“Go home, cheeky animals!”
“All cheeky animals, Go home!”
An energetic and fun filled book – Go home, cheeky animals! by Johanna Bell and Dion Beasley is a deserved winner of the CBCA early childhood section for 2017.
You can feel the heat of Canteen Creek, the noise of the people and animals who live there and the energy flying in every way when the various feral animals come to the farm and chew up pants, eat the owners food, stamp all over the grass and just generally cause chaos!
But where are the cheeky dogs? Aren’t they supposed to be helping to get rid of these cheeky animals? Perhaps they will stop their snoozing in the warm sunshine – you’ll have to read it to find out!
Not only do we learn about these cheeky animals but also the seasons of the Top End. The rainy season and dry season, the humid season and the windy season, the dry season and the stormy season are all a part of this story and a beautiful part of the ever changing Top End of Australia.
Dion Beasley’s illustrations are full of energy, they are lots of fun and children love looking at the pictures to see what the different characters are getting up to when the cheeky animals invade!
Cheeky animals is a wonderful story to share with younger readers – they will love the barely controlled mayhem and the child-esque illustrations. Cheeky animals is a great book to explore life in the Northern Territory of Australia – a place many Australian’s haven’t ventured too – especially those places that are further away from the main cities.
So what can you do at home?
- Find out where Canteen creek is. Explore what the temperature and life would be like there.
- List the cheeky animals. Why are these animals cheeky? Explore the concept of feral animals. Why are there feral animals in Australia? What are they? How does an animal become feral?
- Are there any cheeky animals around your house? Draw a map of where you live, like the one in this picture book. Draw in where you think cheeky animals might live. These could be feral animals or animals in abundance that might cause chaos at your house!
- Explore the different seasons in the Top End and compare to where you live.
- For older readers – How can we ensure the populations of Feral animals are kept down? Why do we need to get rid of feral animals?
Here are some interesting reads on why we don’t need feral animals!!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-08-09/wild-pigs-found-south-australia-mid-north/8786908
http://www.fpmagazine.com.au/australian-animals-on-the-brink-of-extinction-351308/
