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Flute: A Dolphin’s Wild Journey Home

Nov13
Flute: A Dolphin’s Wild Journey Home

Flute: A Dolphin’s Wild Journey Home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flute: A Dolphin’s Wild Journey Home

Kasey Whitelaw

Jenni Goodman

Wombat Books, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9781761112294

On Australia’s west coast in a sheltered cove called Monkey Mia, Flute the baby bottlenose dolphin, lives a carefree life playing with her friends, but always wary of the dangers around her – after all, Monkey Mia is part of a larger region called Shark Bay – and always ready to respond to her mother, Piccolo’s whistle and seek safety in the middle of her party.  That is, until the day a noisy boat motor rips through the ocean, and curious Flute, drawn to this new sound, is not only separated from the others but is lost and confused. Will she find her way home safely, or will she fall victim to the many dangers that lie in wait for a baby dolphin alone…?

Based on true events which are explained in the final pages of this beautifully illustrated book, young readers are introduced to all sorts of marine life that lives beneath the seemingly tranquil waves of this world-famous sanctuary, as well as those that call its shores home,  as they will Fluke on to find her mother and safety, particularly when a tiger shark comes looking for an easy feed. Each of the creatures is then identified in vignettes on the endpapers so young nature lovers not only appreciate the biodiversity of this small area of coast but can investigate those that catch their eye.

In a Q & A with the author, herself a marine biologist who worked with Flute and her family for seven years, giving the book real authenticity, says, her aim was “to create a narrative that would ignite empathy and inspire readers   to step back, observe, and get curious about the lives of all dolphins” and this is certainly going to do that because it is books like these, that combine real life with storytelling creating an engaging narrative that leave young readers to not only be more aware of their natural world around them but actively protect it.

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The Very Stinky Fly Hunt

Nov12
The Very Stinky Fly Hunt

The Very Stinky Fly Hunt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Very Stinky Fly Hunt

Andrea Wild

Karen Erasmus

CSIRO Publishing, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A26.99

9781486318780

Long before Bryce Courtenay and company created the famous jingle about Louie the Fly in 1957  flies have been seen as pests in this country.  Especially if you deal with one, 50 000 relatives come to the funeral! 

And, who on earth, would spend their life actively searching for these creatures, especially when it involves spending more time than necessary in traditional long-drop dunnies?

Dr Keith Bayless, the fly hunter  – that’s who.  As a dipterist for the Australian National Insect Collection, it is his job to study Australia’s 25000 fly species which are so important to the environment’s sustainability as they pollinate flowers, and  recycle waste like poo, dead animals and dead plants to create new soil needed to nurture new plants.

This engaging book takes young readers, and especially budding scientists,  along on Keith’s journey to try to rediscover the Clisa australis , first discovered in 1966 but then not seen for 30 years. Known to feed on the poo of bat-wing bats that dwelt in the caves of Carrai National Park in north-east NSW, we are taken there to find that their entrances are covered and so uninhabitable,  to the public toilets where neither water nor chemicals are used to deal with waste.  It’s all left to Mother Nature. And, although some of Keith’s questions are answered, each discovery leads to new questions so…

It’s hard to imagine that a book about flies can be so appealing but right from the get-go where we see the difference between a fly hunter and a fly hunter (you need to see the pictures) both author and illustrator have created something special, and like so many other books for young readers from this publisher, we are taken into realms beyond the usual and become absorbed in something we never knew we would be interested in!  

And that is the beauty and importance of having a robust non fiction collection in print – despite the information, illustrations and animations we can find online, we still don’t know what we don’t know.  Yet a beginning-of-year display of picture books  (many of which have been or will be reviewed on this blog)  that offers the opportunity to explore something new, unusual and unknown could set a budding scientist up for a year (or a lifetime) of exploration.  

