As we walk down to the billabong to see what we can see, the sun is shining bright. Over near the tea trees, where the bush bees are buzzing, there is a ‘black and white magpie warbling her song, so happy down by the billabong’. As we move around the billabong we see ‘high up in the scribbly gum above the bull ants nest, a choir of cheeky cockatoos with yellow feathered crests.’
A choir of cheeky cockatoos with yellow feathered crests
A black and white magpie warbling her song.
So happy in the sunshine, down by the billabong.
So the story goes as we move from place to place, discovering an indigenous plant with insects making a home, only to find a bird nearby that sings or dances. Our little poem gets longer each time we find something new. But a storm is brewing and the rain is coming!
Birdsong by the Billabong is such a gentle lyrical story with the added joy of finding plants and insects and birds to meet. The words have a lovely soft rhythm that are satisfying to read aloud. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Jane Stephens
Age Guide 2+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maura Finn was born in Wellington, New Zealand – a beautiful mountainous city considered to be the windiest in the world. Despite this rather extreme climate she spent the greater part of her childhood outside – racing on scooters and bikes, building tree forts, and frequently skinning my knees.
She had an imaginary friend called Leeny (who lived in the ceiling), a burning ambition to be a train conductor, and all sorts of wonderful pets. The most special of these was her cat Tulip, who my family discovered in our tulip patch when she was only a few hours old. They kept her in her dad’s slipper for the first few weeks of her life, and thanks to her mother’s round the clock feeding schedule, she survived, and lived with them until she was an old lady cat who had lost all her teeth.
Her favourite authors included Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, adventure stories by Williard Price, C S Lewis of course, and anyone else who could create a good mystery.
Nowadays, she’s a proud but busy mum, who works in an office as well, so sadly there’s not quite as much time for lazing on the couch. But whenever she can catch a few moments in the bustle of daily life, she writes stories for children.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Cate is an award-winning illustrator and printmaker from Sydney and Edinburgh.
She works in her Northern Beaches NSW studio accompanied by naughty miniature dachshunds, specialising in childrens’ picture books. Cate also works at the UNSW Paddington campus as a lecturer and printmaking technician.
Her images are created using a combination of pencil or ink line-work drawn mostly from life, and a digital layering of colour and texture.
0 Comments