Paddy O'Melon the Irish kangaroo by Julia Cooper and Daryl Dickson
![cover image](https://www.readplus.com.au/covers/paddyomelon.jpg)
Exisle, 2017. ISBN 9781925335637
On the very day that he took his first steps out of his mother's
pouch, the little kangaroo is separated from her as two large black
marauding dogs race through the clearing, scattering them to
shelter. The joey cannot keep up with his mum so he hides, found
hours later by the O'Melon family who live in a valley in the
rainforest and who care for injured and orphaned native creatures.
They call him Paddy O'Melon, their Irish kangaroo. Wrapped in a
pillowcase pouch and bottle-fed a special milk mixture, Paddy not
only survives but thrives. He spends more and more time in the
garden as he grows, meeting and making friends with the other
creatures that the O'Melons have rescued. Eventually, all his time
is spent outdoors and the family tell him that when he is old enough
he can return to the wild and live with his own kind. But just what
is his "own kind"? When he introduces himself as Paddy O'Melon the
Irish kangaroo, he is met with sniggers and giggles and no one is
able to help him. The best advice he can get is to find the
cassowary who knows everything and everyone.
This is a charming story with echoes of Are you my mother?
but with much more depth and interest. Written by a highly regarded
naturalist, who has since passed away, it not only introduces the
reader to the unfamiliar and unique creatures of Far North
Queensland but carries a lot of information about them in both the
text and the stunning illustrations, but never intruding into the
story of Paddy's quest.
While many are familiar with kangaroos and wallabies, few know about
their cousins the pademelons who inhabit the northern rainforests In
an effort to spread the word about the species of her home region,
Cooper has deliberately included the more unusual.
There are also Teachers'
Notes available and royalties are being donated to further the
conservation of the area.
Apart from just being a good story, this book also introduces us to
more of Australia's wonderful wildlife, perhaps setting up an
investigation that compares and contrasts those of the FNQ region to
those in the students' region.
Barbara Braxton