With text full of information, including history on the entries, design puts the decoration on the cake.
In her latest offering, Australia is the centrepiece. Seven areas of this beautiful country are showcased and allocated a colour from her palette. They are also identified by their Indigenous clan names.
Beginning with Uluru (the lands of the Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people, Anangu land) and the colour red - referring to the earth, Jess shows us how to see colours in nature and appreciate what we are looking at.
Colour, connected to the Australian landscape, has
been a subject for poets and writers forever. Dorothea Mackellar’s My
Country opens with the rich language found in Readers that took many
through primary school.
Vibrant varying shades and how you can feel them,
form a specific wonderland of colour in nature: earth, sky mountains, grassland,
wildflowers, animals, and insects.
Purnululu National Park - brown and orange, Mount Kosciuszko - yellow, Tara Bulga National Park - green, Great Barrier Reef – blue, Bruny Island – violet and purple, Kati Thanda Lake Eyre – black, white, and grey.
All these places are accompanied by illustrations
and blurbs on the animals etc. that belong to them. Entries are labelled with
their Latin as well as their common name.
Colour in relation to nature and art is identified
here with a personal warmth emanating from the text.
Impressive detail and research have gone into this stunning and valuable publication. From cover to cover, Australia: Country of Colour is a must have resource for older children. Not to be missed.
Title: Australia: Country of Colour
Author/Illustrator: Jess Racklyeft
Publisher: Affirm Press, $ 29.99
Publication Date: 27 June 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922863881
For ages: 8+
Type: Junior Non-Fiction
