The Little Brown Bushrat

by Georgina Ripper

Everyone in the Australian bush was good at something. The kangaroo could jump the highest, the echidna had the best nose for miles around and even the koala had a special talent for sleeping. Everyone was good at something except the little brown bushrat. He couldn`t jump or run very fast, he certainly couldn`t swim and he definitely knew that he wasn`t very beautiful. He was just a scrawny little bushrat. But when a bush fire begins to spread, only one animal knows what to do. Little brown bushrat saves the day - he may not be the fastest or the most beautiful, but he`s certainly the bravest!

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 18, 2003

Reviews

[Katja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute picture book. Australian wildlife is something that is very underrepresented in Western children's books, I've been to Australia as a teenager and fell in love with the wilderness of this vast continent.

The book is actually very heart-breaking with the current bushfires destroying so much fauna and flora. At least in this book the bushrat is there to save the day.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fairly ordinary story, featuring a little bushrat who isn't good at anything at all, until the day he proves he's extraordinary by saving his bush friends from fire and can rest easy that he's okay. Not a particularly useful message for the average bushrat in my view. The only reason I'd re-read is because it's unusual to see a Wompoo Fruit Dove rate a mention in a children's book and I like references to uncommon species of birds.