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

Dreadful David by Sally Farrell Odgers illustrated by Craig Smith

Look closely at the cover.

David is emptying his Mum's purse all over the street.

This style of bush fence is often a feature of art by Craig Smith

I first read Dreadful David in 1984 in my first school library and decades later the words still resonate with me.

Dreadful David went to stay

With Granny for a while

His mum was glad to leave him there

For David was a trial

...

David

Made a box into a boat and 

Sailed it on the trough

The box was Granny's biscuit box

The biscuits went all soft!

He watered Granny's kitten because it seemed so small

He used up Grandad's shaving cream and overflowed the shower

He found a big new toilet roll and flushed it down the loo

Oh there was nothing horrible that David didn't do

Maybe now the text is not politically correct because Granny does eventually give David a smack on his bottom (but it didn't really hurt) but that part doesn't bother me, after all by this stage he has watered the letters in the letter box; watered the kitten; put flour and shaving cream all over the bathroom floor; and finally he's used the hose on Granny herself. I am sure most kids will just laugh over this final scene and grandparents will nod in recognition. 

Sally Odgers was born in Tasmania in 195. She began writing as a child, and her first book was published in 1977. Since then, she has published more than 400 titles, making her one of Australia's most prolific authors. Sally lives in North-West Tasmania with her husband, dogs, and a cockatoo, and she enjoys activities like walking, reading, and gardening. Sally Odgers was awarded an OAM (Medal of the Order of Australia) in the 2026 Australia Day honours. ABC Hobart talked to Sally Odgers [listen from 2.07.35] - [2.17.50]

If you have worked in school libraries for a while you might recognise some of Sally Odger's older titles. I own an original illustration from Drummond. Notice some of the very famous names on these book covers - Kym Gamble; and Kilmeny Niland. I also remember reading Wicked Rose to groups of Grade 5 students when we were exploring Bushrangers.

Sally Odgers also writes the Jack Russell: Dog Detective and Pet Vet series.  Trove list 395 book titles here.

Sally's favourites among her own books include the Bandinangi Books (which continue to generate enthusiastic mail from primary school readers), Amy Amaryllis, Shadowdancers, Aurora and Trinity Street. Other books she particularly enjoyed writing include Timedetectors, Theft in Time, CD and the Giant Cat and Tasmania: A Guide (all co-written with Darrel), a picture book called Bunyips Don't and two romances for adults, both published under the pseudonym Tegan James. Shadowdancers and Aurora were both shortlisted for the 3M Talking Book Awards, Looking Out for Sam was commended in the Christian Children's Book of the Year Awards and both Amy Amaryllis and The Follow Dog have been Children's Book Council Notable Books.

The illustrations in this book showcase the work of Craig Smith and they are fabulous. If you cannot find Dreadful David look at the pages in The Wobbly Bike which have a similar setting and feel.

The Wobbly Bike

My Dog's a Scaredy-cat

The Wobbly Bike by Darren McCallum illustrated by Craig Smith

The trials of learning to ride a bike linger with me decades after my mum and dad gave me a brand new bike and then my dad spent so many evenings running alongside me, holding on of course, while I practiced on the empty road below our house. The other neighborhood kids all had secondhand bikes and even now some of them remember that mine was brand new. To me it felt that they all learned to ride by just jumping on their bike and setting off with no wobbles but for me it took months of patience by my dad. 

Like the little girl in this story I started with a tricycle and then moved up to a bigger bike and yes it did wobble and yes it did feel out of control but remember mine was new. The bike in this story is an old one from Grandad's shed. It needs cleaning and some repairs but really that wobble is not actually the fault of the bike - it is all just part of learning and persevering. 

Bookseller blurb: How do you fix a wobbly bike? Could it be the tyres, the terrain, or maybe it might be a new rider? A joyful, multi-layered story, celebrating the unique culture of Australia's urban "top end", the precious roles of grandparents in families, the fact that kindness and encouragement, combined with practice, are the key to success, bound together with gentle humour. because laughter is always the best medicine.

Notice all the quintessentially Australian inclusions in the illustrations - hills hoist; old roller lawn mower; the back shed and the house itself which looks like a "Queenslander". I also love the natural feel of the inclusion in this book - there are indigenous kids and a child in a wheelchair - all just kids in this neighborhood which I have discovered is in Darwin. 

Here are some brief teachers notes from Lamont. 

