The Man From Snowy River: Australian Classics for Little Ones

Written By Banjo Paterson

Edited by Kathryn England

Illustrated by Cate James

Reviewed by Sophia Evans

The Man From Snowy River by Banjo Paterson is a well-known Australian classic poem studied in many primary and high schools. This version, edited by Kathryn England and illustrated by Cate James, is promoted as ‘Australian classics for Little Ones’ and the blurb tells us ‘learn counting and colours with one of Australia’s most-loved poems!’

Page one starts exactly the same as the original poem:

“There was movement at the station,

For the word had passed around,

That the colt from old Regret had got away,”

This part of the poem matches the number and colour counting concept with the little reader searching for 1 ONE, grey horse (with the text being shown on a grey background page with the opposite page showing the illustration).

The counting and colours become a bit more abstract as the book progresses and often do not correlate with the chosen line from the poem at all. Page three partners the text “so all the cracks had gathered to the fray” with 3 THREE, purple akubra hats.

If you are familiar with the original poem by Banjo Paterson then the story will flow and make sense. If you are new to this poem (and, being a board book, it is aimed at very young children), then the old-fashioned sentence structure and word usage will take some getting used to, multiple exposures and lots of discussion.

Kathryn England has edited the original 1000-word poem down to eleven pages, picking the best lines to maintain the story.

Cate James is an award-winning illustrator with over 40 titles in her backlog including Dear Broccoli (written by Jo Dabrowski, 2025) and The Susurrus (written by Genevieve Young-Evans, 2025). Cate’s illustrations are colourful and lively, showing the action of each line along with the colour and number illustration.

This book is recommended for “little ones” but as there is a mismatch between material and intended audience the age range for this book is difficult to specify.

Penguin 2026

Kathryn England

Cate James