Bev and Kev by Katrina Germein illustrated by Mandy Foot

Where does Bev fit? She is SO tall. The other animals say cruel things to her, mocking her for her height, belittling her for being different. Bev is desperately lonely and very sad. She heads off into the desert. Finally, after days of walking and extreme thirst and hunger Bev collapses in the desert. But she is not alone. A little bird arrives. 

You may already know that yellow-billed oxpeckers hang out on massive African mammals like giraffe, water buffalo, and eland during the day—an often-beneficial relationship that provides hosts with cleaner, healthier skin. These small brown birds can often be seen perched on top or hanging off the animals, picking through their hair in search of tasty parasites like ticks.

Book design - the end papers in Bev and Kev are perfect - they look like the markings on a giraffe. At the front there are simple (child-like) pictures of giraffes on each 'spot' and then at the back we can see nine other African animals - okapi, colobus monkey, secretary bird, and red river hog. The final pages of this book fold out in a joyous celebration of new friends. But the best part of this book are the illustrations.  Take a look at these close-ups of Bev's face. Mandy Foot captures every emotional nuance so perfectly.

Bev and Kev was a 2023 Children's Book Council of Australia Early Childhood shortlisted title. Here are the judges comments:

Themes of friendship, acceptance and finding one’s place and tribe are explored as Bev the giraffe moves through the African landscape, experiencing social rejection from animals that cannot relate to her due to her size. Using the theme ‘opposites attract’, readers may empathise with Bev's loneliness and her joy at finding a non-judgmental companion. Interesting synonyms for ‘big’ provide rich language, while important messages are imparted, such as body image, the comfort found in companionship and how our words may affect others. The pencil and watercolour illustrations shift in perspectives, emphasising Bev’s great height and perfectly matching her mood as seen in the bird’s eye view of her solitary walk. The southern African setting is clearly defined in these outstanding watercolour and pencil illustrations which are placed onto digitally rendered backgrounds, capturing the mood of the story to perfection. Illustrations and text harmonise well, and the spectacularly eye-catching final fold-out page creates a lovely resolution, told wordlessly.

I am sure Bev and Kev has been shared in every school library in Australia this year, but my plea is to keep it at the top of your list when you are selecting books to read in your school library again next year and beyond. I often ponder which books from awards such as our CBCA book of the year titles continue to be shared by Teacher-Librarians and even class teachers. It surprises me, when I look back at the CBCA short lists from past years, how few books featured in my program in later years, but I do think Bev and Kev should be added to your library read aloud repertoire. 

Here are all the books from the 2023 CBCA Short list - Bev and Kev was my own personal favourite after Jigsaw. I have also talked on this blog about Market Day. 

The way Bev and Kev combines actual animals (in this case African animals) with things that are true in nature reminded me of these two classic animal stories both of which are a joy to read aloud.

Puffling

Little Humpty

Africa Calling nighttime falling by Daniel Adlerman illustrated by Kimberly M Adlerman

Tuesday Treasure

Publisher blurb: All across Africa, as the sun sinks lower in the sky, the animals ready for the night. Lion prowls. Viper slinks. Monkey swings. Hippo splashes. And meanwhile, a child prepares for her own peaceful dreaming. The jaunty rhythms, gentle rhymes, and beautiful illustrations in this book will send every child off to a good night’s rest.

I picked up this book from a display in the library I visit each week. I marvel at the way the books in this collection look so fresh and new even though this book was purchased for the library back in 2009. The date due slip shows that book has been borrowed 12 times.  I had not heard of Daniel Adlerman or his wife Kimberly Adlerman (see her art here) but flipping the book open the collage art inside really appealed to me. 

