The bush turkey by by Kate Temple and Jol Temple. Illus. by Ronojoy Ghosh

A bush turkey makes an enormous nest in which to incubate its eggs. In this funny rhyming tale, the turkey spies a new build, complete with tradies and lots of equipment that he thinks will suit his purpose. So with the help of a little frog, he snatches some wooden planks, a drill, paint and whatever else he spies to take back to build his new home.

But he did not think about the working dog which is quickly on his trail. Both cause mayhem when a ladder overturns bringing both the ladder and tradies down, spreading paint and concrete all around, even on the builders. Poor Milly the dog is blamed, and the bush turkey runs off leaving the workers to sort out their mess. Some wonderful words are incorporated in the tale: hullaballoo and its companion, floppily do, while other more complex words are used: construction, dream mansion, insulation and quiche, words which will stretch the listener’s thought processes, words which do not pander to someone’s idea of what children can understand.

But to the story: Turkey drags his bounty to the place he wants to build on and sets about nailing, threading wires, pouring cement, finally finishing his masterpiece.

And what a masterpiece! Children will laugh outloud at his building techniques and pride in the finished palace. They will love to compare his nest with the real nests that bush turkeys make, sometimes to the chagrin of their human neighbours.

There is a lot of information on the internet, and children will enjoy learning more about this bird and its interaction with the ever increasing suburbs. The First Nations people have a different name for the animal, and made use of its eggs.  The animal is now protected.

The authors of this book also wrote Bin Chicken.

Themes: Bush turkeys, Northern Australia, Humour, Construction, STEM, Verse, Conservation.

Fran Knight