Found in Sydney by Joanne O'Callaghan and Kori Song

A second in the series about Australian cities, this counting book takes readers on a trip around Sydney Harbour and beyond to acquaint them with places that would interest newcomers and tourists. A very handy map is included at the end of the book, showing an outline of Sydney Harbour and where these places can be found around it. Each double page has a number as its focus with information about that place in the text and illustration. Number one shows a young boy with a map, being offered help from a passerby while a plane comes in to land over Sydney. This first double page places the book fairly in that city with an image of the harbour with the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and the ferries taking centre stage.

Number two shows two koalas amongst other animals at Taronga Park Zoo, while three is set at the beach where young children are eating chips, seagulls hovering overhead waiting for one to drop. The beach appears in five, six and seven with five boats on the harbour, and the children walk along the beachfront where six dogs greet each other, and seven surfboards are in the sand ready for action. The counting continues up to sixteen when it abruptly changes to 100, 1,000 and1,000,000.

Each double page shows a different aspect of Sydney with sweeping illustrations of the city, each including a host of detail for readers to spot.

I read a book only last week about the building of the Sydney Opera House, (Jorn’s magnificent imagination, Coral Vass, EK) so this is a great companion read. It is fascinating seeing how often the Opera House figures in the book’s illustrations and reading the books together will enhance both for the reader.

Themes: Sydney, NSW, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Cities.

Fran Knight