Picture Books About Australian Animals: 8 to Read Together

The best picture books about Australian animals for young children include Possum Magic, Koala Lou, Diary of a Wombat, Wombat Stew, Edward the Emu, Kangaroos Hop, Big Red Kangaroo and Kookaburra. Below you'll find who wrote and illustrated each one, a suggested age where a publisher or reviewer gives one, one true fact about the real animal to share after the story, and a simple activity to try.

Most lists stop at the book. We've added the fact and the activity because little ones often ask "is that what a real wombat does?" straight after the last page, and it's lovely to have an answer ready.

Quick list

Book	Author and illustrator	Animal	Suggested age
Kangaroos Hop	Ros Moriarty, Balarinji	Kangaroo, echidna and friends	2 to 6 (Read Plus)
Koala Lou	Mem Fox, Pamela Lofts	Koala	3+ (Better Reading)
Wombat Stew	Marcia Vaughan, Pamela Lofts	Wombat	3+ (Better Reading)
Possum Magic	Mem Fox, Julie Vivas	Possum	4+ (Better Reading)
Kookaburra	Claire Saxby, Tannya Harricks	Kookaburra	4+ (Read Plus)
Big Red Kangaroo	Claire Saxby, Graham Byrne	Red kangaroo	5+ (Read Plus)
Diary of a Wombat	Jackie French, Bruce Whatley	Wombat	Picture book
Edward the Emu	Sheena Knowles, Rod Clement	Emu	Picture book

Ages are a guide only. You know your child or class best.

The books, with a fact and an activity for each

1. Kangaroos Hop by Ros Moriarty, illustrated by Balarinji

A gentle, cumulative book in which kangaroos hop, butterflies fly and echidnas shuffle down to the water, where a crocodile is sleeping on the edge. The State Library of Western Australia's Better Beginnings program lists it as an early childhood concept book that celebrates Indigenous art, and Read Plus notes it includes a Yanyuwa language translation on the final page.

True fact: the short-beaked echidna is an egg-laying mammal that breaks into ant and termite nests and catches its food with a long, sticky tongue.

Try this: read it a second time and act out each action word together: hop, fly, shuffle. Tiptoe past the sleeping crocodile at the end.

2. Koala Lou by Mem Fox, illustrated by Pamela Lofts

Koala Lou's mother used to tell her she loved her many times a day, but as more babies arrive she gets too busy. So Koala Lou trains for the tree-climbing event at the Bush Olympics. It's a warm, reassuring bedtime read, especially for a child with a new baby brother or sister.

True fact: a koala's diet is made up of the leaves of certain eucalypts, plus some flowers and stems, and a young koala stays in its mother's pouch for about six months.

Try this: draw a big gum tree on paper and let your child add leaves with green finger-prints, then place a little koala at the top.

3. Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan, illustrated by Pamela Lofts

A dingo catches a wombat and plans to cook him, but the other bush animals trick the dingo into adding mud, feathers, flies, bugs and gumnuts to the pot instead. The repeated stew chant is great fun to read aloud.

True fact: real wombats eat fibrous native grasses, sedges and rushes, not gumnuts and mud.

Try this: make a pretend "wombat stew" in a bowl with safe things from the garden or toy box, chanting the rhyme as each item goes in. Supervise closely with small children and small objects.

4. Possum Magic by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas

Grandma Poss makes little Hush invisible to keep her safe, then the pair travel around Australia looking for the food that will make her visible again, tasting iconic foods like Vegemite and pavlova along the way. First published in 1983, it has been continuously in print ever since.

True fact: the eastern ringtail possum is nocturnal, and it uses its long tail like a fifth limb to climb and jump between branches.

Try this: play "possum hide and seek" with a soft toy. One person hides it, the other finds it, just as Grandma Poss searched for a way to see Hush again.

5. Kookaburra by Claire Saxby, illustrated by Tannya Harricks

Part of Walker Books' Nature Storybooks, this follows a kookaburra family hunting, defending its territory and nesting. Read Plus explains that the story runs in one font while a second font along the bottom of the pages gives true information about the birds, so you can read just the story to a younger child and add the facts for an older one.

