Koala

About the Author

Claire Saxby is an award-winning and bestselling picture book author. Two of her previous Nature Storybooks, Big Red Kangaroo (2013) and Emu (2014), both illustrated by Graham Byrne, have won numerous awards, including the Royal Zoological Society of NSW’s Whitley Award. Big Red Kangaroo was a 2014 CBCA Notable Book, and won the CBCA Crichton Award for illustration, and Emu was short-listed for 2015 CBCA Eve Pownall Award and won the Environment Award for Children's Literature. Claire lives in Melbourne, where she works part-time in a bookshop. Her latest books for Walker are Koala (illustrated by Julie Vivas), Bird to Bird (illustrated by Wayne Harris) and Dingo (illustrated by Tannya Harricks).


Julie Vivas is one of Australia's most loved and popular picture book illustrators. Her first picture book, The Tram to Bondi Beach (written by Libby Hathorn), was Highly Commended in the 1982 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Picture Book of the Year Awards. However it is for her illustrations in the beloved Australian classic Possum Magic, written by Mem Fox, that she has become most well known. This book was Highly Commended at the 1984 CBCA Picture Book of the Year Awards. In 1990 The Very Best of Friends, Julie’s first picture book with Margaret Wild, won this particular award. Julie has since been short-listed for this award several times. In 1992 she was awarded the Dromkeen Medal for her significant contribution to children’s literature.