Outback Lullaby

Outback Lullaby by Sally Odgers, illustrated by Lisa Stewart (Scholastic Press)

HB RRP $24.99

ISBN 978-1-76027-648-5

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Outback Lullaby is a sweet, gentle, and rhythmic picture book depicting outback animals and their young sleeping in their natural settings. Many of the Australian animals in this book are used less often in stories - the Brolga, Thorny Devil and Numbat to name a few.

The language is lyrical and rolls beautifully off the tongue with calm, soft words making it perfect for reading aloud at bedtime.

The illustrations are also soft, with the colours of the Australian outback showing the landscapes these animals sleep (and live) in. They have a luminous quality to them, which evokes beautifully the twilight hours of bedtime for the young.

Outback Lullaby is the third picture book created by this talented author/illustrator team featuring iconic Australian animals in their landscapes. Rainforest Lullaby and Bushland Lullaby provide the same gentle, rhythmic bedtime reading with different animals to explore.

Clear rhyming text makes it perfect for preschoolers.