Darren is a tradesman and the author of The Wobbly Bike, he resides in Darwin with his wife and two daughters. The Wobbly bike was inspired by his daughter Summer who referred to her bike (after the training wheels were removed) as her wobbly bike. The book is a shout out to all children, especially the ones who struggle to never give up and keep trying your personal best and is also a nod to the precious roles of Grandparents.

Craig Smith  is one of Australia's most prolific, popular and award-winning illustrators of children's books. His witty and humorous artwork combines a wonderful sense of the absurd with a fine attention to detail. Craig has illustrated book covers, fiction series (including Too Cool written by Phil Kettle), and picture books Where's Mum? (Honour Book in the 1993 CBC Picture Book of the Year Awards), Billy the Punk (shortlisted in the 1996 CBC Picture Book of the Year Awards), and Bob the Builder and the Elves. Craig's previous Penguin titles include Paul Jennings' The Cabbage Patch series, Rachel Flynn's I Hate Fridays series, Gillian Rubinstein's The Pirates' Ship and The Fairy's Wings, Doug MacLeod's Sister Madge's Book of Nuns and numerous Aussie Bites and Nibbles. (Source Storybox Library) 

He also illustrated My Dog's a Scaredy Cat and one of his earliest books was Black Dog by Christobel Mattingley (later renamed First Friend). I read Bob the Builder and the Elves to hundreds of children in my former school library. Here is his web page and you can see him working here. 

You also need to linger over the end papers - morning on the opening pages and night at the back. And unlike so many other books I have read (mostly by celebrities) recently the rhyme used for the story in this book is perfect. 

This is such a joyous book with its humour, rhyme and illustrations making something very special from something very ordinary, evoking memories, connecting kids and generations, and reminding us that things that are worthwhile are worth striving for. The Bottom Shelf

This book is sure to be a CBCA Notable title for 2025 and it might even make the short list for Early Childhood. 

I love the work of Craig Smith and I think it is easy to connect this newest book with one of his masterpieces - Dreadful David.

Christmas Magic by Margaret Wild illustrated by Craig Smith

 

This is another older Christmas book and it is Australian which is great but sadly it is also out of print. I was amazed to find this book. I had not seen this book from 1992 even though by then I had worked in several school libraries for over eight years.  I found this book in a library a couple of weeks ago. It is by two of our most wonderful book people from here in Australia - Margaret Wild and Craig Smith (Black Dog; My Dog's a Scaredy Cat).

Tom and his family used to live on a farm. I love that Margaret Wild does not tell us why they have moved to a city and now live in the suburbs.  With an older child I think after read the opening scene in this book I might be tempted to grab a copy of Farm Kid by Sherryl Clark.

Tom desperately misses the farm where he lived with mum, dad, sister Jess and baby brother Ben. "He especially misses the animals".

Tom is not enthusiastic about Christmas this year. He doesn't want to decorate the tree or help with the cards or mince pies. His sister suggests they dress up and make a nativity. Baby Ben can sit in his pram and take the part of the baby Jesus. But the Nativity story involves animals and Tom just cannot see how they can make a Nativity without cows and horses and sheep and pigs and ducks. Tom's dog, named Dog, tries to help but he is only one dog.

Late that night, on Christmas Eve, Tom and his friend Dog sit beside the window. It is midnight and Tom knows magic can happen at Christmas so he makes a wish. They look outside again and something wonderful happens. The grass grows long and they hear sounds - moo, neigh, baa, oink, quack and cluck. It is a night filled with magic. Tom gathers his sister and brother and the children all sit together on the window ledge. Outside they see the Nativity just as it should be with animals, Mary, Joseph, the baby and the wise me too. You can see this scene on the book cover.  On Christmas Day Tom tells his parents about the magic he and his siblings witnessed last night. Mum and Dad don't believe any of the story but Tom has something wonderful in his pocket (rather like the bell that Harvey Slumfenburger finds in his pocket) - two feathers and a tuft of wool. He plans to keep these forever!

If I were a curator ...

 

Image Source: Jane Tanner Drac and the Gremlin by Allan Baillie

A couple of days ago I visited and talked about our new and splendid illustrator exhibition at the State Library of NSW.  I am excited to meet the curator and revisit next week. Over the past week I have been thinking about which illustrators (from Australia) I would include in an exhibition like the one at our State Library. (Here is the pdf link where you can find a list of the featured works/creators).

I decided to use books by Margaret Wild as a jumping off point for my own illustration collection along with a few others.

