Boomerang Books Info Bank

An audio version of a picture book about a family’s journey around Australia is just the thing to have in the car. At 20 minutes running time Grace’s recount of a special year, when she and brothers Luke and Billy ‘missed school for the whole winter term’ to travel around Australia with Mum and Dad, might last to the supermarket rather than across the Nullabor but the imaginative and creative possibilities of the audio package could be lifelong. Included with the CD is a small fold-out map of Australia with Grace’s travels plotted from Binnum, Victoria and back; eight postcards with illustrations from the book to send to friends; three blank postcards; and short instructions for five car games. With some encouragement children might plot their own holiday journeys, keep a written or photographic diary and write postcards. The actor’s voice is at times twee, after all this is a woman pretending to be an eight-year-old girl. The original book mimics a family photo diary, so to get the full flavour of Lester’s tale, the book is worth having too. Both audio version and book are worthwhile for home or school.