Koala Lou by Mem Fox illustrated by Pamela Lofts

"There was once a baby koala so soft and round that all her saw her loved her. 

Her name was Koala Lou."

One hundred times a day her mother would say 'Koala Lou, I DO love you!'. But over time more babies arrive and Koala Lou's mother becomes very busy. She no longer stops to say 'I do love you' although of course she did. Koala Lou wants her mother to hug her again so she decides to enter the Bush Olympics. If she can win then her mother will surely say 'I do love you' once again. 

"It was Koala Klaws who went first. Her climb was a record-breaking twenty-two metres in seventy seconds flat. The spectators whistled and cheered and wildly waved their holiday hats."

Now it is time for Koala Lou. 

"But she wasn't fast enough. In spite of all her training and all her hoping, it was Koala Klaws who won the gum-tree climbing. Koala Lou came second. Koala Lou went off and hid. She heard the shouts of the Bush Olympics and cried her heart out."

I think you will be able to guess how this story ends - with those all important words - Koala Lou I DO love you. Yes - that is the illustration on the cover - it comes right at the end of the book.

This book is a perfect ambassador for Australia - on this page you can see our Flannel Flowers and Kangaroo Paws (flowers) and animals in the story include the platypus, emu and in the illustrations you will spy a quoll, bilby, numbat, possum, Tasmania devil, and a galah.

Bookseller blurb: There was once a baby koala, so soft and round that all who saw her loved her. Her name was Koala Lou. Koala Lou is the first born in a large family. She feels sad because her mother seems too busy to pay her any attention. Perhaps if she wins the tree-climbing at the Bush Olympics her mother might notice her again . . . Koala Lou starts her training right away!

Mem Fox talks about writing this book here. She says: A grueling two years and 49 drafts later, the final 585 words of Koala Lou were published ...  You can see a full set of books by Mem Fox here. 

There are quite a few videos of Koala Lou - if you need to 'read' the book this way try to find one with an Australian voice. The toy of Koala Lou is no longer available.

A few days ago, I listed some books you could share with your child or in your library about Australia perhaps for Australia Day (26th January) and one I mentioned was Koala Lou. This means I discovered I had not talked about this book which is such fun to read aloud.

In 2023 Koala Lou (1988) was 35 years old and a special anniversary edition was released:

And here is the US cover:

Pamela Lofts (1949-2012) is also famous for Wombat Stew, Hunwick's Egg and Sail Away: The Ballad of Skip and Nell.

Blurb: The dingo pair set out to sea - their hearts were beating fast. Their boat was but a redgum log with neither sail nor mast. Follow intrepid adventurers, Skip and Nell, as they travel round Australia 

on their way to that boat race way out west.