Australia, the Arctic and South Africa ...

Wombat Walkabout by Carol Diggory Shields

What a fun story to read aloud! This is a counting backwards story, as six woolly wombats go on walkabout. A dingo spies them and as one by one they fall back, they end up in the dingo’s sack. Of course, all ends happily. The rhythm and rhyme are a delight. I will be using this at story time until it wears out.

Ages 4-8 Australian animals, Australian words




Ocean’s Child by Christine Ford and Trish Holland

Enjoy this peaceful bedtime story, set in the far north. David Diaz illustrated this book; reason enough to borrow it from your library. A mother and child paddle through the cold ocean waters, seeing otter, walrus, dolphin, beluga and more. As they pass each animal, they bid them good night.

Ages 4-8 Animals, art



Adventures of Riley: Safari in South Africa by Amanda Lumry and Laura Hurwitz

The Adventures of Riley series combines on-site photos with watercolor illustrations for a fun field trip. One of the truly remarkable parts of each book is how the author integrates information from particular scientists; a text box on the page has both the information AND a watercolor of the scientist. This will be fabulous for kids. That bit of information came from a real person, here is his/her picture. And just think, you could be a scientist someday, too.

Ages 5-10 Science, geography