Platypus Bend by Diane Jackson Hill illustrated by Craig Smith

The rivulet begins high on a mountain top. It twists and turns and turns and twists 

until it swirls around a bend and softens into a calm pool...

No-one knows – but in that pool there is a secret.

We have some truly curious creatures here in Australia - the kangaroo, koala, numbat, wombat, potoroo, frilled-neck lizard, goanna, dingo, Tasmanian Tiger, emu, echidna, quokka, and birds like the kookaburra and lyrebird but one of my favourites is the platypus. Sadly, I have never seen one except in a zoo, and when you read Platypus Bend it is very clear why because this special solitary monotreme is very good at hiding in order to stay safe.

The joy of this book, apart from reading and learning more about the platypus, comes from the wonderful depictions of our Australian bush by Craig Smith. Take a look at this gentle video made by Craig Smith to showcase his book. And in this video Craig talks about his book. Please watch the video - it will give you a terrific insight into Craig's work as an illustrator.

Image source: Museums Victoria

As we observe the life of the platypus you need to notice the parallel story of the family who live near the creek. This illustration which is part of a larger double spread shows the family moving into their new home.

The fact section at the back of Platypus Bend made me smile with their creative heading - Platypus Particulars. 

Read about the Citizen Scientist project - The Great Australian Platypus search. Here are some classroom resources. 

I am sharing this book today (24th February) because tonight the CBCA will announce their 2026 Book of the Year Notable titles. I am absolutely certain Platypus Bend will be one of the over one hundred titles. Platypus Bend fits into the Eve Pownall Award for Non Fiction.

Look for other books in your local or school library about this curious creature [599.29] - The Platypus: In 2020 I penned this blog post. 

Here are three other books where Diane Jackson Hill and Craig Smith have collaborated.

Windcatcher

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds part four, our Platypus

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds

In my first post on the topic of the CBCA 2020 slogan I talked about the curious giraffe which was sent to Paris. Today I'm going to focus on another curious animal - our Australian Platypus or scientific name: Ornithorhynchus anatinus.

Image Source - Duck Billed Platypus Wikimedia Commons

Here are some of the curious facts about our Australian Platypus:

• One of only two Monotremes (egg-laying mammals) in the world - the other is the Echidna.
• The platypus is a venomous  mammal
• In 1799 preserved examples of the platypus seen in Britain were deemed a fake - it was thought that somebody had sewn a duck's beak onto the body of a beaver-like animal.
• You can see the platypus on our 20 cent coin
• No one can agree what to call more than one platypus 
• Their fur is waterproof
• The platypus is a carnivore
• The platypus is a nocturnal animal
• San Diego Zoo is the only zoo outside Australia with a platypus. They have two - a male and a female.

Image Source: Royal Australia Mint

Here are some questions for curious minds:

• How does the platypus find food?
• How do the babies get milk from their mother?
• How many eggs does the mother platypus lay?
• What is special about the spur on the male platypus?
• How do they stay warm underwater?
• Are there any dreaming stories about the platypus?
• Do platypus have teeth?

Here are some sites to use with a class

• National Geographic
• KidCyber
• Wildlife
• Australian Museum

There is an interesting link with the topic of the platypus to an early Australian book - The Story of Shy the Platypus (1944) by Leslie Rees. He was the winner of the very first CBCA book of the year with his book Karrawingi the Emu.

You could look for a copy of the poem about the platypus (Old man Platypus) by AB Banjo Paterson. Watch this film of 4 month old babies at Healesville sanctuary. Here are some books which are sure to be in most Australian Primary school libraries. I was quite surprised that there are so few:

Previous posts about the CBCA 2020 slogan Curious Creatures, Wild Minds

1. The Curious Giraffe

2. Guessing

3. Emotions

Little Platypus by Nette Hilton illustrated by Nina Rycroft

Two eggs hatch. One is a platypus and one is a kookaburra. The kookaburra is very sure of his talents and identity but the platypus is confused. What is he? He cannot flap his wings or fly like the kookaburra, he doesn't have ears and fussy fur like the koala and of course he cannot run fast like the emu. As he sits by the river crying, a sleek glossy creature pops out of the water - this is a platypus, a girl, "and they danced off into the water. As platypuses do."

This is my second post featuring a book by Australian author Nette Hilton.  Little Platypus is still in print and it would make a splendid gift to send to a child living overseas. It features so many of our wonderful Australian animals - Kookaburra, Koala, Emu, Wombat and of course the Platypus.

This book uses the repeated refrain

"And it probably shouldn't have mattered.
Not everyone can be a kookaburra/koala/emu/wombat/frog
But it would have helped, just a little."

You will recognise the format of this book - it is all about the search for identity.  You can see the full book here. With older children the perfect book on this topic which is also Australian is The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek. I would also link this book with Wombat Divine by Mem Fox and the classic story Are you my mother?

August is Platypus month.  Read more here from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything. 

One more little piece of children's literature trivia.  One of our earliest Australian Children's books featured the quirky platypus The Story of Shy the Platypus (1944) illustrated by Walter Cunningham the husband of Noela Young.