Renée Treml, Let’s Go, Little Roo!, Penguin Australia, January 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760896751
American-born Renée Treml fell in love with Australian wildlife when she moved here in 2007. Since then, she has built up a solid body of work featuring endearing illustrations of our fauna which have captured readers’ attention and been reproduced on mugs and other items. This latest book introduces Little Roo and Little Wallaby.
Little Roo is a bit timid and a bit scared of anything new. She’d rather stay home than go out with Mummy and decides that staying hidden in Mummy’s pouch might be OK. She has ready excuses for not wanting to meet new friends, sample the grass, or play with other joeys. But then they meet a mother wallaby whose joey feels exactly the same. Little Roo decides to leave the warmth of her own pouch to approach Little Wallaby in his Mummy’s pouch to see if she can help.
This gentle, warm story conveys the fears of small children who prefer the comfort of the known to the fear of the unknown. The pages are in soft pastel shades while the kangaroos and wallabies are in realistic tones of grey. Perspective varies from close-up faces to animals playing far off in the distance. A lovely book to share with little people who may feel the same way.
Reviewed by Lynne Babbage
