on a series of escapades that feature the town’s two legends, as he tries to save it from whatever is bringing it doom.

Full of action and embedded humour to lighten the mood, this is an entertaining read that has a powerful underlying message of how the ocean is being used by the unscrupulous for their own greed without regard for the consequences. From hating and fearing the ocean, Alex comes to appreciate and value it.  An eye-opener… 

Wollemi: Saving a Dinosaur Tree

Wollemi: Saving a Dinosaur Tree

Wollemi: Saving a Dinosaur Tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wollemi: Saving a Dinosaur Tree

Samantha Tidy

Rachel Gyan

CSIRO Publishing, 2023

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781486316083

Imagine if, in the course of your daily work, you discovered something so significant that only a handful of people were ever allowed to know where you had been and even they were sworn to secrecy.  

This is the story of the discovery of the Wollemi pine, a tree that can grow to over 40 metres tall but whose existence was unknown until just 30 years ago, when Ranger David Noble found a clutch of them growing in a deep gorge in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. A tree so old that it dates back to the dinosaur period and so rare that there were less than 100 in existence at the time.  No wonder its location remains a secret so that sightseers can’t traipse in and bring in diseases on their shoes, damage the site and perhaps wipe out those remaining so it is gone forever.

Sadly, though, humans aren’t the only threat to this ancient species and this is the story not just of the tree but the remarkable efforts that were made to protect the grove and the gorge during one of NSW infamous fire seasons, for surely, something that has descended from a family of trees going back 200 million years, and has survived ice, fire and the passing of many generations deserves to be saved no matter what.

This is another remarkable publication from CSIRO Publishing shining the spotlight on yet another unique Australian creature so that our youngest readers can start to build their awareness and knowledge or the amazing things we share this landscape with, and hopefully, with that knowledge and awareness, become its protectors.  Introducing Mia, the schoolgirl daughter of botanist Kate, brings the story right into their realm and when Mia suggests that her class plant a seedling to help conserve the Wollemi, they might be inspired to do the same thing as they explore the story further through the teachers’ notes

 

The Turtle and the Flood

The Turtle and the Flood

The Turtle and the Flood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Turtle and the Flood

Jackie French

Danny Snell

HarperCollins, 2023

34pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781460762974

Myrtle the Turtle loves by the creek, swimming in the waterholes and eating the little creatures in summer, and sleeping in the dry leaves under a log in winter.  If the creek dries up she buries herself in the silt and the sand to keep cool, and if it rains and the creek flows swiftly, she swims with her strong legs and claws.

However, every now and then she notices a slight change in the water level and the air pressure on the back of her neck, and she knows that that is the signal to move to higher ground. And so she begins to walk uphill…  Like the Fire Wombat, her long-evolved instincts, “more accurate than the weather bureau” tell her disaster is coming and it is time to act.  But Myrtle is not only saving herself from the impending flood – the other creatures of the bush know that if she is on the move then they must be too.

In a country of frequent fire and flood, our wildlife is often seen as the first and most frequent casualty as so many are estimated to perish.  And the statistics can cause great distress to many, particularly our little ones, so as well as telling the story of Myrtle and how her instincts and actions are the triggers for others to act too, this is a story of reassurance that not all is doomed during disasters. While those who know Jackie’s stories for little people most commonly think “wombats”, her home in south-eastern NSW is a haven for all wildlife, including Myrtle and her companions who live in the creek that usually meanders through the space but which can become menacing…

Used with Jackie's permission...

Used with Jackie’s permission…

But there is some peace of mind in knowing that many animals can sense rain, storms and floods well ahead of the event itself and do escape.

Once again, Jackie has used her knowledge, experience and observations of her surroundings to create a story of wonder and hope, and Danny’s illustrations bring that alive symbiotically. But while Myrtle’s story will offer comfort to younger readers, older readers might want to explore further… How do creatures like Myrtle sense the changes? Do humans have the same capacity?  Is the Bureau of Meteorology our only warning system? How do our First Nations people predict the weather and what can we learn from them?  Does the land need floods in a similar way to its need of fire? And then, on another tangent, how has the impact of humans on the environment increased or reduced the likelihood of the survival of native species during such events?  Do structures like roads and fences impede their escape?

I have often said that the best picture books operate on and across many levels, they are never an end in themselves.  This is one of those.