One Potoroo by Penny Jaye and Alicia Rogerson

"Under a slab of granite, pressed tight against the earth, there is a young potoroo. His toes are burned. His tail is scorched. His heart still races from the flames."

A lightning strike has ignited a bush fire in the scrub. The injured potoroo is rescued by two gentle hands. Once he has healed the potoroo will need to return to the right habitat. It needs to be a place with granite boulders but no pythons and no foxes and no feral cats. "Somewhere with deep leaf litter and truffles."

One Potoroo is a non fiction book but the text is presented as a narrative. US Author Melissa Stewart defines Narrative Non-Fiction as “prose that tells a true story or conveys an experience. This style of writing appeals to fiction lovers because it includes real characters and settings; narrative scenes; and, ideally, a narrative arc with rising tension, a climax, and denouement. … it generally features a chronological sequence text structure”.  The themes of nature conservation, bushfire survival, and habitat are so important and very well explored in this text. The illustrations are very appealing especially the rock textures, the red bottle brush flowers and the close ups of the potoroo. I like the subtle change between the front and back end papers from bushfire destruction to the regrowth of flowers and small plants.

There are four species of potoroo: Gilbert’s potoroo; Long-footed potoroo; Broad-faced potoroo; Long-nosed potoroo. One Potoroo features a Gilbert's Potoroo from Two People's Bay in Western Australia. Sadly this sweet little creature is the world's most endangered marsupial. There may be as few as 100 to 120 Gilbert's Potoroos left. The Broad-faced potoroo is considered extinct. The Long-nosed potoroo has a conservation status of 'near threatened' and the Long-footed potoroo has a conservation listing of 'vulnerable". 

The Gilbert's potoroo is name after John Gilbert the scientist who first studied it in the 1800s. 

Read more here. And at the back of the book One Potoroo there are two pages of facts and information about rescue and conservation programs.  See inside this book here.  Here is the web site for the illustrator Alicia Rogerson. Her art reminded me of Mallee Sky illustrated by Tannya Harricks.

The striking nature of the illustrations support the emotions of the story. They immerse the reader in the scenery of the West Australian bush, making us feel that we’re right there caught up in the tense predicament of this brave marsupial. Reading Time

This book is a CBCA Eve Pownall notable title for 2022. 

Gilbert’s Potoroo is a small nocturnal marsupial which lives in small groups or colonies, slightly smaller than a rabbit, with a dense coat of soft grey-brown fur. With furry jowls, large eyes and an almost hairless tail, it weighs in at around a kilogram. Backyard Buddies

I love the idea of book pairs and it is even better when you can pair a non fiction book with a fiction picture book as you can with these two - One Potoroo and Miss Lilly's Fabulous Pink Feather Boa. 

Here is my previous post about Miss Lilly's Pink Feather Boa. This is a story of friendship and redemption.

You could also compare One Potoroo with Sebastian lives in a hat.