True fact: the famous laughing call is often sung in a chorus, and young kookaburras from earlier years stay on as helpers to raise new chicks.

Try this: go outside at dawn or dusk and listen. Count how many birds you can hear before you spot one.

6. Big Red Kangaroo by Claire Saxby, illustrated by Graham Byrne

Another Nature Storybook, following a big male red kangaroo as he leads his mob through the outback. Read Plus suggests it for ages 5 and up, with charcoal and digital illustrations in reds and browns.

True fact: male red kangaroos tend to be orange red, while females are often blue grey. A joey leaves the pouch for good at around 235 days old.

Try this: measure a "big red" on the floor with masking tape. A large male can have a body up to 1.4 metres long, so lie down next to the tape and see who is longer.

7. Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French, illustrated by Bruce Whatley

Mothball the wombat sleeps, eats, scratches and trains her humans to become better pets. It won the 2003 Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year, and the dry humour works for grown-ups too.

True fact: wombats are among the world's largest burrowing animals, with powerful legs and flattened claws for digging.

Try this: make a "diary of my teddy" together. Each day, write one short line about what the toy did and let your child draw the picture.

8. Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles, illustrated by Rod Clement

Edward is tired of being an emu, so he tries life with the seals, the lions and the snakes, before deciding being an emu may be the best thing after all. The rhyming text makes it a good read-aloud, and it was shortlisted for the 1989 CBCA Picture Book of the Year.

True fact: emus can't fly, and it's the dad who sits on the eggs. The male emu incubates the eggs without eating, drinking or leaving the nest, and fresh eggs are dark bluish green.

Try this: ask "if you could be another animal for a day, which would you choose?" and draw it, then talk about what you'd miss about being you.

How to plan a short book and colouring session

A simple shape works well for a quiet afternoon or a class story time:

Read the story once, just for enjoyment.
Share one true fact about the real animal. A photo from the Australian Museum's animal pages helps children see how the drawing and the real animal differ.
Colour or draw the animal while you chat about the story.
Stop while it's still fun. A few minutes is plenty for little ones.

Our Australian animals colouring pages guide has a fact for each of ten native animals and easy extension ideas, so it pairs neatly with any of the books above. If you want a whole book of native animals to colour, My First Australian Animals has one big picture per page with thick outlines for small hands.

Choosing the right book for your child

Toddlers: start with short, rhythmic books like Kangaroos Hop. Repetition makes it easy to join in.
Preschoolers: story classics like Koala Lou, Wombat Stew and Possum Magic have characters to care about and lines to chant together.
Early primary: the Nature Storybooks, Big Red Kangaroo and Kookaburra, add true information that older children can ask questions about.
Mixed ages: Diary of a Wombat and Edward the Emu make everyone laugh, adults included.

Free koala page to start

If your little reader falls for Koala Lou, our free printable set includes a koala colouring page alongside a few other friends. Get the free colouring pages, print as many copies as you like, and colour along after story time.

Questions and answers

What is a good first picture book about Australian animals for a toddler?

Kangaroos Hop by Ros Moriarty, illustrated by Balarinji, is a short concept book with a simple repeating text. Read Plus suggests it for ages 2 to 6.

Which Australian animal picture books mix a story with real facts?

Claire Saxby's Nature Storybooks, such as Big Red Kangaroo and Kookaburra, tell a story in one font and add true information about the animal in a second font along the bottom of each page.

Are classic books like Possum Magic still in print?

Yes. Better Reading notes Possum Magic has been continuously in print since it was first published in 1983, and new anniversary editions keep it on shelves.

How can I turn a picture book into an activity at home or in class?

After reading, share one true fact about the real animal, then offer a colouring page or a simple movement or drawing game linked to the story. Keep it short and follow the child's interest.

Do these books suit a classroom unit on Australian animals?

They can. The Nature Storybooks carry factual text for older listeners, while titles like Koala Lou and Wombat Stew work well as shared read-alouds for younger groups.

Sources

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