Frané Lessac, A is for Australian Reefs, Walker Books, October 2022, 48 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760652258
This bright and cheerful information picture book is a companion volume to Frané Lessac’s A is for Australia and A is for Australian Animals. It contains facts not just about our coral reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef but also about fringing reefs, patch reefs and atolls.
There are single or double pages for every letter of the alphabet, including X (xanthid crabs) and Z (zebra seahorses). The entries are not necessarily consistent in subject so, for instance, the F page has fish, the H page has handfish, the P page has parrotfish, and the Q page has Queensland groupers.
There are paragraphs of information scattered in the illustrations which can lead to disjointed reading, but the layout generally works well. There are many different background colours which contrast well with the animals, plants, corals and other wildlife featured on the pages. One disappointing aspect is the occasional poor grammar (incomplete sentences, plural nouns with singular verbs and vice versa) and slang language in a factual book (e.g. “many taste yucky”.)
Overall, this is an attractive book which may provide a good introduction to the important topic of our amazing reefs. Young readers may then be inspired to move on to other more scientific works in their quest to learn more.
Reviewed by Lynne Babbage