Animals of Australia Book List

We have been very busy with our letter of the week activities lately, so we haven’t done as many activities for our continent studies.  We have enjoyed reading many books though.

More Resources for Little Book Lovers

The best way to encourage a love of reading is to provide kids with many opportunities to engage with a wide variety of books that are of interest to them. That’s why we share so many books lists on Fantastic Fun and Learning. We want to make it easy for you to find great books your kids will love. Over the years we’ve also discovered some helpful tools for connecting kids and books.

Digital libraries are one very handy way to do this. Epic! is one of our favorite online libraries. It’s full of over 25,000 books, learning videos, quizzes and more for kids 12 and under…and it’s free for educators. Click here to learn more and sign up.

Book Boxes are another fun way to get kids excited about reading. What kid doesn’t love to get a special delivery in the mail?! The crew over at Bookroo finds the best little known books that you won’t already have in your library, and they send them to you each month. Take a peak inside a Bookroo Box here.

Book-Based Activities are also a lot of fun for kids. Jodie over at Growing Book by Book has saved us all a ton of time and created a full year of Book-Based Activity Calendars so that you can extend the fun with a special book each week.

FIND TONS OF AUSTRALIAN THEME ACTIVITIES IN OUR PRINTABLE PRESCHOOL LESSON PLANS

For this first glimpse at the different continents, we are mainly focusing on identifying the name of the continent, finding the continent on the map, and recognizing a few of the animals that live on each continent. I do try to include age-appropriate nonfiction books when I can find them at the library, but most often we are using picture books. As we have “visited” each continent throughout the year it has been fun to see the kids begin to expand their vocabulary and use many of the animal and continent names in their pretend play.

Over in Australia: Amazing Animals Down Under is the Australian version of Over in the Meadow.  I always love to include these books when I can find one that relates to our topic. There are so many concepts covered in the book including counting, rhyming, and naming animals and their babies. The back of this book also includes a map of  Australia that shows where each animal lives. Older preschoolers will really enjoy finding the “hidden” animals throughout the book. There are also facts about each of the animals to add a little more information to the discussion. This is a book we read many times throughout our Australia unit.

In Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball Wombat tells about all the things he likes to do, like scream loud, jump high, get messy, curl up in a ball. At the ends he likes to curl up in a ball and snuggle. My kids enjoyed acting out some of the parts of the story. We also spent time talking about whether we liked to do some of the same things that Wombat enjoys. We finished up our discussion by talking about other things we like to do that weren’t listed in this book.

Wombat Walkabout is a rhyming story about a group of wombats who outsmart the dingo trying to catch them.  It is also a counting story that counts backwards from 6. Slowly each wombat ends up in the dingo’s sack until the last two figure out how to set their friends free. To emphasize subtraction, I gave the kids each a paper bag and six blocks. As the dingo caught another wombat we practiced taking one away from our set and adding it to the paper bag. This was a fun way to explore number sense and act out the story.

Wombat Stew is out of print, but it is typically available in most libraries. In this story a dingo catches a wombat and decides to make wombat stew. All of the other animals suggest other ingredients Dingo needs for his stew, and in the end they all help to save wombat. Kids will love to chant along to the repeated phrases of the story. There is a lot of rich vocabulary that is used in the story. It is great exposure for younger kids and could lead to a lot of discussion with older kids. Some of my favorite words for vocabulary study in this book would be clever, ambling, graceful, boasted, and bristled.

Diary of a Wombat is a well-illustrated look at a day in the life of  a wombat. My kids got a little of giggles out of this one. It also prompted us to talk about different personalities and how pets are different from animals in the wild.

We also enjoyed Diary of a BABY Wombat. In this story Baby Wombat is here to tell about its adventures and meeting a new friend.

Marsupial Sue is my favorite book about Australian animals. It is a book I used in my kindergarten class, and it is one that is frequently in the car with us on road trips. The book comes with a CD that includes a recording of John Lithgow singing Marsupial Sue and an instrumental version. Poor Marsupial Sue is unhappy being a kangaroo, so she wanders around trying to find the place where she belongs. After some comical attempts at trying to be like her Australian animal friends, she realizes that she is happy being a kangaroo. I always enjoy sharing this message with kids and talking with them about reasons they are happy with who they are. And, yes, this is a song you will have stuck in your head for a long time, but the message is as good for adults as it is for kids!

In Marsupial Sue Presents “The Runaway Pancake” Marsupial Sue and her Australian animal friends are putting on a play of The Runaway Pancake. This is a variation of the traditional stories The Runaway Pancake or The Gingerbread Man. The book is also accompanied by a CD with a musical performance by John Lithgow, and kids love it! This book is a great addition to an Australian unit study or a gingerbread theme.

Heart in the Pocket is a story about the special bond between mother and child. Little Jo-Jo wants to stay in his mommy’s pocket forever. He shares all the reasons he wants to stay, and mom shares all the things he can explore on his own. It’s a sentimental story about growing up and remembering that you’ll always have a special place in mom’s heart.

Koala Lou tries to win her mother’s affection when she realizes she has had it all along. This is a great story  that can be helpful to lightly address sibling rivalry and remind children that they are loved all of the time, not just in those moments of praise.

Edward the Emu is a bit like Marsupial Sue. Edward tries to be something he’s not. We thought it was another great book about being happy with who you are and having a positive self-image. The humorous illustrations and rhyming text of this story also make it a wonderful read aloud. In Edwina the Emu, the sequel to this book, Edwina and Edward are expecting ten emu babies.

One of the saddest things for me to discover as I try and share some of our favorite books is that many of them are out of print. Eek! I debate whether to include them in these lists or not.  Below is a glimpse at some of the other out of print books not mentioned above that you might have in your personal collections or find at the local library.

Snap!
Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo
Platypus series including Platypus, Platypus and the Lucky Day, Platypus and the Birthday Party

What are some of your favorite books about Australian animals? Do you know of any brief nonfiction books that would be great for preschoolers?

MORE AUSTRALIA FUN WITH PRINTABLE SNOWMAN THEME LESSON PLANS

Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.

GET YOUR LESSON PLANS

Preschool Australia Theme Lesson Plans

Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers.