WILD, Margaret (text) Ben Wood (illus.) The Bush Book Club Omnibus, 2014 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9781742990149 SCIS 1651523
Echidna, Koala, Kangaroo and Crocodile belong to the Bush Book Club but poor Bilby can’t stay still for long enough. However it is very lonely playing by himself while all the others are at the Book Club meeting so he creeps in to see what they are all doing. It is very boring – so boring that he falls asleep. When he wakes up, it is dark and everyone has gone home. All there is to do is …. READ!
There have been several other picture books about discovering the joys of reading and the message never fails to bring joy to those of us who advocate for its importance. The illustrations using watercolour, acrylic, gouache and pencil show anthropomorphised animals curled up in quilts, sitting in big comfy armchairs and knitting while Bilby comes across as a typical overactive child.
While some of the text rhymes, much of it doesn’t and this variation in style may jar when reading the story aloud. The audience also needs to overlook the fact that crocodiles don’t live on land in the bush! However the endearing illustrations and attractive colour palette make this an appropriate title for young children. Teacher’s Notes can be found on the Scholastic website.
reviewed by Lynne Babbage
