Thirty-two Hunter authors and illustrators have come together to create a junior fiction anthology aimed at 7- to 12-year-olds.
The book, titled Slippery, Slimy, Feathered and Furred, raises awareness of the challenges that vulnerable Hunter animals face, through fictional tales.
The book encourages young people to help protect vulnerable Australian wildlife.
Since colonisation, about 100 native plant and animal species have been confirmed as extinct in Australia. Scientists believe the real number of extinctions is probably far greater.
Hunter Writers Centre organised the book project, with funding from Create NSW to support the arts sector during the pandemic.
"We wanted a project that could engage a large number of local creatives. We are thrilled to see 32 people behind this anthology, including First Nations creatives," Hunter Writers Centre director Karen Crofts said.
"It's a wonderful educational resource for families and schools. A book of fiction stories and fun facts to entertain and educate."
Each author was paired with an illustrator to share the story of a specific vulnerable Australian animal.
The book features 14 animals, including koalas, Tasmanian devils, brush-tailed rock wallabies and grey nurse sharks, along with less familiar vulnerable creatures such as the common planigale, large-footed myotis and eastern pygmy possum.
Author and early childhood educator, Emily S. Smith, said the writers met online, shared ideas and "contributed to a project that was meaningful and purposeful".
For many, this connection had been missing during the pandemic.
"This book is a testament to the talent, creativity and resilience of Hunter creatives, as much as it is about raising awareness and shining a spotlight on the challenges being faced by vulnerable Australian animals," she said.
The book aims to encourage children to develop an emotional connection with the animals and become invested in their survival.
Emily said the Hunter was "an amazing rescue and rehabilitation region", with Aussie Ark at Barrington Tops, Hunter Wetlands frog habitat restoration, Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary, Hunter Wildlife Rescue and Cedar Creek Wombat Rescue and Hospital.
"Not only that, under Stockton Bridge is one of the world's most important migratory bird nesting sites," she said.
She believes native animals should be protected because "this land is their home as much as it is ours".
"We humans are interlopers who have come along and started changing the environment to suit our needs, regardless of the harm it causes," she said.
"The beauty of our land lies in its diversity of habitats and species. I feel we need to develop compassion and understanding not just for our fellow man, but also for our animal neighbours who call Australia home.
"Indigenous Australians have always known and understood this, but the Western world is slower to catch on."
She wants future generations to know these animals and "experience the beauty of nature".
She hopes they don't become "a distant memory".
"Each and every ecosystem plays a vital role in the health of our world, and each and every creature plays a role in balancing those ecosystems," she said.
"If we don't protect our animals and the habitats they call home, we are setting ourselves up for a very sick planet. I don't want that to be the legacy we leave our children."
The book can be bought online from Amazon or Booktopia, or ordered through bookstores.
Young At Heart
Anne Frank once said the young are not afraid of telling the truth.
Perhaps this is what the Youth Committee for the Hunter had in mind with the launch of a new online survey.
The Youth Voice Hunter survey will collect the "perspectives, ambitions and aspirations of people aged 15 to 29 across the Hunter".
The survey, open until January 23, intends to provide a "clear youth voice in the upcoming federal and state elections".
Which brings us to another Anne Frank quote: "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world".
The survey is available hunter.org.au with prizes on offer.
Ribbiting Frog Metaphors
Daniel Johns described this artwork of his head, due for the back cover of his next album, as "the frog in the washing machine".
As we mentioned on Tuesday, Johns said the image "represents the thought cycle as you process the demons (or frogs) from your past".
Silverchair's first album was, of course, named Frogstomp.
In response to our piece in Topics, one Silverchair fan said: "Frogstomping was one thing, but putting one in a washing machine?"
We're pretty sure Johns wouldn't want anyone to stomp on a frog or put one in the washing machine. He once said the Frogstomp album was named after a song from a 1960s pop compilation.
