Timely themes of natural disaster (bushfires and flash floods) and refugees, particularly climate refugees, told with a great balance of lightness and heart for children ages 5-8 Close look at unique Australian wildlife is a great hook for kids Five pages of back matter: Author’s note about Michelle’s inspiration, the 2019-2020 wildfires in her homeland of Australia and the news stories about animals sheltering in wombat burrows A glossary with details about each of the animals in the story: wombats, wallabies, koalas, and tiger snakes Information about bushfires, floods, the effect of climate change on natural disasters, and the significance of Australian Indigenous land practices

Australian-Indonesian-Canadian author Michelle Kadarusman’s star is speedily rising.

Music for Tigers (2020) earned four starred reviews and was an honor book for the Green Earth Book Award, a Washington Post KidsPost Summer Book Club selection, a Kirkus Reviews Best Middle-Grade Book of the Year, A USBBY Outstanding International Book, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and a finalist for multiple reader’s choice awards. Girl of the Southern Sea (2019) was an honor book for the Malka Penn Book Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature and the NCTA Freeman Book Award, a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award and five reader’s choice awards, a USBBY Outstanding International Book, Rise: A Feminist Project List selection, and a Junior Library Guild selection The Theory of Hummingbirds (2017) was a finalist for three reader’s choice book awards.

Michelle lives half of the year in Byron Bay, Australia

Chinese-Canadian illustrator Maggie Zeng hit it out of the park with her debut This is the Boat That Ben Built (2022)

Printed endpapers

World rights available