Australia is the smallest of Earth's seven continents. It also has lots of interesting animals!! Start your journey by exploring the resources below! Search for other information through our online catalog or Kids Click's database on Australia!
Kangaroo
Outback
Koala Bear
Down Under
Great Barrier Reef
Crocodile Hunter
Aborigines
Botany Bay
Look for these numbers on the library shelves:
599.2 - Kangaroos
919 - About Africa
994 - History of Africa
Title: Look What Came from Australia
Author: Kevin Davis
Publisher: Franklin Watts
Date: 2000
Summary: Describes many things that originally came from Australia, including inventions, sports and games, food, musical instruments, animals, and words.
Review: Beautiful photos and interesting facts about Australia!
Title: Destination: Australia
Author: Jonathan Grupper
Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books
Date: 2000
Summary: Start in the hours before dusk and finish with the last rays of the setting sun. Meet unusual creatures you may not know, such as emus, echidnas, and a frog that lives most of its life underground. See familiar faces, such as the kangaroo and the koala, and learn more about how they live. Let stunning photographs and Jonathan Grupper's lively text give you a very special glimpse of the land and animals of Australia.
Review: From Amazon.com , "This is a wonderful book! The text leads us on a journey from early morning (before sunrise) through the night, traveling throughout Australia. Stunning photographs with bright colors, show the animals and sea life of Australia. The entire focus is on animals and sea creatures. The storyline is captivating and interesting. My children loved the text, which held their interest completely, and the supporting photographs. An example of the creative text is this line "Suddenly, a sea eagle explodes on the scene, dive-bombing before you."
Title: Australia ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Australia
Author: Sarah Heiman
Publisher: Picture Window Books
Date: 2003
Summary: In this book, you'll learn about the world's smallest continent, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Sydney Opera House.
Review: From Amazon.com, "This is a wonderful book to help children learn about Australia. It's beautifully illustrated too! "
Title: Why Koala has a Stumpy Tail
Author: Martha and Mitch Weiss Hamilton
Publisher: August House
Date: 2008
Summary: When Tree Kangaroo and Koala dig a well to get some water, Tree Kangaroo ends up doing all of the work and Koala ends up with a stumpy tail in this origin story from Australia.
Review: A lively, entertaining tale!
Title: Ollie's Island E-Book
Publisher:Sustain Ability International
URL: http://www.olliesworld.com/island/aus/ebook/open.htm
Date: 2009
Format: E-Book
Summary: An interactive book about Australia.
Review: A fun E-book taking a lok at where stuff comes from, how we use it, and how this affects our world.
Title: Australia for Kids 
Title: Kids Konnect.com
URL: http://www.kidskonnect.com/content/view/301/27/
Format: Website
Date: 2009
Publisher: Kids Konnect
Summary: Website includes; Fast Facts and tons of links to other cool sites!
Review: From Xom Reviews, "KidsKonnect has kids homework and educational help - a safe Internet gateway for kids created & maintained by educators. KidsKonnect links to a variety of sites on different curriculums and interests."
Title: Planet Oz Kids
URL: http://www.planetozkids.com/oban/index.html
Format: Website
Date: 2009
Publisher: Planet Ozkids
Summary: Explore our collection of myths and legends, read postcards and stories from the animals we have met and have fun playing our games and puzzles. Learn about endangered animals and environments, Biomes and read amazing animal facts.
Review: From Killer Startups, "If you are those parents who want their children to learn and at the same time, have fun, Planetozkids.comis the web site you and your children were looking for. In Planetozkids.com you are going to find myths and legends about animals, learn about endangered animals and amazing animal facts. You can also join the Ace Detectives as they solve the latest mystery adventure from their case files. Zoom over to Ozzoom for fun Hidden Object games, Puzzle Games, Tycoon Games, word search games, and much more. In Planetozkids.com you have the possibility to download games for free and play online games for free too. In this web site you can download the latest games such as, Alice Greenfingers, Paradise Pet Salon , Agatha Christie Peril at End House , Mortimer Beckett and the Secrets of Spooky Manor, Mystery P.I., Diner Dash 4 Hometown Hero, Sally's Salon and Christmasville. In Planetozkids.com you do not need to create an account or sign in first to get access to all Planetozkids.com offers you. So, start having fun and learn at the same time in Planetozkids.com. "
Title: Australia: the down under land 
Title: Australia's Lost Kingdoms
URL: http://www.lostkingdoms.com/snapshots/index.cfm
Format: Website
Date: 2004
Publisher: Australian Museum
Summary: A timeline of Australia's reptiles, birds and mammals from the Cretaceous to the present.
Review: A fun website to find interesting past information about Australia. Lots of photos, facts, and more!!
Title: National Geographic Little Kids
1) DLTK's Crafts for Kids Australian Animal Wreath
This is a fun wreath to do by yourself or with a group.
MATERIALS:
Ring of cardboard (empty cereal boxes work wonderfully)
construction paper (brown, green or yellow)
scissors
glue
INSTRUCTIONS:
Trace a small plate and a large plate onto a piece of old cardboard.
Empty cereal boxes or frozen dinner boxes work well
It doesn't matter if you go over the folds of the cardboard
Cut a small strip of cardboard and glue it onto the back of the ring over any folds in the cardboard.
This will reinforce the ring.
Cut strips of construction paper (about 1 1/2 inches by 4 inches)
glue the strips into rolls (like making a paper chain)
Glue the rolls of construction paper onto the wreath. We made them brown, but you can do it however you wish. (green for eucalyptus with the koala or yellow for sunshine with any animal would be nice too)
Print out the template of choice.
Color the template pieces and cut out.
Assemble the project - Kangaroo:
glue the head, baby kangaroo (joey) and two paws on top of the wreath.
glue the body and two paws on the back of the wreath (so it looks like the animal is peeking over the top.
2) Amazing Rain Sticks from Exploratorium Education
Cardboard tube (a paper towel roll is okay, but a long tube from gift-wrapping paper is even better. You can also take two or three paper towel rolls and tape them together.)
- Marker
- About 60 1-inch nails
- Tape (masking or packing tape is good)
- Paper
- Rice and/or small beans (uncooked!)
1. Paper tubes have a spiral seam. Use a marker to draw dots about half an inch apart, all the way down the spiral seam of the tube.
2. Poke a nail all the way in at each dot. (Make sure the nails don't poke through the other side of the tube.) You'll need about 30 nails for each paper towel tube.
3. Wrap tape around the tube to hold the nails in place.
4. Cut two circles of paper just a little bigger than the ends of the tube. Tape one of the circles over one end of the tube. Cover the circle with tape so the whole end of the tube is sealed shut.
5. Put a handful of rice or beans into the open end of the tube. Cover the open end with your hand, and turn the tube over. Add more rice or beans until you like the sound. (Beans will make a harder sound, and rice will make a softer sound.)
6. Put the second circle of paper over the open end of the tube, and seal that end shut with tape.
7. Your rain stick is complete. Turn it over and listen to the rain.
The rain stick is a musical instrument from South America. Traditionally, rain sticks are made from the wood skeleton of a cactus. First, the thorns are pulled off and pushed back through the soft flesh of the cactus. Then the cactus is left in the sun to dry--with the thorns on the inside. Later, the hollow cactus is filled with small pebbles, and the ends are sealed with pieces of wood.