 

An A-Z of Ocean Creatures

Nov6
An A-Z of Ocean Creatures

An A-Z of Ocean Creatures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An A-Z of Ocean Creatures

Myke Mollard

Woodslane Press, 2025

48pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9781923350038

If you look at a globe of our planet, it looks like there is more land than ocean, when, in fact, over 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by seas and oceans and from space it looks like a big “blue marble.” However, if you view it through “a whale’s eye view” offered by the Spilhaus Projection with Antarctica at its centre and which takes up this book’s endpapers, it is clear that these oceans and seas are interconnected, forming just one mass of water.  

The Spilhaus ProjectionSeattle Aquarium

The Spilhaus Projection- Seattle Aquarium

Within that, are an estimated 2.2 million marine species, with only about 242,000 to 243,000 described so far., and if those over 600 – including majestic sharks and colourful fish and corals to fascinating molluscs like octopuses and nudibranchs, as well as crustaceans, reptiles, birds and the awe-inspiring whales and dolphins –   are showcased in this new release from Myke Mollard and Woodslane Press.   With his characteristic, vibrant illustrative style, Mollard has selected and sorted these creatures by alphabetical order, depicting them with anatomical accuracy on large, double-page spreads, and then meticulously identifying each in vignettes in the closing pages so young readers can dip and delve and discover more if they choose. 

 

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

Search this blog for “Mollard” and you will discover many more of the remarkable works of this man who is driven by his passion for connecting kids to Nature, and you will realise that, as with its predecessors, this one truly hits that mark.  And although many of those species that are featured in this book may not be those children are likely to encounter on their beach holiday, nevertheless there are some just waiting to be discovered, identified and serve as inspiration to know more.  This takes Finding Nemo to a whole new level of exploration – especially through the 591.77 section of the collection. . 

Look, See, Find Me

Nov2
Look, See, Find Me

Look, See, Find Me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look, See, Find Me

Sandra Severgnini

CSIRO Publishing, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A26.99

9781486319886 

There is an old adage about “hiding in plain sight” and there are no better masters at it than those that dwell in the natural world around us.  

While some creatures might have the brightest colours to attract a mate or warn predators they are toxic, there are those who prefer to blend into their surroundings, sometimes to ambush prey, but others to prevent them from being it. Whether it’s the use of colour, texture, shape, or special lighting, Mother Nature has helped these creatures survive and thrive over millennia, and some of them are the focus of this exquisite new release from Sandra Severgnini who has already given our young readers such intriguing stories as Dung Beetle on a Roll, Meet Mim and Tree Beings. 

Hidden amongst the tree bark, leaves and flowers, or on the sandy sea bottom or even the delicate coral are a host of creatures that take a sharp eye to detect – and they are not all teeny-tiny – and young readers will delight in the joy of spotting them. Beginning with an endpage that is just empty magnifying glasses that hint that one might be useful, through to the final endpage where those magnifying glasses each have a discovered creature featured, this is one that is not only going to keep the young naturalist engaged for hours but also open up wider worlds.  For if they spot  frogs that look like leaves, spiders disguised as flowers, crabs concealed as sponges and seahorses hidden in coral in the book, what might they see in the real world, particularly if the hiding place is part of their natural environment? And if it isn’t, what is there?   Each lifelike background hosts a number of creatures who are only identified by their common and Latin names so there’s another adventure to be had to discover more about those that intrigue them. And then there is the whole world of camouflage, disguise and trickery to explore…

At a time when gift-giving is starting to loom large, imagine being able to give your nature-lover so much for so long for about $30 – the cost of the book and a magnifying glass!!!  And what a worthwhile investment!!!  

Elements of the Day

Oct26
Elements of the Day

Elements of the Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elements of the Day

Samantha Lewis

Hao Hao

Farshore 2025

48pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9780008712594

Why is a breakfast cereal magnetic? What does poo have in common with strawberry ice cream?  Can you turn wee into gold?

What curious young reader or budding scientist is going to resist a book with such an introduction?

