Ninja bandicoots and turbo-charged wombats : Stories from behind the scenes at the zoo by Hazel Flynn
Piccolo Nero, 2020. ISBN: 9781760641672.
(Age: 9-12) This is a timely book for Australian children who may
well be feeling distressed about the bushfires that are currently
raging across the Australian continent and the subsequent plight of
native creatures. (January 2020)
In each chapter of Ninja Bandicoots and Turbo-Charged Wombats,
Hazel Flynn tells the story of a different creature. The reader
learns about how zoo-keepers, biologists, scientists and other
people (including citizen scientists and children) are working
together to understand how to conserve these vulnerable Australian
animals. In each chapter, the reader finds out about how people who
work with these creatures have come to love them with all their
quirky and endearing characteristics. Each chapter describes a
particular animal's physical characteristics and behavior. The
narrative is engaging, stories are told, fast facts are given, a
particular random fact is highlighted on a page for each animal and
each chapter concludes with a page entitled - "What can I do to
help?" In the centre of the book there are coloured plates of each
animal courtesy of Zoos Victoria.
Although some of the information on the status and risks to the
animals is upsetting, Flynn is positive and the young reader is
encouraged, invited and shown how to be proactive about the issues.
This gives the young person a sense of efficacy rather than
hopelessness.
Ninja Bandicoots and Turbo-Charged Wombats addresses the
cross curricular priority of Sustainability. The classroom teacher
can easily read a chapter or two as a springboard; the Science
teacher would find this a useful and engaging resource for Biology.
The endangered Australian creatures highlighted are: Leadbeater's
Possums, Mountain Pygmy Possums, Eastern Barred Bandicoots,
Platypuses, Baw Baw and Corroboree Frogs, Tasmanian Devils,
Wedge-Tailed Eagles, Helmeted HoneyEaters, Orange-bellied Parrots,
Guthega Skinks, Wombats, Koalas and Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroos.
Fascinating details about all these creatures are revealed through
the stories of the people who work to conserve them.
An excellent, interesting, fact-filled and appealing resource book
for ages 9-12.
Wendy Jeffery
