Australian Children’s Books published by David M. Welch
When thinking of iconic Australian animals, the elusive platypus is on a par with the koala. The Story of Platypus is an adaptation of the Aboriginal legend, Gayardaree the Platypus, told to Katherine Field in the 1800s. Aboriginal artist Reggie Sultan again masters wonderful images of the creation of this part-duck, part-water-rat animal. As with his other publications, children will love finding the many magical details of hidden creatures in the illustrations. In the story, Duck wanders downstream and meets Water Rat. They fall in love and have babies which have duck-like bills and water-rat-like fur and feet. Shunned by their peers, the family moves to the high mountain streams, which is where you will find platypuses to this day.