Sometimes a book stops you mid-step and makes you open its cover.
Fox and Fine Feathers, written and illustrated by Narelle Oliver and published by Scholastic Australia, arrested me in just such a fashion.
The stunning linocut, pencil and pastel illustrations drew my attention immediately. Children will love searching for the birds hidden within the landscapes, their camouflage enhanced by the illustration style.
Animal behaviours and a deep nature message
This story has all the elements I’ve been searching for. It brings together true-to-their-nature animal behaviours in rich descriptive text, their native environment and a deeper message for children, all in one book.
It’s no wonder it was shortlisted for the 2010 CBCA Awards last year!
Lyrebird, Coucal, Pitta and Night-jar are birds of the forest floor. Although as different as it is possible to be from one another, they always look out for danger and warn each other. But one day, only Night-jar is watching. Can he warn the others in time?
Apart from having all the ingredients I like in a wildlife picture book, the final pages contain notes on the habitats and species depicted in the story.
These facts help to extend the life of the book, providing more in-depth information for discussions with older or more inquisitive children.
The story is perfect for classroom discussions and lessons on:
- camouflage,
- introduced species,
- predator-prey relationships,
- ground-dwelling birds,
- food chains and,
- animal defence mechanisms.
There’s an array of lesson plan examples developed for the classroom. Teachers and keen parents can find them here.
It looks like a great book Penny. My girls are fascinated by books that have pictures hidden within the illustrations….I shall see if my local library has it!
I LOVE Narelle Oliver’s books – look for some of the older ones too. A great artist and fine writer.
Hey Penny, just found your site and I love it! Very inspirational. Hope you’ll have tips for engaging the older kids too. Definitely will be waiting for future posts 🙂 Amy
Thanks so much Amy. I will be trying to cover all age groups. There’s a great Wildlife Exploration post coming soon about about Antlions which will be great for older children.