Marlo can fly by Robert Vescio

Ill. by Sandra Temple. Wombat Books, 2013. ISBN 9781921632419.
(Age: 4+) Warmly recommended. Picture book. Being different. Marlo the magpie would rather stay on he ground than fly. She tries out slithering like a snake, and hopping like a kangaroo, while the other birds and animals question her decision. She remains as she is, trying different things and not wanting to fly until one day she decides that she wants to see her mother, but as she is in the sky, Marlo must fly to meet her.
A story about daring to be different, but also needing to conform, the book will be the start of many conversations in the classroom and at home about what it means to be different and why sometimes you need to do as others expect you to. And of course, striving to gain a skill that you might not have been able to do before.
The illustrations of Australian animals are inviting, and will serve to encourage younger readers to watch out for these animals and recognise them when they come across them in other spheres. The strong black and white of the magpie dominates many of the pages, contrasting with the softer shades of the other animals illustrated, crocodile, kookaburra, koala, kangaroo and snake.
Fran Knight