Picture Books with an Australian Theme

Books by Alison Lester, Pamela Allen, Margaret Wild and Mem Fox

Jan 28, 2008

There are many picture books for children that include Australian characters and celebrate the Australian culture.

For Australian children there are several storybooks that capture the essence of the Australian culture and lifestyle. Books such as Blinky Bill (Dorothy Wall), Snugglepot & Cuddlepie (May Gibbs), Seven Little Australians (Ethel Turner), The Magic Pudding (Norman Lindsay) and more recently Possum Magic (Mem Fox) have their place in fond childhood memories for many adults and continue to be favourites with modern children.

A new generation of children’s picture and storybooks has emerged in the marketplace. These stories are wonderful to read with young Aussie kids with a language and style that is familiar to them. They also make fantastic gifts for school teachers or ex-pat Australians overseas who might be homesick for some sights and sounds from their homeland

Grace and her family make a trip around Australia, travelling from their home near the Victorian/South Australian border across the Nullarbor Plain, along the West Australian Coast, through the centre of the Northern Territory from Darwin to Uluru (Ayers’ Rock) and across to the East Coast through Mt Isa. Their journey continues down the East Coast, through Canberra, across Bass Strait to Tasmania and back to their home at Binnum. As they journey, Grace shares the amazing places that they visit – The Great Australian Bight, the Pinnacles, the Bungle Bungles, Kakadu, the Great Barrier Reef and Cradle Mountain - as well as some of the incredible experiences they share – seeing Aboriginal rock paintings, scuba diving off the Queensland coast, watching whales at Head of Bight. A very simply told travel story suitable for young children that encompasses the diversity of the Australian landscape.

Alexander the duck lives with his family in the beautiful Botanical Gardens in Sydney. His mother is bored and takes her ducklings for a walk, past the bottle tree, along Art Gallery Rd and across College St. They arrive at the park, but Alexander is not watching where he is going and ends up falling into a hole. How will he get out? A variety of people visiting the park help out and Alexander and his family are able to return safely home in time for tea. A lovely book for anyone familiar with Sydney and told in Allen’s usual great to read aloud style for young children.

The last potaroo is sad and lonely. She takes herself off on a holiday to Miss Lily’s boarding house, where she is captivated by Miss Lily, a crocodile who dances the tango and wears a beautiful pink feather boa. The potaroo learns the value of friends as Miss Lily cares for her. A touching story about loneliness and friendship with some native Australian animals.

Koala Lou, a young koala, is loved by her mother and all the other native animals. As younger siblings arrive, her mother gets very busy. Koala Lou decides to compete in the Bush Olympics to get her mother’s attention. She doesn’t win and is very upset, until her mother reminds her that she loves her now and always will. With beautiful illustrations of Australian native animals, this story is a lovely gift for a child with a new baby brother or sister.

Australian picture books are a wonderful way of celebrating an Aussie child’s unique national heritage. From poetry and music books to books on the Australian environment such as those by Jeannie Baker, Australian authors are producing enjoyable books that the whole family will enjoy.

The copyright of the article Picture Books with an Australian Theme in Picture Books is owned by Susan Whelan. Permission to republish Picture Books with an Australian Theme in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.