Because even though chemistry might have baffled us at school, and memorising the Periodic Table – the quiz show favourite – sent us to sleep, the fact remains that everything is made up of just 118 different types of atoms – called elements – which combine in different ways to make the building blocks of everything we can see in the universe.  In fact, only about 90 of them make up the world – the rest have been artificially created!  Humans, themselves are made of just six – oxygen, carbon, hydrogen nitrogen, calcium and phosphorous!

And all that information came from just the first page of this beautifully illustrated, easy-to-read book that is so much easier to understand than any chemistry text book. After the introduction and the explanation of the Periodic Table itself, the reader is led through the day and the way we encounter the various elements from the moment we open our eyes and take a breath to having breakfast, going to the bathroom, getting dressed – and yes, you do discover the connection between wee and gold – going to school and so on, all the way through to lights out, where you discover that you are “literally made of star dust!”.

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

It’s a unique approach to teaching even our younger students about chemistry because, rather than being a lot of easily-forgotten facts, it connects the information to their world, both engaging them as they read and showing them the relevance of what they are learning.  From their very first year in school, the Australian Curriculum requires students “to recognise that objects can be composed of different materials and describe the observable properties of those materials (AC9SFU03) and so this is one that not only offers a practical approach that will have meaning for them but is also an essential in the non-chemistry-minded teacher’s toolkit.

 

Prayer for a River

Oct13
Prayer for a River

Prayer for a River

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer for a River

Uncle Glenn Loughrey & Andrew Kelly

Wild Dog, 2025

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

9781742036915

River brings life.
River brings us together.
River holds the stories.

In what seems like a deceptively simple text, this is a homage to one of Mother Nature’s most complex stories.  

Beginning with a shower of rain whose drops are captured and savoured by the land, joining to eventually form a river that flows from the mountains to the sea, bringing life to all it touches, spilling into the ocean where the sun helps the cycle repeat itself over and over,  the reader is not only reminded of that natural cycle but also how the river is the lifeblood of the land, how it connects all living things and deserves both appreciation and respect.

While both authors have deep, personal connections to Birrrung/Yarra , Kelly having been its Riverkeeper for many years, this is the story of any river and how it connects and carries the stories of Country between and beyond its banks, its strength growing as it does and its importance depicted in the addition of colour to the illustrations as it brings life to all that it touches moving from the “simple” image of drops falling and gathering of the front cover to a landscape that it is flourishing because of its influence and impact.

From this initial introduction to the importance of water and rivers to life itself, expressed in a way that even the youngest readers will understand from both the First Nations and the modern perspective,  comes the implication that our waterways need to be protected, thus opening up the perfect opportunity to investigate local creeks and rivers, how they connect and support the land and its living, and what is being done to ensure they continue to run free and pristine.  Teachers’ notes facilitate the sorts of questions that could be explored. 

As the alpine snows melt after what has been described as a “bumper season”, and the creeks and rivers start to swell and flow with vigour again, this is the perfect timing for sharing this book and focusing on your local waterway, its origins and destination, regardless of what point of its journey you live. Perhaps even have students seek local citizen science projects to be involved in (or begin one)and create a display that introduces other stories in a similar vein such as Rivertime by Trace Balla, On the River by Roland Harvey, Song of the River by Joy Cowley, and Wilam, another jointly authored by Andrew Kelly, so that the inevitable annual study of the water cycle becomes more personal and meaningful.   

Something special and unique that offers so much more than it first appears. 

The legendary Snowy River - its journeys, its stories...

The legendary Snowy River – its journeys, its stories…

 

The Great Shark Egg Case Hunt

Oct12
The Great Shark Egg Case Hunt

The Great Shark Egg Case Hunt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Shark Egg Case Hunt

Kasey Whitelaw

Sylvia Morris

CSIRO Publishing, 2025

32oo., hbk.,  RRP $A26.99

9781486318308 

Noah lives in South West England with his grandad. Ava and her aunt live in False Bay, South Africa.  William likes to snorkel with his sister off the coast of South Australia, while Lily and her mum are in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.  Then there’s Koa in New Zealand, Sofia from the Philippines and Mai from the Maldives. Could these children be further apart?  Yet, they are all united by two things – they love near the coast and each is part of a global citizen science project called The Great Shark Eggcase Hunt, initiated in 2003 by the Shark Trust (United Kingdom) and launched in Australia in partnership with CSIRO in 2023. 

