AustLit

Abstract: In Australian Backyard Naturalist, Peter enthusiastically explores the animals that inhabit the places in which we live, from the furry to the slimy, the large to the tiny. He keeps readers entertained with stories about his own adventures with Australia’s creepy crawlies and other creatures, as well as collectors’ and naturalists’ stories from the times of first European settlement to recent times.

Abstract: Frankie is worried about moving house. Finn the fish is worried about the mysterious five-headed monster in his pond. When these two meet, they make each other's live a whole lot brighter.  

After a family move into an old, rundown house, a child finds a pond in the backyard. With the help of his family, they clear the pond and the fish can thrive again. This book tells the story from both points of view, Frankie's and Finn's (the fish). At the end of the book, it is many years down the track: the house is rebuilt, the garden as well, which includes a veggie patch. The pond is bigger and thriving with the grandchildren of Finn.

Abstract: 'The wind is raking through the falling leaves and I wish that you were here.' As the seasons change, a young boy shares the magic of his garden with a special friend.

While this picture book is primarily about a boy grieving for a deceased pet rabbit and the healing space of the garden, it is also demonstrative of the life, nature and memories possible in a backyard. It is a site for grief, growth, play, reading, rest, planting and friendship. The illustrations also demonstrate biodiversity and sustainability in backyard gardens.

Abstract: Here is a playground of dazzling lights, sounds and noises, shapes and patterns, buildings that reach to the sky and the bellies of aeroplanes, almost close enough to touch. Here is a chance to stop, look and really see and hear the city that is In My Backyard.

Abstract: The back garden provides a home for dragonflies, worms, shield bugs, ladybirds, frogs, beetles, earwigs, butterflies, spiders, and many other mini-beasts.

Roland Harvey's illustrations reveal hidden worlds that creatures build within backyard structures, such as compost heaps, cubby houses, and forgotten junk. The garden is quite self-sufficient, with sustainable practices evident. The final double-page spread reveals that this backyard is unique amongst it's neighbours (i.e. an island) due to the life thriving inside of its fences.

Abstract: The old milk bar on the corner is coming down to make way for something new. Little Davey Durak is gathering scrap  a short piece of wood here, a long piece there. But what's Davey building? Big Bruce the Builder wants to know, but Davey won't tell...

As an old milk bar is replaced by a bigger, new building, and Little Davey Durak uses the materials to build a chook shed in his backyard. The backyard is flourishing with vegetable gardens, fruit trees and animals.

Abstract: Through a house window the view gradually changes over the passage of time to show how the environment changes, not necessarily for the better.

Abstract: This series contains four books about a woman protecting wildlife on her farm.

Abstract: Sometimes bees get too big to be up in the branches, sometimes they fall and break their bones. This week both happened and Foreman said, 'Tomorrow we'll find two new bees.'

'Peony lives with her sister and grandfather on a fruit farm outside the city. In a world where real bees are extinct, the quickest, bravest kids climb the fruit trees and pollinate the flowers by hand. All Peony really wants is to be a bee. Life on the farm is a scrabble, but there is enough to eat and a place to sleep, and there is love. Then Peony's mother arrives to take her away from everything she has ever known, and all Peony's grit and quick thinking might not be enough to keep her safe.

In the novel, there is idealistic conflict between the 'urbs' (city dwellers) and farm kids. The farm is represented as necessary for sustaining life for the cities, and children are depicted as working with and caring for nature, in the absence of bees.

Abstract:

"Uncle Kevin had a farm,

A-E-I-O-U,

and on that farm

we had a holiday,

A-E-I-O-U!

With a moo moo here

and an oink oink there,

here a honk, there a quack, everywhere a neigh neigh.

Uncle Kevin had a farm,

A-E-I-O-U!" 

On the farm is primarily about a UK family's holiday to an Australian farm. However, the detailed illustrations provide excellent examples of sustainable living on a farm, and the mutually beneficial relationships that exist between the animals and farmers.

Abstract: When Rose and Gran save a baby koala from a pack of blood-hungry dogs, they call him Smooch, because he loves to cuddle. With the help of wildlife carer, Carol, Rose and her dog Lizzie look after Smooch until he is old enough to make the trees on their strawberry farm his home. Rose is deliciously happy - living on the farm and looking after bush babies is her dreams come true! But things change for the worse when Gran gets a disturbing letter from the bank. Does this mean they have to sell? Then one terrible day, Uncle Malcolm mentions bulldozers and Rose realises it’s not just her home that’s at stake. She has to do something, and fast! Rose has a voice and wants to make a difference but what can one girl and her koala do? Like Gran always said – things don’t have to be big to be special.

