1. Australia
2. Dinosaurs
3. Environment
4. Geography
5. Geology
6. History
7. Landscapes
8. Natural history

Australia is a country full of wonder, ancient as time itself especially in its rocks both above and below ground. Geologically it has some of the oldest rocks in the world, some older than 3000 million years. All have helped to create Australia’s unique and wondrous landscape.

‘Ancient Wonders’ takes us on a trip to explore and learn about some of these wonders. We visit and learn about 14 different wonders around Australia from the wild and rugged Franklin River country in Tasmania to the stark landscape of Lake Mungo where Australia’s oldest human remains, dated some 42,000 years, were found. On to Kakadu’s 140 million year old stone country and the meteorite scarred Wolf Crater in the Great Sandy Desert past the distinctive striped rocks of the Bungle Bungles and then swim in the lush oasis of Zebedee Springs in the Kimberley. And along the way we visit other wonders, some are tourist highlights, others quieter lesser known wonders.

The gouache artwork is in Frané Lessac’s trademark bright colourful naïve style and each ancient wonder is celebrated on a double page spread. The text is in two differing fonts, one tells the story of the trip and the other gives factual information about the site, referencing historical context, geography, geology and connection to Country. The endpapers are maps. In the front, these are the places in the book and in the back, there is another map of other ancient wonder sites, perhaps a plan for another trip.

At the back is a timeline both historical and geological relating to the places visited and a glossary of useful geological words. A wonderfully accessible book that highlights Australia’s wondrous and varied landscape and geographical and geological history.

Series: Our Country Book One

1. Walker Books Australia Teacher Notes by Mark Greenwood for ‘Ancient Wonders’ by Mark Greenwood and Frané Lessac https://markgreenwood.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Teacher-Notes-Ancient-Wonders.pdf
2. Walker Books Australia. 2022. Mark Greenwood and Frané Lessac discuss ‘Our Country: Ancient Wonders’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4mm3H0s6gY
3. The Book Muse 2 February 2022. Ashleigh Meikle reviews ‘Ancient Wonders’ by Mark Greenwood and Frané Lessac https://ashleighmeikle.com.au/2022/02/02/our-country-ancient-wonders-by-mark-greenwood-and-frane-lessac-illustrator/
4. A Word about Books Blog 4 February 2022. Matt Wilson reviews ‘Our Country: Ancient Wonders’ By Mark Greenwood and Frané Lessac https://www.awordaboutbooks.com/blog/our-country-ancient-wonders-mark-greenwood-illustrated-by-frane-lessac
5. Australian Government Geoscience Australia ‘Earth sciences for Australia’s future’ Educational classroom resources on a range of topics https://www.ga.gov.au/education/classroom-resources/rocks
6. Natural Wonders of Australia ’Into the Wild Films’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWan2YcodSM
7. The Conversation 21 November 2017. Alan Collins, Bo Yand and Grant Cox, ‘What’s Australia made of? Geologically, it depends on the state you’re in’ https://theconversation.com/whats-australia-made-of-geologically-it-depends-on-the-state-youre-in-83575