Sharks either give birth to live young or they are one of five key groups – catsharks, hornsharks, carpet sharks, chimaeras and skates – that lay eggs, and, despite being the among the ocean’s apex predators (the orca is at the top), some species are endangered.  So Noah, Ava, William, Lily and the others spend their time hunting for egg cases , which are tough, leathery shapes that protect the young inside as it develops, photographing and measuring their finds and then recording them on the database  so scientist can map the types of sharks and where they are living so they can learn more about habits and habitats.

So this book is not only packed with information about the various egg-laying breeds and what those eggs look like, but also has loads of tips for becoming a citizen scientist yourself and joining in the research.  The website also provides further details about becoming involved, particularly as there are egg-laying species found all around Australia’s shores, including the Port Jackson shark whose spiral-shaped egg cases always spark curiosity. And Sea Life in Sydney and Sea World Gold Coast are involved in the StAR Project  which is an international effort to restore wild leopard shark populations by sending viable, fertilized eggs to Raja Ampat, Indonesia, for release into protected marine areas. 

 

Port Jackson shark egg case

Port Jackson shark egg case

As our students become more and more aware of the environment around them and want to be actively involved in its protection, there are more and more citizen science projects that they can become involved in whether it’s the Aussie Bird Count, counting  Christmas Beetles, tracking bogong moths  or any of the many others that rely on the participation of ordinary people. Becoming a a shark egg hunter seems particularly appropriate for those who live on the coast, especially as the warmer months approach and this book is an excellent introduction, while teachers’ notes offer suggestions for investigating sharks generally. .

 

 

The Stuff that Stuff is Made of… Things we make from plants

Sep29
The Stuff that Stuff is Made of - the things we make from plants

The Stuff that Stuff is Made of – the things we make from plants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Stuff that Stuff is Made of…

Things we make from plants

Jonathan Drori

Raxenne Manaquiz & Jiatong Liu

Magic Cat, 2025

64pp., hbk., RRP $A34.99

9781917044172

Did you know that plants are made from just two main ingredients – carbon dioxide and water?  Recently, I sat in my local hairdressing salon mesmerized by half a dozen tiny fish swimming in and around the roots of a spathiphyllum that stood shiny and healthy in a tall cylinder of water – no soil, compost or anything else – and both fish and plant seemed very happy.  (Of course, I had to try it at home – the plants are doing well, the fish not-so.) But as I read the intro of this fascinating book, one of those you don’t know you want to read until you do, and learned that plants are basically CO2 and H2O with “just a smattering” of other nutrients from the soil, it was obvious why they were thriving in just water.

And yet, apart from the food we eat, we are dependent on plants in countless other ways – some of which are explored in this new release, many of them common, and others more obscure.  Young readers will probably know that everyday stuff like tea and chocolate and sugar come from plants, but which plants give us fabric, perfumes and even the heatshield of the Space Shuttle? Why do Tasmania’s Blue Gum Eucalyptus globulus and the strange baobab Adansonia digitata each earn a place among the 30 entries? Why is there seaweed in our icecream and dandelions in our tyres? 

Packed with stunning illustrations, cross-sections and diagrams, each entry has a large double page spread packed with all sorts of information including a lot that is unexpected, that will not only intrigue young readers but give them a whole new respect for the plants around them.  They will begin to question where the things they are most familiar with originate from, understand the sustainability of items made from natural sources and perhaps appreciate that while plastic and its cousins may have been one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, it is the curse of the 21st.  

