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 🙂