Australian Baby Animals

by Frané Lessac

Playful verses, captivating facts, and vibrant colors will have little animal lovers poring over these pages about the young of several species.

Do you know which Australian baby animal is called a puggle? (Hint: it's not a designer dog!) Which babies are called joeys? (You'll be surprised at how many.) Which baby animals from Australia are looked after by their dad? What animal is carried around--gingerly--in its mother's toothy mouth? Frisky little dingoes may be called pups, but so are a type of bat called flying foxes. There are so many unusual things to learn about Australian baby animals in this simple and satisfying book from award-winning creator Frané Lessac.

Genres: Picture Books, Australia, Animals, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2019

About the author

Frané Lessac is an author and illustrator, having created beautiful illustrations for more than forty books. Frané’s first book My Little Island, was named a Children's Book of the Year by the Library of Congress, a compilation of her paintings from Montserrat. She has contributed her distinctive paintings to many picture books, including On the Same Day in March named Top Ten Science Books by ALA Booklist. The Donkey of Gallipoli, named an Honor Book for the Children’s Book Council’s Book of the Year Awards, Kirkus Review’s Best Books, CBC NTSS Books for Young People USA, and an USBBY Outstanding International Books. Her contribution to Amnesty International’s “We Are All Born Free” celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has been translated into more than 30 languages and an USBBY Outstanding International Book. In 2010, Frané was awarded The Muriel Barwell Award for Distinguished Service to Children's Literature. She is married to children's author, Mark Greenwood, and they have collaborated on many children's books including is The Greatest Liar on Earth and Drummer Boy of John John. Frané constantly visits schools, libraries and festivals in Australia and overseas sharing the process of writing and illustrating books empowering both children and adults.

Reviews

[Dianne Wolfer]

This book is adorable.
I loved it.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful introduction to Australian baby animals and the appropriate terminology for the animals covered. A mix of marsupials, reptiles and birds are presented each with its own double page. The adult carer and the baby or babies are illustrated together with clues to habitat in the illustrations. These are bold, bright and although stylised they are sufficiently accurate to capture the key characteristics of each animal.

Large type face with the key words in bold (e.g. hatchling and crocodile are situated artistically across the left page and the then a piece of factual parenting information is provided in slightly smaller type on the right.

An excellent book for young readers with inquiring minds for adding knowledge about Australian animals and building language.

[Freddie D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous in every detail: the adorable illustrations, the bright mix of colours, the perfect mix of sweet sentiment and interesting facts.

[Lara Bate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about Australian animals. It teaches children the names of the baby Australian animals. A baby seahorse is called a fry.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for kids' books with Aussie animals

[Flora · Rating 5 out of 5]

One favourite book of mine to read for my nephew and niece. It’s a gorgeous book that’s easy to understand and the illustrations are absolutely beautiful!

[DonutKnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cool to learn some of the unique collective nouns for the little baby animals 🥰😁

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a wildlife biologist I loved finding this book to read to my toddlers. The information is factual, but written in playful storybook way. Great for anyone wanting to start early nature study with their kids, such as Charlotte Mason reading.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Baby!

PLEASE READ THIS REVIEW ON MY BLOG: http://bookreadingtic.com/2021/09/25/... THANK YOU!

Welcome to the world of baby animals, Australian style! A variety of baby animals that live in Australia are shown along with the names they are called Down Under. Did you know some babies there are called joeys? You may have heard that name for baby kangaroos, but it is also what baby wombats and koalas are called—to name a few.

Depending on the animal, babies go by a variety of names: flying fox babies are called pups, while baby sea dragons are called fry. Human babies and children adore baby animals, and this book will give them lots to like.

Little ones will enjoy the adorable, brightly colored illustrations, which are done by the author. The fact that these babies that are being covered with motherly love—and in some cases, fatherly love—make them even more charming!

Over-sized and hard-backed, this five-star, picture book will be enjoyed by children through toddler age.

Candlewick Press has provided Tickmenot with a complimentary copy of, Australian Baby Animals, for the purpose of review. I have not been compensated in any other manner. All opinions expressed are my own, and I was not required, or influenced, to give anything but an honest appraisal. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fun picture book tells what various baby Australian animals are called. Did you know that kangaroos, wombats, possums, koalas, Tasmanian devils all have joeys? The illustrations are simple but true to the animals and their habitat. This simple nonfiction book could be used in storytimes or with children who are interested in animals. There a lot of words on a spread but not everything needs to be read for use in storytime. You can use the basic bold words to share in a group and the additional paragraphs to share in one to one reading. Because of the versatility of use, I believe this book would be a good addition to most youth collections. The illustrations are bright and eye catching encouraging the reader in and to find which animal is shown next. This is a nice simple nonfiction animal book that will engage young readers.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An appealing introduction to Australian animals for younger children with playful verse and vibrant, colorful illustrations.