Kokey Koala and the Bush Olympics

by Trixie Whitmore
Illustrated by Clare Yerbury and Marlene Nash
Second Edition
Published by Ocean Reeve Publishing
ISBN 9781922461995

The first edition of Kokey Koala was published to co-incide with the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. This second edition has been updated and published in time for the Tokyo Olympics by the author's daughter and grand-daughters as a tribute and legacy to the late author.

The story unfolds as a cute koala, whose name is Kokey shows determination and courage to win the Bush Olympics. To do this he travels from state-to-state competing in various events, in his quest for achieving gold. See Kokey as he enters the Bush Olympics, and follow his journey from the exciting opening ceremony. He carries the flag, participates in diving, swimming, hurdles, relay, canoeing, sailing and boxing.

Each double page represents the states and territories and the different sports in the olympics with detailed illustrations that show the unique flora and fauna found in each of these states and territories.

The names of the flora and fauna are on the borders of each page, so that children can read their names and then look for these in the illustrations. A lot of thought has been put into the detailed illustrations and they provide plenty to keep readers engaged while discovering what's found in the bush unique to each state and territory.

Hundreds of Kokey's friends can be found on the pages, including dunnart, platypus, phascogale echidna, anticlines, Cicada, pademelon and various species of birds. Thought is a rhyming poem that Kokey uses to encourage him to keep going, to be brave and bold.

It's an impressive book and ideal for a child's home library, or to give as a gift.

Published in both soft cover and hard cover formats, five percent of sales of the hardcover version wlll be donated to The Aussie Ark Conservation Program.

To compliment the book there is a 15 piece jigsaw available which uses the Tasmanian scenes.