Aussie Kids

Aussie Kids
Penguin Random House Australia

​Meet Katie at the Beach
Rebecca Johnson & Lucia Masciullo (2020)
 
Meet Sam at the Mangrove Creek
Paul Seden & Brenton McKenna (2020)
 
Meet Mia by the Jetty
Janeen Brian & Danny Snell (2020)
 
Meet Eve in the Outback
Raewyn Caisley & Karen Blair (2020)
 
 
Say hello to a lovable bunch of kids that come from all parts of Australia. Katie lives in an apartment in Queensland right across from the beach. She spends plenty of time down at the water, catching waves and building castles with her family. Unfortunately, on this particular day she has a very wobbly and sore tooth and a trip to the beach feels a little too much.
 
Sam and his best mate Peter love to go fishing at the creek up in the Northern Territory. They know all about the tides and the fish. The only problem is, they aren’t really sure how to use their net and Peter brings banana lollies. Sam is sure there’ll be a disaster (Bananas are bad luck on a fishing trip!).
 
Eve lives in Nowhere in Western Australia and she thinks it’s magical. There are lizards, kangaroos and even camels roaming wild around the bush. Her cousin Will comes to visit and Eve is a little worried that her magical place won’t compare to the dolphins he has back home. The thought of chores during a visit to the neighbour doesn’t sound too appealing to Will either until he experiences the joys of driving across bumping paddocks to visit new born lambs.
 
Mia lives at Victor Harbour in South Australia. She loves being by the beach and fossicking along the sand. Mia is a little nervous when a boy comes to stay with them, but then decides that being a tour guide can be a lot of fun.
 
This series of books is a wonderful celebration of the diversity that Australia offers. Each character is proud of who they are and where they live, and their unique stories and experiences are enticing for any reader. The books are pitched for emerging readers aged between five and eight. There are short sentences and short chapters complimented with simple vocabulary and two-colour illustrations. The characters highlight that no matter what surrounds you, there is always something interesting to find and do, a wonderful lesson for the youth of today. The language and voice of each character has been carefully selected to reflect children from different parts of Australia, making this a great set of stories to work through inferring and connections within the classroom.
 
Children in Year one and two will love the independence of reading these short chapter books while having the opportunity to peek into the lives and homes of different kids.