Who are smart, naughty, love playing tricks, flashy, very loud, but need lots of affection? What is an Australian icon, millions of years old, fast and loves to rock and roll? Another fun and fact filled book from one of Australia’s much-loved authors. Who’s the gang on our street?
Who has funky-punky spikey hair?
Who bops and bounces, dances to a beat and taps their toes?
Who loves snacks and tricks and sharing the fun?
Peek inside to discover the tricks, friendship and adventure of one of Australia’s favourite neighbourhood gangs!
Praise for Susanne Gervay
‘A moving and wonderful experience.’ – Australian School Library Association
‘Gervay gets better with every book.’– Spectrum Sydney Morning Herald.
‘Susanne is one of Australia’s most respected authors, writing about issues affecting women and children.’– Sunday Telegraph
Dannielle Vern Buzz Words –
A ‘special gang’ lives on a suburban street in Australia. The members don’t kick balls, bang on instruments or eat birthday cake, but they do play games, ‘rock to the beat’ and nibble on ‘squishy bananas’. Who are they? Friends go in search of the gang and find a colony of sulphur-crested cockatoos.
Susanne Gervay’s snappy narrative non-fiction text swoops through a flock of fabulous facts about cockatoos before young readers realise that they’re learning something. Kids aged seven to twelve will squawk with delight when they solve the mystery of the gang’s identity. At the end of the book, there is information and a quiz for those who want to know more.
The flashy parrots in this picture book call for bright and dynamic illustrations, and Nancy Bevington’s cartoon-like images certainly fit the bill. If littlies look for long enough, they’ll spy the feathered creatures peeking at them from every scene. The diversity among the child characters is also brilliant to behold.
Colourful and creative, Who’s the Gang on Our Street? offers a unique way to discover one of Australia’s most iconic birds. Kids will get a kick out of the cockatoos’ antics and develop a new appreciation for their local fauna.
www.libbyhathorn.com –
Susanne Gervay can change her voice and her style easily and fluently to suit the texts she writes. This story is zany and active as a gang of kids bop through the pages in search of another ‘gang’. And when they find the noisy gorgeous creatures we see the artist Nancy Bevington has hinted at all the way through, we can enjoy the beautifully-wrought sulphur crested cockatoos at large. Want to share the interesting facts about them too, let alone try the quiz that’s offered before you re-read!
Libby Hathorn award-winning children’s author and poet, winner of the CBCA Children’s Picture Book of the Year Award, Younger Readers. http://www.libbyhathorn.com
Hazel Edwards OAM author of the iconic ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake’ –
Fun questions and energetic visuals will help readers solving the birds’ eye view mystery of Who’s The Gang on Our Street? Great story to read aloud.
Hazel Edwards OAM author of the iconic ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake’ https://www.hazeledwards.com/
Dr Sharon Rundle author and Chair, UTS Alumni Writers’ Network, UTS Friend of Distinction. http://sharonrundle.com.au –
Sulphur Crested Cockatoos are endearing, mischievous, highly intelligent personalities of the Australian bird world. They are comical, they have rhythm and can dance, mimic, and perform to entertain us and each other. They are the subject of an enchanting picture book by author Susanne Gervay, dynamically illustrated by Nancy Bevington.
Cockatoos like company–they gather as Susanne Gervay cleverly describes it, in gangs. It’s a clever and apt analogy because of the way in which these cheeky, irreverent cockatoos gang up to cause mischief. Who’s the Gang on our Street, draws children into the dynamic, energetic world of our sulphur crested cockatoos. On each page, a cockatoo is shown following the actions of the children—playing, racing, dancing, balancing, hanging upside down, teaching each other new tricks, and eating food that they find delicious. The group of friends set off on a quest to discover a local gang of cockatoos that live in their neighbourhood. The final pages in this book has facts about sulphur crested cockatoos followed by a quiz for young readers to test their knowledge.
Entertaining and educational this is a great story for young readers which generates interest in, and provides a fun way, to learn about these amazing Australian birds.
Highly recommended picture book.
Dr Sharon Rundle author and Chair, UTS Alumni Writers’ Network, UTS Friend of Distinction. http://sharonrundle.com.au