This is one of those dip-and-delve books that will capture the imagination of any young reader with an interest in the world around them – even if all they do is put a plant in a vase of water and watch it thrive, put a white flower in a glass of water coloured with food dye, or even just sprinkle grass seed in a tray of potting mix in the shape of their initials and watch their name grow.  There are so many simple things that can start a lifelong fascination. And Spring is the perfect time to start. 

The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fast and Slow Animals

Sep28
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fast and Slow Animals

The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fast and Slow Animals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fast and Slow Animals

Sami Bayly

Lothian Children’s, 2025

128pp., hbk., RRP $A32.99

9780734421418

It says a lot about the captivating contents, lifelike illustrations and absorbing information when students ask for non fiction works and specifically request those by an author!  Not “Have you got books about sharks?” or “Where are the books about spiders?” but “Are there any Sami Bayly books in?” If I were still in a library Sami’s books would have to have their own container so students could find them independently, except the container would always be empty.  Such has been the interest in her work, beginning with The illustrated Encyclopedia of Ugly Animals, and including The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dangerous Animals, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature, and the recent The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Extinct Animals. not to mention her How We Came to Be books that many libraries will find that they need multiple copies to satisfy demand.

And this latest, will likely be no different.  

From my long-ago school days I remember the scientific formula for speed is  s + d/t, meaning the speed of something is calculated by dividing the distance travelled by the time it took to cover it. and young readers, particularly have always been fascinated by things that are the fastest and slowest, particularly in the animal kingdom.  And to an extent, Bayly has satisfied that curiosity with inclusions such as the cheetah, greyhound, ostrich, peregrine falcon and others who might outrun Gout Gout or even Usain Bolt.   But she has also included those that have evolved to be fast and slow in other ways such as the slow-growing giant clam that can live for over 75 years and the Greenland shark, the slowest of all the shark species and living to be at least 150! Then there is the Carrier Pigeon that can not only fly quickly but also cover great distances so they have been used by humans to send messages for thousands of years. 

This is definitely a dip-and-delve book that will keep anyone engrossed for ages whether it’s because they want to find out more about a specific creature or because they want to discover why an entry has been included. While I had read about the Immortal Jellyfish, what on earth is an Ox Heart Ascidian?  Be prepared to find yourself going down rabbit-holes!  (And, you might need to order a few copies!)

What’s That? Australian Insects

Sep24
What's That? Australian Insects

What’s That? Australian Insects

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s That? Australian Insects

Myke Mollard

Woodslane Press, 2025

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

9781922800954

With an estimated 5.5 to 7 million insect species on Earth, though only about 1 million have been scientifically named and described, it is no wonder our young learners encounter words like head, thorax, abdomen, antennae and so on at an early age as they learn about these creatures that make up the largest group of animals on Earth, able to survive the most testing conditions (or escape them) even Antarctica.

Australia is estimated to have 200 000 distinct species and this new book in the What’s That? series, dedicated to all those kids who ask that question, focuses on some of the more common including ants, wasps and bees, butterflies  and moths, beetles and weevils and several other orders of this class. Like its predecessors, each section begins with a question and then through Mollard’s trademark detailed illustrations, maps and small chunks of information, the reader is introduced to some of the species they might see.  Who knew there were such things as dinosaur ants, that we have native teddy bear bees , and that there is a stick insect that can grow to 25cm long?

But just as it’s interesting to discover different members of this widespread species, it also holds an important place in the education of our young because there is a saying that “you can’t protect what you don’t know” enshrined in a speech at a 2024 UN event “Reading for a Healthy Planet when zoologist Ferdinando Boero said “Emotion is not awareness…It’s fine to excite children with stories about pandas, dolphins, bunnies, and kittens, but we need to move from emotion to awareness, this is the challenge […].” “You can’t protect what you don’t know,” he said.

Given the necessity of insects to sustain healthy ecosystems  across the globe,  and the interest in helping them survive and thrive through things like establishing bee motels in school gardens, this is an excellent starter for raising awareness and helping our young readers recognise what they are seeing and then investigate how they can protect it.  Just an outstanding series overall.