Just So Stories

CSIRO Publishing

February 2025 | $ 26.99
ISBN: 9781486318100

For kiddos who love learning about nature and our wildlife (which is most of them really), this will be not only a fun read but informative as well. Quite a few will be able to make connections to their own neighbourhoods and environs, as even in more urban areas, wildlife corridors are becoming more commonplace.

Within our own vicinity we have ‘possum’ bridges, which are now being seen in many areas, as these marsupials become increasingly frequent visitors to urban landscapes. Local koalas also make use of these. We also have corridors of parklands criss-crossing the peninsula and the outer suburbs surrounding us.

Such initiatives are becoming more and more frequent, especially since the instigation of the national program. We in Australia have a pretty dismal history of protecting native species so it has not been before time that action has now been taken to correct that situation and preserve the species we have left.

Billie Rooney has put all her expertise, as an environmental educator, into herfirst book, which will be a highly valued resource in classrooms for units of inquiry focused on conservation and Australian wildlife. Anke Noack has ably partnered the text with stunning detailed illustrations which invite young readers to linger over the spreads. Your Smalls will be thoroughly engaged by the very human-like expressions of the animals, and instantly empathise with their predicaments.

Of course we are not the only country to have become more concerned about protecting our species. As a big fan of hedgehogs, I’ve loved the various stories I’ve seen in recent years about such programs as hedgehog highways in the UK. As is to be expected from the CSIRO, this is another quality informative but also engaging title which thoroughly deserves a 5 🛣️🛣️🛣️🛣️🛣️ rating.