Australia: Illustrated
Reviewed By Grasshopper2 October 31, 2018
Author Tania McCartney
Distributor: EK Books/Exile Publishing
ISBN: 9781925335880
Publisher: Exile Publishing
Release Date: October 2018
Website: http://www.ekbooks.org
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What a fantastic way to show someone the many facets of Australia. Tania McCarthy has presented this book by firstly looking at overall aspects of Australia, and then taking each State and Territory at a time, for closer examination. She has done this in such an interesting way that you can’t help but be drawn in. The illustrations are very detailed and yet convey the exact idea she wishes to share.
The first double spread shows a map of Australia with many names written and next to it a list of very Australian objects and foods.’ Washing lines, prawns, footy, The Reef ‘, to show a few. A double page spread has the heading “Diversity,” which illustrates the many types of people who populate Australia. We look at Native Animals, Endangered Animals, Bush Tucker and precious rocks such as Uluru and the Bungle Bungles.
There are a few pages dedicated to sport and showing some of the many games Australians play. A page on slang words is included as are many Iconic Australian sportspeople. Now we come to the section where each State or Territory is dealt with individually. We have the double page spreads showing icons of each area, foods, transport and beaches. In Queensland names of trees and pictures of Daintree leaves are shown along with a Queenslander home and breeds of cattle. The islands off the Queensland coast are named on a map.
Each state has been well represented and named. There is an enormous amount of information in this book, but the key to its success is the presentation. The illustrations are varied and show a great diversity to explain a fact. The Painted Desert in South Australia is shown as a painting done by babies, while Tasmania’s seafood is shown by a full-page illustration of kids snorkelling in the water surrounded by the wealth of seafood off the coast.
This is a book for adults and children to pore over and dissect. It will be read many times and picked up to scan pages at random. The author has chosen an interesting and captivating way to present a huge amount of detail. This would be a great gift for tourists as well as informing children about our country.