One of the latest offering from Magabala Books introduces young children to the teensy Southern Corroboree frog, which is considered one of Australia’s most critically endangered species.
A little Corroboree frog named Jet wakes from hibernation, and, after finding a mate, watches patiently over the eggs in his nest, waiting for the rain to arrive. When the rain doesn’t come and the pond begins to dry up, Jet seeks the wisdom of Grandmother frog. Grandmother raises issues of global warming and pollution by humans.
Right on cue humans arrive at the pond, and Jet makes himself known to a boy and his father. The boy is delighted to discover the little frog and seeks to improve the situation for this endangered species.
Author-illustrator sisters Tracey Holton-Ramirez and Angela Ramirez effectively highlight a little-known species in their first picture book, while maintaining Magabala Books’ ongoing commitment to Indigenous perspectives in literature. The distinctive black and yellow Corroboree frogs lend themselves well to illustration, making the book a colourful work. Young readers will be interested in the factual information provided at the end of the story, and educators will appreciate the additional website links for further activities.
While the conservation message of the story is positive, it must be said that the portrayal of humans is over-simplified and perhaps even idealistic. Firstly, the boy in the story is able to quickly and correctly identify the species of frog. Secondly, the father’s response is to abandon his fishing plans and instead load up the 4WD with rubbish—a lovely sentiment, but probably an unlikely outcome in those circumstances.
Overall The Little Corroboree Frog is still worth a look and will appeal to children aged 4 – 8. The striking cover is bound to entice readers, and without books like this, kids might never be able to identify rare species of animals when they stumble upon them in the bush…
Catherine Oehlman is better known online as SquiggleMum. You can read more from her at www.squigglemum.com