Frané is an Australian author and illustrator. Her art has been called naïve, primitive, folk art but while her work here is simple (to suit the intended young audience), it is the considered expression of an experienced and professional artist.
In this fun filled collection of familiar nursery rhymes Frane has given each one an Australian flavour e.g.
Row, row, row, your boat,
Gently down the creek. If you hear a Tassie devil,
Don’t forget to shriek!
Or
It’s raining, its pouring,
the numbat is snoring.
It bumped its head and went to bed,
and couldn’t get up in the morning.
Other rhymes include Here we go round the banksia bush, Three blind moles, This little Froggy, D-I-N-G-O and many more packed into 90+ colourfilled pages. The colours chosen reflect an Australian palette with rich strong hues. These illustrations are simple, bright, and uncluttered, using shapes easily recognised by those developing their visual literacy.
Frané’s version of nursery rhymes will familiarise young children with our Australian plants and animals, while having lots of fun learning rhythms, rhymes and new words. She hopes that ‘ the Aussie renditions of these well-known nursery rhymes will provide more meaningful and relatable moments for Aussie kids‘.
Teachers and parents will find endless opportunities for experiment and discussion when children come across the other versions. If you have a different cultural heritage maybe you could create your own personal version? I’m sure parents have been doing that for ages.
The publisher say suitable for people aged 2 + but it is never too early or too late to start enjoying nursery rhymes! Every home with young children should have several collections of which The Big Book of Australian Nursery Rhymes deserves to be one.
Frané is an Australian author and illustrator. Her art has been called naïve, primitive, folk art but while her work here is simple (to suit the intended young audience), it is the considered expression of an experienced and professional artist.