Here is a set of teaching notes to use with this book. This book is based on a song but my copy did not come with the CD and since this book was first published in 1996 it seems the CD called One Size Fits All, Listen up - is no longer available. If you can find this book and you have a school music teacher perhaps the students and teacher could compose some music to use with this book. This book contains rich words such as prowling, romping, cautiously eyeing, massive and stunning. The revised edition (paperback) of this book contains more details about the African animals, a map and a song lyric sheet. You may be lucky to find a copy - here is the ISBN 9781620147955.

Gnu - a curious creature

The 2020 CBCA slogan is:

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds

The GNU

I was visiting one of my favourite school libraries last week and spied their display of books about the curious gnu.  What is a gnu I hear you ask...

Image source: Animals Network

• A gnu is also known as a "wildebeest". The names are used interchangeably.
• Gnu is pronounced NEW or NOO
• "Wildebeest" is an Afrikaans word meaning wild beast
• A gnu is a type of antelope
• They are related to cattle, sheep and goats.
• The gnu is an even toed ungulate
• There are two species - the black gnu and the blue gnu
• The blue male gnu stands around 150cm tall and the black male gnu is around 120cm tall.
• Gnu live in Southern Africa - South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, and Tanzania
• Gnu live in herds with zebra as a protection from predators
• Gnu are herbivores and they eat grass
• The collective noun is a confusion of gnu
• Here is a video of a group of Blue Wildebeest (Blue Gnu).

Further Reading

Animal Corner

National Geographic

Video for kids

Even though the gnu is not an especially cute animal I found five picture books.

Publisher Blurb: Meet Yak and Gnu, two best friends who love to row and sing. Who will they meet on their journey down the river? This funny rhyming tale is full of adventurous animals and boats galore. Walker Books  Published in 2015

Publisher Blurb: Drawing.  Reading. Building. Painting. These are things Nelly loves to do…but they’re always better with Daddy Gnu!  With fun-to-read rhyme, a little silliness, and a lot of warmth, Anna Dewdney—the creator of the beloved Llama Llama books—tells the story of a daughter and her daddy and their wonderful day together. Penguin Random House  Published in 2017

Blurb: When Gnu says that there's a cave filled with diamonds across the river, Shrew is intrigued. But Gnu seems to be all talk, fantasizing about riches yet dismissing all of Shrew's suggestions. As Gnu dreams his days away, tossing out one big idea after another, Shrew spends his nights trying to make those dreams a reality. Can Gnu's big ideas and Shrew's hard work make something remarkable happen?  In this entertaining spin on "The Ant and the Grasshopper" that values the roles of both dreamers and doers, author Danny Schnitzlein's deadpan storytelling is perfectly complemented by illustrator Anca Sandu's humorous artwork. Book Depository available October 2020 

Blurb: When Gnu receives an invitation for tea with the Queen, he realises he better start brushing up on his etiquette. He hops on the train to London and picks up some rather interesting new mannerisms on his way to the palace. By the time he meets the Queen he has plenty of hilarious manners in his repertoire! Booktopia Published in 2017

Blurb: Boo loved being the only blue gnu. Whenever he met another gnu he’d say – “I’m Boo, I’m blue, not grey like you. I’m blue like the sky and blue like the sea. Wouldn’t you like to be blue like me?” So when another blue gnu comes along and wants to be friends, Boo doesn’t like it one bit. But can a blue gnu change more than his colour? A tongue-twisting read-aloud story. Kyle Mewburn

You might also like to look at the Julia Donaldson book The Ugly Five.

Murilla Gorilla Jungle Detective by Jennifer Lloyd illustrated by Jacqui Lee

"The bright sun shone over the African Rainforest. 
Murilla Gorilla lived in a hut on the mountain. 
She was asleep.
'Ring!'
It was her phone.
'Murilla Gorilla Detective Agency,' Murilla said sleepily"

When I picked up this book in a library I read the first page. When I saw that the gorilla named Murilla answered her phone I knew this was a book to enjoy.

