1. Animals
2. Art motifs
3. Art, Aboriginal Australian
4. Birds
5. Counting
6. Environment
7. Environmental protection
8. Habitat
9. Literary devices
10. Stories in rhyme

This picture book for young readers joyfully illuminates various birds that inhabit the Australian bush, providing an engaging and interactive reading experience. Each page showcases a different bird, the bright colours and seamlessly rhyming text working together to reveal each birds’ individual habitat and features. The use of descriptive verbs to portray the way each bird moves or sounds adds vibrancy to the text.

This book is suitable for classroom study, with much to discuss around the creative use of language and descriptive verbs, environment and conservation themes, the birds that inhabit our Australian bush, and our connection with nature.

The lively illustrations, which burst with colour and movement, might inspire young artists to create their own nature-themed artwork. Additionally, the detail in the eye-catching endpapers invites further exploration.

Helen Milroy is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

1. Fremantle Press. ‘Teaching Notes: Bush Birds. Year Level: K-3.’ https://fremantlepress.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TN_Bush-Birds.pdf
2. Fremantle Press. 6 February 2023. ‘What birds can you see in the bush?’ https://fremantlepress.com.au/2023/02/06/what-birds-can-you-see-in-the-bush/
3. YouTube. Kid Lit Joy. 4 April 2023. ‘Bush Birds by Helen Milroy: Picture Book Review.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m860cICwXLA&list=PLhSM9tX2MPiI4x7frBCipv4Qvi_eY5mLY&index=4
4. Bec Bowman. RTRFM92.1. The Sound Alternative. April 2023. ‘Helen Milroy: Bush Birds (audio interview with Helen Milroy).’ https://rtrfm.com.au/story/helen-milroy-bush-birds/
5. Birdlife Australia. October 2020. ‘Aussie Backyard Bird Count: Primary School Lesson Plans.’ https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/teachers/
6. Reading Time 3 Apr 2023 review by Kevin Brophy of ‘Bush Birds’ https://readingtime.com.au/bush-birds/