Sand Swimmers
Narelle Oliver

Lothian, 2002

32p., pbk, 14.95

0734403178

This is an information book about the centre of Australia with lots of drawn pictures.

This book is about the hot desert centre of Australia.  The story talks about the life of the animals that live there.  It also talks about the first white people that came to Australia and what they thought of the desert.

This is an information book so it only has a simple story.  The story is about Charles Sturt exploring the desert.

From the beginning you know it is going to be an interesting book because of the expressions in its words.  The drawn pictures and the story make me think of all the desert shows I have seen on the TV.  For the animals it was a great place because its easier for the night hunting animals.  For people its a bad place because there are spiky bushes and biting spiders.  But it was OK for the aborigines because they knew which plants and animals to eat and were used to it.

The purpose of this book is to describe some of the first white people in Australia and how they discovered the desert.  The story doesnt talk about the characters very much; it talks about the desert and the animals that live there.

Every page has lots of hand drawn pictures, which were really good.  The pictures were very important in understanding the story and help the story make more sense.

This is one of the best information books I have read because it has taught me a lot about the desert in the middle of Australia.  I would recommend this book to my friends as a good information book.

Alex, Age 7.  Victoria.