Sarah Allen, Jumping Joeys, Affirm Press, October 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922626004
After a hugely successful debut with Busy Beaks, Sarah Allen has followed up with an equally delightful book. Jumping Joeys has a similar structure and similar brand to Busy Beaks, but instead of learning about birds, readers are shown the diversity and beauty of Australia’s marsupials.
The minimal rhyming text walks children through the bushlands and trees that make up the habitats of these creatures. They get to see wombats in burrows, small hunters stalking micro prey, and joey gliders hanging on for a night-time ride. It’s wonderful that we see animals that don’t get a mention very often, like the common spotted cuscus, the hairy-footed dunnart, and the irtjarijari (or southern marsupial mole).
All of the pages, including the endpapers, are works of art. And at this point, I must confess how long I have spent stalking Sarah Allen’s website trying to justify the purchase of a stunning piece of art that I have no wall space for. Her illustration style celebrates Australiana in a playful and soft way. Her depiction of eucalypt blossoms is probably my favourite.
Included at the end is “A Furry Field Guide” with snippets of information about the marsupials from the book. This book fits very well into the recent trend toward high-quality, well-designed, non-fiction books. It makes information more accessible, especially for a young and visually literate audience.
Reviewed by Cherie Bell
