In the Bush I See is the fourth release in the Magabala Young Art board book series showcasing Indigenous artists.

Talented teenager, Kiara Honeychurch, has created gorgeously coloured illustrations of Australian bush animals, inspired by her rural town in Tasmania.

While the colours she has used do not always depict the animals’ natural colours, children will love the multi-coloured highlights that accentuate each animal’s features. What’s not to love about a rainbow bandicoot or rainbow-pawed echidna?

The text is simple, but aptly describes each of the eight Australian animals, making it a great read-aloud resource for parents, teachers and librarians, who will enjoy encouraging children to ‘screech’ like a cockatoo, ‘waddle’ like a wombat, and ‘slither’ like a snake.

I particularly enjoyed how Honeychurch captures the personalities of the animals in their eyes.

Magabala has produced a quality shiny board book, small, durable, lightweight – perfect for little hands. A lovely addition to any 3-6 year old’s library.

Michelle Wanasundera is a children’s book reviewer and writer based in the Blue Mountains. She has recently self-published her first picture book, Bubbles and Puddles. You can view Michelle’s reviews on her blog, michellewanasundera.wordpress.com and you can follow her on Facebook at Michelle Wanasundera – Author and Twitter at @MWanasundera.