1. Counting
2. Home
3. Koalas
4. Landscapes
5. Literary devices

This appealing counting story centres on a little lost koala who asks several bushland friends if he can live with them. Each animal has a reason why he can’t stay and it looks like he will be unable to find a home. Thankfully he finally finds a koala family who invite him to join them in their home.

The simple text presents a mixture of counting from one to ten and introducing readers to native animals and the illustrations present a colourful picture of the animals and the Australian landscape. A very effective collaboration between this Indigenous author and illustrator.

The illustrations by Jess Racklyeft are warm and charming, and appear to have layers which capture the Aussie landscape. These layers include mountains, sunshine, streams, red earth, blue skies and of course, gum trees. The final pages feature a snapshot of the Australian bush, highlighting the animals from the story in their natural habitat; where they belong – dingoes howling, koalas climbing and kangaroos bounding in the distance – all under the light of the moon.

Blaze Kwaymullina belongs to the Palyku and Nyamal peoples of the Pilbara in the North-West of Western Australia.

1. Scholastic Australia Teacher Notes https://resource.scholastic.com.au/resourcefiles/Teacher_Notes/8420392_57602.pdf
2. ALEA Literary Resources - Book Reviews 'Little Koala Lost' by Blaze Kwaymullina https://www.alea.edu.au/resources/picture-books/little-koala-lost
3. Jess Racklyeft Illustrator website 'jessesmess.co" https://jessesmess.com/2016/06/30/little-koala-lost/
4. Kids' Book Review 9 April 2019 '12 Curly Questions with author/illustrator Jess Racklyeft' http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2019/04/12-curly-questions-with_9.html