Eco warriors to the rescue by Tania McCartney

National Library of Australia, 2013. ISBN 978 0 64227780 0.
(Age: 8+) Picture book. Environment. Commissioned by the National Library of Australia, this little book for middle primary people promotes the idea that everyone can do something about the environment, through some of the illustrations held in the National Library. With clear photographs of three young children we follow their path in helping the environment by cleaning, collecting, learning about and actively protecting it.
Ned, Matilda and Banjo consult their favourite book, Australian flora, fauna and other curiosities, and make their way through the bush, each page giving stunning illustrations of various plants and hints about how it is to be protected. So we have a page with an illustration of a kangaroo paw with rubbish around it which the children clear away. Over the pages we are shown other flora, with hints about their continued representation in our forests, by treading carefully, not picking the wild flowers, not polluting our lakes which support the wildlife, actively planting native trees and shrubs to attract wildlife and so on. As pages are turned, the children are shown caring for our environment, modelling what other children should do. The children hold posters on which are written the rules about protecting our environment, like Don't Litter, or Tread Carefully, or Plan Development Wisely, and so on. At the end of the book is a map of Australia with our floral emblems, a page abut the flora mentioned in the book, a list of the illustrators and a double page giving the Birth Flowers.
The book would find a place in primary classes looking at caring for our environment, looking at our stunning flora and the illustrators who have drawn these flowers, as well as the role of the National Library in preserving the work of these illustrators.
Fran Knight