Our Top Books & resources for learning about Australia
- iamalexandra
- Jan 9, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: Feb 6, 2024
Here are some of our favourite resources for finding out about Australia – books, podcasts, TV programmes, documentaries, puzzles, games and internet research links.
information books about AUSTRALIA
Australia: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know Not For Parents – Lonely Planet Kids
We love this series. Each page offers bitesize facts and lots of photographs and covers lots different areas including history, geography, food, wildlife, popular culture, sports, music, art and lots more.
Australia: Illustrated
Full of fun, detailed illustrations and facts all about Australia – from food, landmarks, animals and plants to bushtucker and slang words.
Australian Outback Expedition Diaries
Written as an expedition through the Australian outback, travelling through different habitats and meeting a variety of animals.
Stories from the Billabong
A collection of Aboriginal Australia’s dreamtime stories, including; What makes Frogs croak; Why Kangaroo has a pouch; and What it is that makes Platypus so special. Also has pages with extra information about beliefs, plants, animals etc
Steve Irwin Little People, BIG DREAMS
We really like the Little People, Big Dreams series – each one offers a great introduction to the life of well-known person through colourful illustrations and simple text. They also include some extra facts and a biographical timeline at the back. This one features wildlife educator and TV presenter Steve Irwin who was passionate about protecting Australia’s wildlife.
Life in a Coral Reef
by Wendy Pfeffer
Full of scientific coral reef facts but very accessible – not specifically Australia focused but definitely recommend this series.
fictional books about AUSTRALIA
Dingoes at DInnertime
Magic Tree House, Book 20
Another favourite series, we like these as early reader chapter books or as quick family read alouds. This book is about two children who are transported to Australia via their magic treehouse and have to save various Australian animals (koala, kangaroo etc) from a bushfire. Lots of facts along the way.
General information Books
Vincent’s Starry Night and Other Stories A Children’s History of Art
Features a short story about Aboriginal Australian artist, Emily Kame Kngwarreye and her Dreamtime paintings.
The Natural History Book The Ultimate Visual Guide to Everything on Earth
One of the best reference books on our shelves – we love it for looking up obscure animals! Good reference for any Australian animals.
Atlas of Adventures A collection of natural wonders, exciting experiences and fun festivities from the four corners of the globe.
This has a very visual double-page spread on the Great Barrier Reef with some simple facts and introduction to some of the animals there.
MAPS
We love this book for it’s fun illustrations and it’s a great way to start a topic – introducing things we might like to find out more about.
The Incredible Ecosystems of Planet Earth
Beautiful illustrations but with a hefty amount of written content, this book has full pages on the Australian Savannah, the Tasmanian Temperate Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. There is also some great general info on food webs, biodiversity and what makes a healthy ecosystem.
podcasts and audiobooks about AUstralia
We enjoyed listening to this audiobook whilst working on the hands-on activities in the Exploring Australia topic guide:
Audio Adventures –Australia Ladybird
Jam-packed with fun facts about Australia. Perfect to listen to while colouring or crafting, before bed or in the car.
Please note we are not responsible for the content of these podcasts. You may want to listen to them first to ensure they are suitable for your family.
TV & movies about australia
• If you're in the UK, Seven Worlds One Planet Australia
• Put Australia into the search bar of the RealWild YouTube channel for lots of animal documentaries
• Put Australia into the search bar of the Brave Wilderness YouTube channel for lots of animal documentaries
• NatGeo Kids short on Australia
• The Octonauts have an episode on the Great Barrier Reef
• The Deadly 60 animal series by Steve Backshall has several episodes on Australia animals
• The Wild Kratts shows have episodes on Australian animals
Please note we are not responsible for the content of these videos. You may want to watch them first to ensure they are suitable for your family.
Australia research links
• Australian Museum: First People of Australia Animal factsheets The Great Barrier Reef
• If you're in the UK, BBC Bitesize
• Information on Australia from Britannica
• DK Find Out about Australia
• Kiddle child-safe search engine facts and photos
• The School Run has a page on Australia
• Information on the Great Barrier Reef from WWF UK
• The Great Barrier Reef Foundation has lots of information
• List of Australian animals on Active Wild website
More australia resources
If you’d like to find out about Australia with some hands-on activities, check out our Exploring the Australia topic guide – design a surf board, play your own didgeridoo, spin a spider's web, make an edible coral reef and lots more!