Margaret Wild is the author of over 80 books and, like Margaret Mahy from New Zealand, her books employ a diverse range of illustrators.  Here are some books by Margaret Wild with illustrators I would include in "My Exhibition of Australian illustrators". Under each book cover you will see the illustrator name and my book selection if I were a curator ...

Kim Gamble (1952-2016) - feature book Our School Fete by Louise Pfanner or Pog by Lyn Lee

Gregory Rogers (1957-2013) - feature book Space Travellers or Omar the Strongman.

Kerry Argent - featured book Wombat Divine by Mem Fox or Sebastian Lives in a Hat by Thelma Catterwell

Noela Young (1930-2018) - featured book Toby or The Muddle-headed wombat by Ruth Park

David Legge - featured book Bamboozled

Freya Blackwood - featured book The Boy and the Elephant (CBCA 2022 Picture book short listed) or My Two Blankets by Irena Kobald (note this is part of the current "real" exhibition)

Ron Brooks - featured book Fox or The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek 

Stephen Michael King - featured book Three or Where does Thursday go by Janeen Brian.   (note Stephen Michael King's book Amelia Ellicott's Garden is part of the "real" exhibition).

Jane Tanner - featured book Storm whale by Sarah Brennan or Drac and the Gremlin by Alan Baillie.

Julie Vivas - featured book Puffling or The Very Best of Friends  (note Julie Vivas is featured in the "real" exhibition with her book Possum Magic). 

Ann James - featured book Lucy Goosey or It's Miroocool by Christine Harris.

Here is a list of other illustrators for "my exhibition". Use my sidebar to search for books by each of these illustrators. Who would you include?

• Rod Clement
• Andrew McLean
• Anne Spudvilas
• Patricia Mullins
• Sophie Blackall (I know she lives in the US)
• Gus Gordon
• Gregg Dreise
• Gabriel Evans
• Andrew Joyner
• James Foley
• Anna Walker
• Donna Rawlins
• Craig Smith

Doug MacLeod 1959-2021

 

Begin with this beautiful tribute by The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature (NCACL).

From Penguin Australia:

"Doug MacLeod - a Melbourne writer of books and TV. In 2008 the Australian Writers' Guild awarded him the Fred Parsons award for contribution to Australian comedy. (He has worked as a writer on shows such as Fast Forward and SeaChange, and as script editor on three seasons of Kath and Kim.) ... His best known book is Sister Madge's Book of Nuns, which started as a practical joke on a publisher. He left his full-time TV job in 2002 to focus on writing books for young adults. So far he has had seven novels published by Penguin. The most recent are The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher, a CBCA Honour Book in 2012 shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and the Aurealis Awards, and The Shiny Guys, shortlisted for the 2013 CBCA Book of the Year Awards. One of his novels, The Clockwork Forest, was presented as a play by The Sydney Theatre Company in 2008, and in 2013 he wrote Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert, a musical about the life of Margaret Fulton."

By chance I borrowed a book by Doug - Mozzie and Midge from the school library I visit each week. 

Blurb: When Mozzie and Midge meet a colourful parrot who boasts of being the most beautiful bird on the island, the two young spoonbills set off to find out what could make them beautiful and special. 

Here is a blog post by Doug about this book.

I previously talked about Heather fell in the Water illustrated by Craig Smith. I have very fond memories of reading Sister Madge to groups of students when it was on the CBCA short list all those years ago.

We had several books of poetry in my former school library by Doug. Here is one is poems from the Australian Children's Poetry web site:

The Cheap Book of Verse

 As you wander through these pages

Full of things composed by me

Though they’re full of rhyme and rhythm –

Never call them poetry.

Poetry is wise and witty,

Sometimes long and sometimes short,

Full of feeling and emotion

Words of beauty, words of thought.

In these pages you’ll discover

Writing of a different kind:

Several stupid situations

Told in words that aren’t refined.

Read them slowly, read them quickly,

Shout them loudly as can be,

Read them any way you like, but –

Never call them poetry

By Doug MacLeod

My Dog's a Scaredy-cat by Duncan Ball illustrated by Craig Smith

Tuesday Treasure

This is one of those splendid books where the illustrator, Craig Smith, shows his brilliant imagination. He gives us rich scenes of daily life from the past inspired by seemingly simple words.

Here are the first few lines:

"My dog Stanley is the biggest dog on our street. He's a good dog and he's almost an old as I am. But my dog Stanley is a scaredy-cat."

