Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Myke Mollard, Woodslane Press, $29.99.
This distinctive A-Z book is simple, original and eye-catching.
It’s also engaging and captivating. Added to that, it truly captures the range and diversity of our unique and wondrous Australian wildlife.
Presented with clarity and great power, the brilliantly illustrated book highlights the endangered, sometimes the extinct and the rare beauty of Australia and its islands and territories. Exploring common, Aboriginal and Latin names and from every corner of Australia, the hardcover includes more than 400 native animals, from sea creatures and insects, to amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. A bonus is finding one human in the book.
Mollard, children’s educator, illustrator, author and designer, applies a stroke of genius with a map! It’s his way of orientating readers to where things are. An opportunity to teach children that Australia isn’t just one island. It has territories, islands and is part of the Antarctica treaty.
This is a vivid way to discover and learn about animals.
Fully indexed, every page is a journey of discovery. Each A-Z picture plate also explores Australia’s varied landscapes, both natural and introduced. It connects directly, affirming its world into the reader’s mind.
