The Outback By Annaliese Porter and Bronwyn Bancroft, Magabala Books, 2005. Dark, red earth surrounding flat, stony plains — gibbers lay on scorching sand, where seldom it rains. What a lovely little book, richly illustrated in the style of traditional Australian Aboriginal paintings. The illustrations depict recognisable Australian animals, like goannas, snakes, wallabies and cockatoos, and landscapes such as the desert plains and Uluru. The Outback tells the tale of the harshness of the land, the desert, and the desert animals. This is a bush ballad about the Australian outback that was written by Annaliese Porter when she was only eight years old! She is one of Australia’s youngest published writers. What a great example of a story to read to a young writer 🙂    

Hairy Maclary’s Showbusiness By Lynley Dodd, Mallinson Rendel Publishers, 1991. ‘In Riverside Hall on Cabbage Tree Row, the Cat Club were having their Annual Show.’ Hairy Maclary wreaks havoc when he gatecrashes the local cat show, but who wins first prize? What are the categories for the prize-winning cats? Biggest family, worst temper, longest whiskers, snootiest, fattest and…SCRUFFIEST! Hairy Maclary has survived many adventures and is a really fun little character to follow around. He is still probably one of the most loved dogs in kids picture books today, along with Spot of course. This book is a board book for our youngest readers, but it is also available as a soft cover book. To find more crazy capers of Hairy Maclary, click here!