Crime: Stolen banana muffins
Victim: Ms Chimpanzee
Detective: Murilla Gorilla
Suspects: Mandrill, Hippo, Tree Frog, Anteater, Okapi and Little Chimp.
Criminal: Not telling - you'll have to read this book to discover the muffin thief and then I recommend you bake a batch and enjoy this book all over again.

Junior detective series always appeal to me. I love The High-Rise Private Eye series by Cynthia Rylant, the Pip Street books and Detective Gordon series and now I have discovered Murilla Gorilla. A very satisfying easy to read story told in five chapters with vibrant graphic illustrations.

There are four books so far in the Murilla Gorilla series:

Image Source: Jacqui Lee (Click this link to see more of her wonderful art).

Jennifer Lloyd is a Canadian author.  Click this link to read more about her work:

And the wildly varied contents of Murilla’s backpack, which she tips out twice during the story, allow children to practice reading unexpected words. But worthy though these achievements are, “Murilla Gorilla” is, above all, a pleasure to read and look at. Like the cheeky rascal who stole the muffins, readers will be hungry for more. New York Times


I would follow Murilla Gorilla with the detective books I mentioned earlier and later perhaps try these books about Precious by Alexander McCall Smith - they may be beyond the reading level of your child or student but they are perfect to read aloud. You can see the whole series here.

Dumazi and the Big Yellow Lion by Valanga Khoza illustrated by Matt Ottley

Dumazi, a Zulu girl, is on her way to the waterhole to fill her empty calabash pot. She comes across a lion caught in a trap.

"I've been trapped for many days without food or water ... Please save my life and set me free!"

Dumazi has to decide what to do? This story is filled with problem solving and decision making. She asks the lion to promise not to eat her.  He makes the promise so Dumazi sets the lion free but once the ropes fall away he breaks his promise.

"I am so thirsty, I could drink the whole African River Limpopo. And I'm so hungry I could eat a Zulu girl."

Dumazi is shocked but also she is a quick witted girl. She offers to let the lion eat her but suggests they should first talk to the other animals and ask their advice. The lion reluctantly agrees. They ask the giraffe but Aunty Giraffe is worried about humans and the way they are cutting down trees. The giraffe tells the lion he can eat the girl. Dumazi quickly suggests they need to ask one more animal. The lion reluctantly agrees and so walk on and meet an elephant. Just like the giraffe, the elephant is worried about humans - the poachers take tusks. The elephant tells the lion he can eat the girl.

Luckily for Dumazi, a small monkey has been listening to all of this. He is such a clever monkey. He challenges the lion to show him the ropes that held him captive and then he tricks the lion back into those ropes. The lion is trapped, Dumazi is saved but is everything really resolved? No Dumazi feels sorry for the lion.

"She picked up her kalimba and returned to him. From nearby, she played gentle music and the big yellow lion fell into a deep, deep sleep. Dumazi crept up to the sleeping animal and untied the hunter's ropes."

You may be surprised to see what happens next.

This book is the complete package. It is a clever story that reads like a fable or a trickster tale. It has vibrant illustrations, a text with just the right amount of repetition for young readers and as a bonus the book comes with a wonderful music CD all packaged in a beautiful hardcover book. This is a book to enjoy in a classroom, in a library and it is also a book you should consider for your home shelves.

I say music because this CD is so much more than just a reading of the story. It has music composed by Matt Ottley and sung by Valanga Khoza.  The orchestration matches each animal that Dumazi encounters. It is a really special listening treat.  Here is a set of teachers notes from Scholastic made available by Pegi Williams. This is a book you should share with a music teacher. It would be perfect for a collaboration between the library and a music specialist if you are lucky enough to have someone who has this role in your school.

I am going to predict (here is another one) that THIS book will make our CBCA notable titles and from there the 2020 Book of the Year short list.

Listen to an interview with Valanga Khoza where he talks about playing the kalimba, he sings and plays the kalimba in this interview too and he explains his childhood in the Limpopo province of South Africa.