Abstract: Rick is coming to visit again. But will he recognise the farm? Will he have as much fun as last time? Same friend. Same farm. Totally different landscape. 

Abstract: Every month of the year there are jobs to do on a small Australian farm. Fruit ripens, lambs are born, hay is harvested. A Year on Our Farm shows the passing of the seasons through the eyes of the children for whom the farm and all its animals is home.

Abstract: Old Mrs. Abigail Chattery stood at her farm gate and stared at the new houses from the estate spilling over the hill. 'Blots on the landscape, all of you!' she shouted. 'BLOTS!' Other citizens of Blotsville are also becoming increasingly uneasy. What is their slipper Mayor, H.P. Burpwistle, up to in the name of 'progress'? An unlikely group forms. Mrs. Chattery and old Mr. Blunt, their two wily pet birds Galahad and Sulf, young Max and Pippi Bitzer and their parents (who own the pet shop), band together and mount an eccentric campaign to show that true progress is measured by people's happiness.

Abstract: There was once a tiny man who loved apple pie, and the apples from his orchard - tart and sweet and clear - made the perfect filling. When his orchards are crowded out by a growing city, he learns how to transform his altered world so he can continue to bake the perfect apple pie. An inspiring story about urban greening and creative adaptation to change.

The tiny man is approached by 'New-Build Ned' who hopes to buy his land. When he fails, New-Build Ned clears the land and builds around the tiny man's farm. The tall grey city blocks out the sun, and the orchard slowly dies. The city is clearly polluting the air, and slowly suffocating any aspect of nature.

Abstract: When Moreton and his parents, Go-ma and Go-pa, are forced to leave their beautiful home in Sydney′s Botanic Gardens, they decide they need to move somewhere that′s high above the ground, away from all the humans. So when they discover the little sun-filled room at the top of the clock tower at No. 1 Martin Place, the goanna family are sure they′ve found the perfect home. But the Pitt Street Cat rules Martin Place, and he′s not interested in welcoming new neighbours. With the help of some unlikely friends, can the goannas finally tame Australia′s meanest cat.

This book begins with an historical approach, telling the tale of when white humans first appeared in Sydney and began settling in the goanna's natural habitat. The eventual construction of a seat right in their home in the Botanical Gardens triggers their journey to find a safer place to live.

Abstract:

Ever had an itch you couldn't scratch? Hairy-Nosed Wombat has one, and somebody has chopped down his favourite scratching tree!

'Join our marsupial hero on an itchity, scratchity adventure as he tries to find the perfect place to scratch his butt.

'Itchity, scratchity, grumble and groan.

A shudder and shake, a snort and a moan.

A grunt and a huff, and a spitterly splut.

He said "I really need to scratch my butt.

Abstract: Joseph, the care-taker of an old-fashioned low-rise office building comes up with an ingenious way to save it from being demolished, thus saving his job, Lulu the lift and, of course, dozens of pigeons.

Abstract: Many creatures share Australian city spaces-possums, cane toads, snakes, lorikeets, fruit bats, magpies and even kangaroos! This engaging book tells children about these creatures and how they react with, and sometimes surprise, the human population!

This picture book shows animals in city spaces, however the animals are depicted as annoying and impacting on humans in negative ways. City expansions have taken over wildlife habitats, and the final spread shows people happily enjoying nature and animals in a park designed for them. There is some information about each of the species in the endpapers.

Abstract: Through a house window the view gradually changes over the passage of time to show how the environment changes, not necessarily for the better.

Through a boy's window, looking out into his backyard and beyond, the reader can see urban development slowly destroying the once peaceful and plentiful block of land he lived on. Wildlife is gradually replaced by neighbourhood cats, trees are replaced by buildings, birds are replaced by planes and air pollution. Eventually the boy, now a man, moves to a space filled with trees and wildlife, away from the city. However, looking outside through his new window, he can see land development has already begun across the road.

Abstract: A pigeon with a kindly owner and a home on the roof of a building meets a boy who wants to keep him.

Abstract: In the busy city, no one sees the bird with a broken wing. No one, except a young boy named Will. With the help of his parents, Will takes the bird home to care for it. With rest, time, and a little hope, perhaps the bird will fly again.

