Abbie Mitchell (text) and Astred Hicks (illustrator), A Hollow is a Home, CSIRO Publishing, October 2019, 104 pp., RRP $29.99 (pbk) ISBN 9781486308057
Published by the CSIRO, this book aims to educate students about the environmental purpose of tree hollows. Included are details of the animals using our Australian trees and the implications to these animals if bushland trees are cleared. This is a very timely reminder to our students that trees are vital to a healthy ecosystem. There is information on which animals may be using a hollow as a home. Also, there is information on how to calculate the size and number of hollows present according to the height and circumference of the tree. For those students living in areas with few trees, there is information on how to make replacements for lost hollows.
Distractingly, this text contains other detailed information. The “Creature Features” and “A World of Hollows” sections are not included in the contents and make the focus of the title difficult to follow.
This text would make a good resource for classroom science and sustainability lessons and the keen student scientists.
Reviewed by Veronica Forsyth
