Kookaburra, Owl and Dingo have seen Kangaroo's latest invention, but don't
know what it is or what it does. It looks scary! What could all the levers,
buttons and strange pipes possibly be for? Who will be brave enough to visit
him to find out what he's made?
Koala volunteers, but soon discovers that the machine does far more than he
expects.
What a surprise. What a laugh!
This humorous picture-storybook is suitable for children aged from about 1
to 8 years old, and will be forever treasured, not only for the story, but
also for Gail Breese's exquisite illustrations.
True information about the animals depicted in the story, kangaroo, koala,
kookaburra, dingo, possums, goanna and more, can be found at Peter's website
www.writing-for-children.com.
Peter Taylor was born in Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, England.
When he was old enough to crawl he was introduced to the wonderful world of
gardens, and spent many happy hours eating dirt and wriggly things. Soon he
graduated to playing with dirt and every living thing he could find, making
up stories and living in his own imaginary world.
Exploring the countryside and wild places, designing gardens, painting and
photographing plants and animals, illuminating manuscripts, and writing
books and stories have all become lifelong passions.
After training as an ecologist and educator, in former lives Peter worked as
a natural history curator in a museum, nature reserve warden and high-school
science and art teacher. In 1979 he exchanged jobs with an Australian
teacher for a year, emigrated there in 1982, and now lives in Brisbane with
his wife, Heather, and children Jeremy and Emily.
Peter left his teaching post in 1987 to write 'The Australian Manual of
Calligraphy' for Allen and Unwin and 'A Manual of Calligraphy' for Unwin
Hyman. At the same time he started his own book-arts business, Peter Taylor's Calligraphics, specializing in calligraphy, illumination, papermaking,
creative card and artist's book construction, and in teaching the skills
involved. One of his handmade and written books was presented to Her Majesty
the Queen as part of her gift from World Expo.
When making up stories for his children, when they were young, Peter
realized that in all jobs he has always loved writing, so in 1999 he studied
for a Diploma in Professional Children's Writing. After further developing
his craft under the mentorship of Marg McAlister, he now spends most of his
working life writing, but still plays with dirt, plants and bugs -
landscaping gardens and escaping whenever he can to enjoy and photograph the
great outdoors.
He also loves visiting schools, public speaking and teaching workshops.
Peter has several other stories completed for young children, and many books
in progress - including some for adults. More about these, together with
writing and illustration tips and fun stuff, can be found at his web-site
www.writing-for-children.com.