Abstract: Max and Bob are old friends. Max helps out in Bob's shop, and in the evenings they go fishing together. Until one summer, when everything changes...

Max, a seagull, relies on Bob's fish and chips store as a food source, but urban expansion takes over the area and the shop is relocated. Max tries to find Bob's new store.

Abstract: Silent Observer explores both urban life and the natural world, teasing out the story of an unlikely relationship between a man and his feathered friend.

A wordless picture book that captures the dreary and lonely life of a man commuting to work every day. The bird follows the man, who is seemingly depressed, and at the end of the book he finally looks up and sees the bird. From then on, he places food on his windowsill as well as a few plants.

Abstract: This picture book is a part fairy tale, part parable that tells of a man falling asleep in a park one day and finding himself the caretaker of a rare bird that has built a nest on his head. Ironical at times, it is a book for readers of all ages.

Abstract: At last, Belvedere's dream of travelling to the city comes true! There is so much to explore - but city life is not quite what Belvedere and his many travel companions expect it to be...

In this picture book, there are many textual and illustrative references to possums in urban landscapes in this story. The possums are part of the tour group that goes to the city, and of the visiting animals, they appear to enjoy it the most and be the most adaptable. When they first arrive, the travellers head to their accommodations at 'Possum Benevolent Society', which is described as having an entrance that was "rather tricky, but inside things were very comfortable", subtly mimicking possums living in residential roofs. 

Abstract:

Hush, little possum, don't you cry,

Mama will keep you safe and dry.

When the sky starts to rumble and the rain begins to fall, brave Mama possum hurries to find somewhere to keep her baby safe and warm.

Based on the lullaby 'Hush little baby, don't say a word', this picture book shows two possums looking for a dry space to wait out the rain, on a rural property in the outback. They try places such as a noisy shed, a windmill, hay bails, but the safest and driest spots are in the natural environment.

Abstract: One night the midnight possum meets a mother who has lost her baby, and so he bravely climbs down a chimney, into a house guarded by a dog and a cat, to find the little lost possum.

Abstract: A frisky possum leads a family in a frenetic chase through the pantry, kitchen, bathroom, study, and other rooms of the house.

Abstract: Jacko Possum's peaceful life in the outback is turned upside down when his cousin invites him to the city. Jacko quickens his pace, and tries to keep out of danger, but it's a losing battle - he is an outback possum through and through. With his nerves shot, he heads home... only to find he has a new neighbour.

Jacko Possum learns the dangers of living in the city - human threats and unhealthy foods, as well as predators such as dogs and cats. The city is bright and loud, but the outback is represented as quiet and peaceful, and a more natural environment for a possum.

Abstract: This picture book traces the encroachment of a city upon a forest until it is no longer. However, when torrential rains destroy the city the forest slowly regenerates.

Abstract: The Last Tree is a story about a beautiful old eucalyptus tree that grew tall and strong over many years. It was the centre of life in the forest and provided food and shelter for many forest dwellers. But what happens when the tree is threatened as the surrounding forest slowly disappears?

Abstract: Edward is sad after he finds the last tree in the city is no longer standing. After some reflection, he finds a way to make things better. A poignant tale about the environment and the way children relate to its beauty.

Abstract: A story to help us all remember ... When soldiers return from the First World War in 1918, a memorial tree is planted ... 'Lest we forget'. But generations later, what do those who pause in the shadows of the tree's immense branches remember?

This picture book is primarily about memory and how soldiers are remembered over time, but it is also an example of how urban development can impact multiple aspects of natural resources. In this instance, an old tree - a war memorial is torn down: "It's a traffic hazard, they say." "It drops seeds on cars, they say." - these are just some of the reasons the council removes the living memorial.

Abstract: Abstract: The beautiful spreading river red gum occurs along rivercourses throughout most of the Australian mainland. Like other eucalypts, it is a survivor in a land where floods follow droughts, and where the soils are low in nutrients. But when Europeans came they made drastic changes. They cleared away trees and altered the way rivers flowed. Through compelling verse and pastel illustrations this book tells the story of a particular river red gum and the changes it must have lived through.

Abstract: A sapling grows in the shelter of an older tree, where he is happy and safe. One day a violent storm destroys everything the sapling knows, and he suddenly finds himself unprotected and alone. But as the sapling grows, he gradually discovers that every end is a new beginning.