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Tag: Australia

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Published on 2 Comments on Meet Taj at the Lighthouse by Maxine Beneba Clarke

The Aussie Kids series takes you on adventures with kids from a variety of backgrounds to the unique places they live in Australia. They include Eve who lives at a roadhouse in outback Australia, Zoe and Zac live at a zoo in New South Wales and Taj lives next to a lighthouse in Victoria.

8 characters, 8 stories, 8 authors and illustrators from all 8 states and territories!

Meet Taj at the Lighthouse

Taj's family has travelled a long way to Australia from their sun-hot village, by the big blue sea in search of a safe home. It's not easy settling into life in a new country. Taj misses his old home, his favourite food and playing with his cousins. He wonders if he will ever fit in as he tries to learn English and make friends. Not even wearing his lucky lightning t-shirt helps, but his mum reminds him to 'believe' and encourages Taj to keep trying.

When Taj’s dad finds a job as a lighthouse guide, the family moves to a town along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. At his new school Taj makes lots of new friends, he joins the surf lifesaving club and everyone calls him Taj Lightning. These days Taj's family has settled into their little Aussie town that now feels like home.

At the end of the book find out more about lighthouses and Maxine Beneba Clarke and Niki Greenberg who created Taj’s story.

There is a fun Aussie Kids activity pack to download HERE

Photo: Kim Yeomans

Last year I visited the Split Point Lighthouse at Airey’s Inlet. The lighthouse was built in 1891. It is 34 metres tall, with the most amazing views! It still operates at night with an automated system to guide the ships in the Southern Ocean. Take a tour of the lighthouse while you're there! 

Have you visited a place in Australia where you would like to live?

Happy reading!

Published on Leave a comment on Mr Chicken All Over Australia by Leigh Hobbs

Australia is big, but so is Mr Chicken. He can’t wait to go everywhere, see everything and meet everyone.

Mr Chicken has been to London, Paris and Rome and now he is finally travelling down under to Australia in his latest adventure, Mr Chicken All Over Australia.

Mr Chicken can't resist the many invitations from Australian children whose real letters fill the endpapers of his book.

We all know Mr Chicken won't be your regular tourist! His crazy itinerary has him criss-crossing the country from Wanneroo, to Wee Waa to Poowong and everywhere in between. Top of Mr Chicken's list are some of our famous 'big' tourist attractions like the Big Banana at Coffs Harbour, but who knew there was a Big Boxing Crocodile at Humpty Doo? Mr Chicken has lots of  adventures along the way as he discovers his fear of heights on Sydney Harbour Bridge, unexpectedly heads to Tasmania on a surfboard, suffers from a painful case of 'pavlova-itis' and gives tourists at Uluru a sunrise they will never forget. Thank goodness for his calm koala tourist guide who keeps Mr Chicken on track with his trip.

Now...if only we knew where the mystery town is with a brand new 'big' yellow tourist attraction...

Leigh says that ‘Children often wrote to me asking if Mr Chicken could visit them “and stay at their nana’s” or “visit their school” etc. The requests were so charming and hilarious that this prompted the book.' He has dedicated this Mr Chicken book to the many children, teachers and librarians he met as he travelled around Australia as the 2016-2017 Australian Children’s Laureate. 

Over the weekend, I attended the fabulous Kids Book Fest at the Fitzroy Town Hall. I was hoping to get my copy of Mr Chicken All Over Australia signed. Imagine my surprise when I found myself walking into the Town Hall alongside Leigh Hobbs! It was a delight to chat to Leigh and he happily signed my book. Leigh hopes everyone enjoys Mr Chicken's latest adventure because he had lots of fun writing and illustrating it.

Thank you, Leigh for making reading so much fun!

Happy reading!

Teacher notes

Published on Leave a comment on Mamie by Tania McCartney

We know her as May Gibbs, the creator of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, but to her family, she was known as 'Mamie' (pronounced May-me). This year is the 100th birthday of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (1918-2018).

In her exquisite picture book, Tania McCartney brings a young Mamie to life in a magical modern day setting.

Mamie is a little girl with a big imagination who ‘could draw as soon as she could walk’. Her world is filled with fairy friends and singing and dancing in made up plays until her life is turned upside when her family ‘moves to the bottom of the world’. Accompanied by her Scotty dog, Mamie explores and draws her strange new home of ‘shimmering bushland’, but Mamie misses her magical friends until one night she dreams of a little fairy with a gumnut on his head…a bush fairy.

Like me, I know that you will be spending a lot of time pouring over the many tiny details in Tania’s vibrant illustrations that lovingly capture the essence of May Gibbs as a little girl and celebrate the power of imagination. Mamie is one of my favourite books this year!

I was very lucky to win a copy of Mamie. Thank you, Tania! 

You can download some activities for Mamie here

Happy reading!

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