"Regent's father had learnt the song from his father, who learnt it from his father too. But with Regent's species now facing extinction, there is no one around to teach him. Regent tries to mimic the sounds of different birds but without success. Will Regent learn his mating call before it is too late? Or will his ancient song be forgotten forever?"
This is a sad book. This is an uplifting book. The ending is hopeful but also open-ended. The pages are filled with rich and highly appealing illustrations. The plot is simple - you have read it before - but using our Australian birds to tell the story provides the perfect balance of science, Australian fauna and flora and animal conservation all told in a form that is reassuringly familiar to younger readers.
Looking at the story form - a young Regent Honeyeater is old enough to find a mate. To do this he needs to sing his special song. This song has been handed down through the generations from father to son but our young hero has no father and so no role model. He goes in search of a song but none are right and in fact he cannot even make the sounds of the other birds. He hears a friar-bird, a currawong, and an eastern rosella. Note the pattern of three. Then he sees a park ranger attaching a curious box to a tree and from this box he hears a sweet song.
"It whistled and warbled. The melody soon filled the forest. It bounced off the trees, skimmed across the billabongs and echoed through the woodlands. The song sounded familiar and it made Regent's heart feel warm inside."
Looking at the science - the total population of regent honeyeaters was estimated to be only 1500 individuals in 2000 while today it is around 350-400. The male attracts a female with a unique song. Land clearing, farming and urban development have damaged the honeyeaters woodland habitat. Scientists have begun a captive breeding program in conjunction with the Traditional Owners of Wonnarua country.
Read more:
Australian Geographic: The road to saving Australia’s regent honeyeaters
Birdlife Australia - hear their song
The art is based on photos and other materials. The colours used by Jess Racklyeft are joyous.
There is extensive back matter provided in this book. A timeline of the regent honeyeater from 60,000 years ago up to 2022. The regent honeyeater is listed as critically endangered but researchers are now using recordings of their song in the hope they will teach this to other birds in the wild. There is also a glossary and a page of artist credits which I found especially fascinating.
So this lyrical, beautifully illustrated story is another brilliant wake-up call for young readers not only about the impact of urban sprawl on this species in particular, but on our birdlife generally. The Bottom Shelf Click this review to see a short video about the Regent Honeyeater.
I am going to make a bold call and say I think I have found a book for the 2024 CBCA Eve Pownall notables, short list (and maybe this will even be the winner). Huge congratulations to CSIRO publishing on another splendid book for our Australian children. On their page you can see inside this book, read reviews and there is a link to the teachers notes.
Companion books:
I excited to see this new book illustrated by Jess Racklyeft:
AND in 2021 we were sent The Book for Happy Hearts illustrated by Jess Racklyeft for our CBCA judging. The Picture Book team sent it on to Younger Readers but sadly it did not make their notable list. I highly recommend this book as one you should add to your school library. Jess won the CBCA Picture Book of the Year award in 2022 for her book Iceberg.
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