Scribbly Gum Secrets is an Australian picture book written in rhyme about the natural wonders hiding in plain sight in the bush behind your house, and one small boy's determination to solve the mystery of how scribbly gum trees get their scribbles.
"Who drew on these tree trunks?" Charlie asks. "They'll be in big trouble if Mummy sees that!" Take a walk through the Australian bush with Charlie, Layla, Cooper and Max. As the children are coaxed away from their screens and out into the scrub, they discover a world brimming with native flora and fauna, but little Charlie's mind stays fixed on one thing. Who, or what, made those marks on the bark of the scribbly gum trees?
Written by Dannika Patterson and illustrated by CBCA-shortlisted artist Megan Forward, this is a picture book with depth of field. Forward's charcoal and watercolour illustrations, combined with botanical photography, capture the biodiversity of the Brisbane region: blue-banded bees, carpet pythons, birdwing butterflies, flying foxes, flowering lemon myrtle, bush stone-curlews and, of course, the scribbly gums themselves. Older readers will delight in finding secret words scribbled into the trees in the detailed illustrations as well as other native treasures hidden in the pages. The end pages in the hardcover version say ‘Find Me’ and each botanical item pictured can be found hidden throughout the pages of the book. The end pages could also be used to engage children in a real life scavenger hunt, especially in the South-East Queensland environment, where the book is set (specifically: Redlands Indigiscapes on Quandamooka Country).
Kids' Book Review praised it as a stylishly illustrated rhyming picture book and a delightful adventure that builds awareness of the beauty in Australia's natural surroundings, noting how it encourages children outdoors and teaches the role living things play in the world around them. Reviewers have also highlighted its "extra dimension" quality — the blending of fact with fiction and the sense of being invited to share some of the secrets of the natural world.
An outstanding classroom resource for environmental studies, science inquiry, life cycles, ecosystems and sustainability, suited to beginning readers through middle primary.
Themes include nature, curiosity, Australian bush, eco-awareness, screen-free play and family.
Scribbly Gum Secrets is an Australian picture book written in rhyme about the natural wonders hiding in plain sight in the bush behind your house, and one small boy's determination to solve the mystery of how scribbly gum trees get their scribbles.
"Who drew on these tree trunks?" Charlie asks. "They'll be in big trouble if Mummy sees that!" Take a walk through the Australian bush with Charlie, Layla, Cooper and Max. As the children are coaxed away from their screens and out into the scrub, they discover a world brimming with native flora and fauna, but little Charlie's mind stays fixed on one thing. Who, or what, made those marks on the bark of the scribbly gum trees?
Written by Dannika Patterson and illustrated by CBCA-shortlisted artist Megan Forward, this is a picture book with depth of field. Forward's charcoal and watercolour illustrations, combined with botanical photography, capture the biodiversity of the Brisbane region: blue-banded bees, carpet pythons, birdwing butterflies, flying foxes, flowering lemon myrtle, bush stone-curlews and, of course, the scribbly gums themselves. Older readers will delight in finding secret words scribbled into the trees in the detailed illustrations as well as other native treasures hidden in the pages. The end pages in the hardcover version say ‘Find Me’ and each botanical item pictured can be found hidden throughout the pages of the book. The end pages could also be used to engage children in a real life scavenger hunt, especially in the South-East Queensland environment, where the book is set (specifically: Redlands Indigiscapes on Quandamooka Country).
Kids' Book Review praised it as a stylishly illustrated rhyming picture book and a delightful adventure that builds awareness of the beauty in Australia's natural surroundings, noting how it encourages children outdoors and teaches the role living things play in the world around them. Reviewers have also highlighted its "extra dimension" quality — the blending of fact with fiction and the sense of being invited to share some of the secrets of the natural world.
An outstanding classroom resource for environmental studies, science inquiry, life cycles, ecosystems and sustainability, suited to beginning readers through middle primary.
Themes include nature, curiosity, Australian bush, eco-awareness, screen-free play and family.
