The Book of Australian Trees
Author : Inga Simpson
Illustrator : Alicia Rogerson
Trees tell stories about places. Australia has some of the tallest, oldest, fattest and most unusual trees in the world. They have changed over thousands of years, adapting to this continent's deserts, mountains, and coasts. Many have found clever ways of dealing with drought and fire.
Their leaves, flowers and seeds are food for birds, insects and mammals. Old trees have lots of hollows, which make good homes for possums, sugar gliders, birds and bees. But trees aren't just important for other animals, we need them too. What trees breathe out, we breathe in. They are a vital part of the Earth's ecosystems.
When you first stand in a forest, the trees all seem the same. But if you look more closely, they are each a little different, like people. This book is a love song to Australian trees, from the red ironbark to the grey gum, the Moreton Bay fig to the Queensland bottle tree.
The first book for children from one of Australia's most beloved authors.
Publisher : Lothian Children’s Books / Hachette May 2021
ISBN : 9780734418531
Buy in Australia
Buy in the United States / Canada
Reviews
“Stunningly illustrated…. Banksia flowers open at night. Perfect timing for sugar gliders and flying foxes. Essential for home and school libraries”
“The book is beautifully illustrated and celebrates the beauty of trees of this land — the flyleaf paintings of leaves, bark, cones, seeds, and blossoms lend themselves to a plant-rich conversation with younger readers.”
“Illustrated by WA artist Alicia Rogerson, the book is aimed at children but it offers something for anyone who doesn’t know their grey gum from their brush box, can’t distinguish a brachychiton from a banksia or a Moreton Bay fig from an Antarctic beech.”
