Claire Saxby

This is one of a series of books about Australian wildlife that's recently been published in the US and I am thrilled to welcome them to our shores because they are truly gorgeous.

As evening falls, the kangaroos wake up. Big Red Kangaroo is the dominant male of his "mob" and he leads them out to graze in the cool night, escape a dust storm, and steer clear of dingos. He warns off other males and has a fight with one. Finally, the night is over and the kangaroos settle down for the day.

The show more charcoal and digital illustrations are breathtaking. Rich oranges, browns, and reds flow through the broad sketches. The kangaroos stand out from the landscape in shades of gray, brown and red, their bodies stretching and leaping across the pages.

There is a page of additional information about kangaroos at the back, an index, and a note reminding readers to check both the narrative text and the secondary informational text in italics. It's a format that works very well for different ages; you can read the basic text aloud to a younger group while older readers will appreciate the additional information fleshing out the story of the kangaroos night.

Verdict: Accessible text that will appeal to a variety of ages and gorgeous illustrations - what's not to love? Definitely add this and Saxby's other titles to fill out your animal sections. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780763670757; Published 2013; US edition published 2015 by Candlewick; Purchased for the library show less

This would be a great book to have in a unit on animals and animal behavior. This is so dense with information but also creates a narrative so you feel like you're there with the emu. I like the two different fonts and how each served a purpose. I learned a lot from this book. The illustrations are fun too look at and very detailed.

I have read many armloads of picture books to my son when he was young so I think this is one is a peach! The pictures are in bright colors and are eye catching.
Having never heard of the “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” which was referred to in the book jacket so this book made me think of “This is the House that Jack built”. It uses the same pattern of repeating the previous lines in a chorus. The rhyming is what really made me want to read this book. My brother is show more severely autistic and he loves rhyming verses so I know that he will love this book.

There are “fishy facts” in the last part of this book including some that I didn’t know before.

I highly recommend this book for very young children and for autistic children who love rhyming.

I received this book as a win from FirstReads and that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review. show less

This book is a very creative rendition of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.". Kids are sure to be amused at how the sailor ends up curing his tummy troubles! Beautifully illustrated. The big colorful pictures are sure to catch the eye's of little readers/listeners. And the "Fishy Facts" at the end was a great addition. Kids at elementary level are sure to love this book.