By John Williamson & Jonathan Bentley

Reviewed by Mia Macrossan

This is a picture book version of the song by Australian entertainer John Williamson augmented and extended by the colourful illustrations of Jonathan Bentley. Koalas are a popular topic for Australian children’s books – they are cute, they are endangered and they are unique to Australia.

Using rhyming verse and colloquial language Williamson gives the reader a deft summary of their situation today, making an emotional appeal to restore their habitat. Bentley’s artwork is clever and appealing from the front cover featuring a big-eyed koala through to powerful images of bush fires, and then to a projected future of a safe koala environment.

The back page adds some interesting facts about koalas (they have a hard botton so they are quite comfortable sitting in tree forks) and there is some information about Koala Conservation Australia, one of the organisations supported by John Williamson. John is keen to support those organisations which support Australia’s bush heritage together with its flora and fauna.

Puffin 2025

Koala Conservation Australia

John Williamson

Jonathan Bentley