Our Country: Ancient Wonders
This first book in the Our Country series takes readers on a journey across Australia to marvel at our unique geology and geography.
Our home is an ancient land.
In every corner of Australia, wonders are waiting for curious explorers.
With each vibrant fact-filled page of this unique book, readers will visit different natural wonders across all states and territories. See the prehistoric beasts that roamed the land in Winton, venture through the lava-formed caves at Undara, experience the fiery glow of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, and more!
Adventure is out there . . . Our country is calling.
Resources
Creators
Mark Greenwood is a history hunter. His award-winning books include The Legend of Lasseter’s Reef and The Legend of Moondyne Joe, both winners of the West Australian Premier’s Book Award. Mark often teams with his wife, illustrator Frané Lessac, to produce titles such as Midnight – the story of a light horse, Ned Kelly & The Green Sash and Simpson and His Donkey, a CBCA Honour Book and a USBBY Outstanding International Book. Jandamarra, illustrated by Terry Denton, was shortlisted for the CBCA Eve Pownall Award, the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature and the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Awards. The Happiness Box, illustrated by Andrew McLean, was a 2019 CBCA Honour book.
Frané Lessac is an author and illustrator of international renown, having nearly fifty children’s books published throughout the world. She was born in the USA and lived on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, as well as in London, before moving to Australia. Frané loves to travel and create books based on her worldwide journeys. She has contributed her distinctive paintings to many critically acclaimed children’s picture books including, The Legend of Moondyne Joe which won the West Australian Premier’s Children’s Book Award, and Simpson and His Donkey, a CBCA Honour Book that was also selected as a USBBY Outstanding International Book. In 2019, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, written by Traci Sorell, was awarded the Robert F. Sibert Honor Book Honor medal, the Orbis Pictus Honor Book medal and the Boston Globe Horn Book Honor medal.
Reviews
Our Country: Ancient Wonders describes a journey around Australia visiting natural wonders dating back millions, even billions of years. Written for children but will be enjoyed by adults this book will entice readers to explore their own country and find out about some quite stunning places that have existed since ancient times. The book includes colourful front endpapers which show a map of Australia listing the places explored throughout the journey and ends with an important timeline and glossary as well as the final endpapers showing a map with more places to be explored. The information is written in changing fonts in different sizes to allow the reader to follow the story, learn new facts and highlight key statements. A bus takes the diverse range of tourists around Australia where they visit places such as Lark Quarry, Undara Lava Tubes, Lightning Ridge, Great Ocean Road, Cradle Mountain, Franklin River, Naracoorte Caves, Lake Mungo, Uluru and Kata Tjuta, Devils Marbles-Karlu Karlu, Kakadu, Wolfe Creek, Bungle Bungles and Zebedee Springs. Each place visited has a double page spread and is beautifully illustrated. The author shares history, geography and geology with readers and importantly shares a connection to Country throughout. A wonderful book for home, school or public library.
Read Plus
The delightful illustrations bring the geography and geology to life, and it is all presented in an easy-to-understand and accessible way that all levels of education can use in a variety of areas of study across the curriculum.
At a time when travel remains so tricky, this is a book that is a must-have in both the home and school library.
The Bottom Shelf Blog
Although this is a non-fiction book, there are narrative and lyrical elements in the illustrations and lines like, Old rocks tell time in our country. Vibrant illustrations bring each attraction to life and entice readers to visit. As well as being a great addition to home libraries, this is a fantastic resource for classrooms and school libraries.
Reading Time
This is a brilliant geography and travel book featuring some of the most stunning ancient sites around Australia. With a map to follow the journey, this is an enticing trip around the natural wonders of Australia.
Readings
