” This is the story of how my home burnt down. They had warned many of us that Alinta and her army of dancing orange lights approached. But we stayed unaware of the devastation forthcoming.”

With a portion of every sale going towards the Fireworks Fund which will in turn distribute the money to a variety of areas including the preservation of the Australian environment, protection of endangered animals, regrowth of natural land and improving of community wellbeing – this book marks a great step towards making a positive impact towards the natural environment that was damaged during the 2019/2020 bushfires.

Told from the perspective of a koala named Illuka who survived the 2019 bushfires, we learn what it was really like for the animals who had to flee their homes without warning, many of them killed or lost in the frantic rush to get out.

Readers aged 10-14 will enjoy meeting the different characters in this story who each have fun & different personalities and Australian names such as Illuka, Jarli and Coda. Readers will really feel the emotions from each character as detailed description is given to how they live throughout the Australian bush in times of disaster and recovery.

This book does talk about the devastation of bushfires so it is important to note that it could be confronting for some readers, however, knowing more about how animals were effected along with the bushland by the fires is important. Fireworks should also bring about more awareness as to what we need to start doing more of to avoid this disaster again.

Oliver Smuhar’s words champion wildlife and the natural bushland and through this I can see many young readers starting to see why this world we often forget about is worth remembering with every action we take.

Check out Oliver’s website www.OliverSmuhar.com – A young award winning Australian Author and some activities www.OliverSmuhar.com – A young award winning Australian Author to help young readers engage more with this story.

A story to be read and shared by readers young and old to remember and to take action for the future.