Then comes a list of all the things Stanley is scared of - other dogs, bees, birds, butterflies, cars, water, bridges, and of course cats!  His owner wishes Stanley was brave. Brave as a lion, an elephant, a rhinoceros and a dragon. Of course this doesn't really matter at all

"Because Stanley is my dog and he loves me and I love him too."

Now onto the illustrations. The setting is the 1950s or 1960s in a small town (I think this is in South Australia where Craig grew up) with a special old time corner store. Stanley's owner is sent on a errand by his mum, or perhaps this is a neighbour, to go to the corner store and buy bread and two bottles of milk. On the way the boy sees some men painting and repairing a house and some other men moving a huge piano. It takes ages to get Stanley down to the store because everything is so frightening and, oh no, when they finally arrive the store is closed, perhaps for lunch.

The boy and his dog sit outside in the sunshine. When the pair finally do get inside we see a delightful array of sweets and other goods. You might notice the string bag used by the boy to carry the shopping. When he returns it only contains one bottle of milk. It is also interesting to note the Rosella tomato sauce sign, and the funny newspaper headline - "Rich get richer."

I adore My Dog's a Scaredy-Cat. It is a book to share side by side with a young child. You could also use this book for a school unit on life in the past.   Art students might like to compare the illustrations in My Dog's a Scaredy-Cat with another fabulous book illustrated by Craig Smith - Dreadful David.

I am so very disappointed to discover this is yet another treasure that has been disposed of from my previous library. My Dog's a Scaredy-Cat (1987) is sadly long out of print but I found a copy (2015) in mint condition at a recent charity book sale. This is a book to treasure.

Here is a quote from the late Maurice Saxby in his book Proof of the Puddin;

"A combination of subtle humour, childhood fantasy and a warm, loving relationship between a boy and his dog, along with a happy marriage of text and illustrations, make Duncan Ball's My dog's a Scaredy-Cat, illustrated by Craig Smith, one of the most appealing and successful pre-school picture books."

Magpies review (1988) by Joan Zahnleiter "This delightful book is a splendid example of the integration of text and illustration to form a satisfying whole."

Windcatcher: Migration of the Short-Tailed Shearwater by Diane Jackson Hill and Craig Smith

The migration of birds is such a fascinating topic. The endurance of these light and sometimes fragile creatures who fly huge, almost incomprehensible, distances. The way different species of birds have an internal clock which tells them it is time to fly and then there is the issue of the actual navigation through every type of weather and landscape found on our planet.

Windcatcher begins with a lighthouse!  You may know I adore lighthouses. This lighthouse on the edge of the Southern Ocean helps the shearwaters find their way home.

Now onto our hero.  Her name is Hope. Her scientific names are:

• Short-Tailed Shearwater
• Slender-Billed Shearwater
• Yolla
• Moonbird
• Mutton Bird

Image Source New Zealand Birds online

Using narrative, Diane Jackson Hill gives her reader all the facts but in an easy reading format. 

There are 37 different species of Shearwater. Our Short-Tailed Shearwater flies 15,000 each way taking six weeks for each journey. The pairs mate for life, the eggs takes about 53 days to hatch. The new baby is cared for by the parents from November until April when the parents leave.  The young chick will then loose weight and grow flight feathers. This takes 2-3 weeks then the new chick is ready for his or her own migration fight. If you click here you can listen to a pair of Short-Tailed Shearwater birds in their burrow.

Image Source Venus Bay observation Project

There are terrible hazards for this bird. Krill are the main food but sometimes food is scarce. "Brightly coloured chips of plastic can be mistaken for food and slowly turn to poison inside the birds."  The birds have to cope with wild weather but there are other hazards too - fishing nets hidden just under the surface of the water. Luckily Hope is rescued by the fisherman when she finds herself trapped in a huge net and so she is able to fly on to her northern feeding grounds.

On the final pages of Wildcatcher you will find two pages of facts. What they look like; how do they breed; how far do they migrate; what dangers they face; are they protected; and where can you see this small bird which is about the size of a pigeon but which has a 100cm wing span.

Read an interview with Craig Smith where he talks about the challenges of illustrating this book. There is a set of teachers notes on the publisher web site. Here is a review from Reading Time. You would most certainly pair this book with Circle by Jeannie Baker. Another book to use when you talk about bird migration with a younger class such as Kindergarten is Lucy Goosey by Margaret Wild.

I was especially fascinated to read that the parents leave their chick and he or she is left to set off later. This also happens with Puffins. Perhaps someone will write a book for children explaining this interesting process.