Eve, from Busters Books, has teamed up with her mum to bring you a "Mother-Daughter" review of the picture book An Aussie Year.
An Aussie Year
Tania McCartney & Tina Snerling Review by Rebecca Lucock (Eve's mum!)
The first impression is that this book is going to be exclusively all about Australia but quickly you find it is more about multicultural communities than just Australia. It has many events and experiences that other countries experience not just Australia. The second half of the book seems to portray a few more unique Australian aspects.
Sectioning the book out into months of the year helps to reinforce the calendar year for young ones and the link between events, seasons and different cultural festivities. There are many global cultural aspects within the pages that could be used to open discussions and learning about our world. The Chinese New Year is mentioned celebrated in January but it has been put into the February section so this could be confusing for some. The pages are presented nicely although there is a slight busyness to them to fit in so many events for each month. It was wonderful to see the last page set out as a map of Australia identifying so many great unique sites as well as references to the climate, activities and native species in these areas. It is a page to explore with children and encourage further study. Overall, An Aussie Year has some good listed items that could draw upon further learning.
An Aussie Year
Tania Mccartney, Tina Snerling
Review by Eve Lucock
A book like this is great for children who are coming to Australia and want to know more and Australian traditions. I must note that this book has a great picture display but I think there is too much going on throughout the book. Many other children’s books have great artistry like this although not as much going on. If a child from another country came to read this book they may be overwhelmed with the busyness on the pages. This book has highlighted Australia quite well, especially when they show how Aussie children enjoy themselves throughout the seasons. There was only one thing I disliked which was mentioned in December that our Christmas trees are made of driftwood. I personally just think this is false information for I have never seen this, nevertheless, I could be wrong. I can see that this book is aimed at children from different nations which I find is very helpful.
An Aussie Year and other quality picture books are available from HEA Partner EK Books. Go to https://www.hea.edu.au/english to claim your discount.
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