An Australian 1 2 3 of Animals

by Bronwyn Bancroft

A delightful counting book of Australian animals by acclaimed indigenous artist Bronwyn Bancroft, this stunning picture book has lizards hissing and wallabies hopping! Both a charming introduction to the numbers one through 12 and a unique exploration of Australian wildlife—some familiar, others more unusual—this book also features sugar gliders, emus, geckos, and many more.

Genres: Picture Books, Australia, Counting, Animals, Childrens

22 pages, Board Book

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Born in Tenterfield, northern New South Wales, Bronwyn Bancroft is a descendant of the Djanbun clan of the Bundjalung nation.

Utilising many mediums, Bronwyn's artistic practice extends from public artworks to children's book illustrations. She is represented in many collections both in Australia and overseas, including: the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of Western Australian, Australian Museum, Artbank, Newark Museum, The Kelton Foundation, Westpac USA, and the Volkerkunde Museum. Her work is also held in the private collections of the Prime Minister of Turkey, and the Governor of Tokyo. Bronwyn has exhibited extensively around the world.

Reviews

[Joy Schmidt]

Very simple children’s number book of Australian animals with bright, colorful drawings of each. It goes through from 1 to 15. No details about the animals.

[Jack Kirby and the X-man]

Hmmm... The back of my version claims "A classic Australian board book"... What is a 'classic' book in the world of children's literature. I'm thinking that at the very least a children's book can't be referred to as a classic until someone who grew up reading the book is now reading the same book to their kids. So books like Alice in Wonderland, The House at Pooh Corner, the Railway Series by the Awdrys (Thomas the Tank Engine) the earlier Seuss and A Bear Called Paddington would easily be classics. Books now coming into the 'classic' category would be things like: Possum Magic, Animalia, Each Peach Pear Plum, Where's Spot?.... A book first published only 3 years ago surely doesn't make it into a classic category!

Enough of that rant...

This is a relatively simple counting book with a plain page with the relevant number of Australian animals painted onto it. The paintings themselves are the key to the success of this book - and as I reviewed in the alphabet version (An Australian ABC of Animals) I'm not a huge fan. But very many people will love the illustrations.

[Paula]

A brightly colored number book with Australian animals. Not a lot of text but simple lines which might make it to easy for preschoolers but it does count up to 15. You could use the first couple of pages with the toddlers in story time

[Tina B]

"counting book, animals, up to 15"

[Leila T.]

I'm one of those people who loves the illustrations, and so does my daughter, since this is one her go-to books for evening storytime.

[Elizabeth]

This book is written in the style "[number] [nouns] [verbing]" so I sang it to myself in my head approximately to the tune of the "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

While I'm used to counting books only going up to 10, this one actually goes up to 15.

I enjoyed the variety of verbs (1 platypus diving, 2 brolgas dancing, 3 koalas dozing...) as well as the illustration layouts often evocative of repeating patterns -- even though the verbs and illustrations didn't always seem to match, the like "11 geckos climbing" who looked more artfully arranged than in the act of climbing or the "4 crocodiles snapping" who all had their mouths closed.