Yum Yum Yoshi by Susannah McFarlane

Ill. by Lachlan Creagh. Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 9781742837420.
Zippy Zoe by Susannah McFarlane
Ill. by Lachlan Creagh. Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 9781742838847.
(Ages 4+)Little Mates series. Alphabet books, Australian animals. Yum Yum Yoshi, the yellow bellied glider and his friends are in the bush collecting their food. Everything Yum Yum Yoshi sees is terrific, all yum yum, and he eats it with relish. From yams to yum cha and yellow peppers, he eats it all down. That is until one day he begins to feel a little ill. Decidedly ill. So ill in fact that he no longer feels like eating anything. HIs friends, Yang, Yolanda, Yasmine and Yuri all suggest things to combat his illness. Things like yoga and yodelling help not a jot, but when they suggest yoghurt, all comes well again.
Zippy Zoe the zebra finch is well known for her zippy habits and she flies from zero to a zillion so quickly that eventually she must have a sleep. Between the covers of this book, we see the z letter used in a multitude of ways, until the inevitable, ZZZZ as she sleeps.
These two little books are in the series of Little Mates, offering a little, hand sized book of simple stories of Australian animals from A to Z. Small children will love this series of Australian animals, and join in with finding things which begin with the nominated letter as well as follow the bright illustrations with glee.
Fran Knight