The Family Hour in Australia (Tai Snaith, Thames & Hudson)

This fun, quirky Australiana title from artist Tai Snaith explores the family lives of 15 native animals. With a look and feel reminiscent of a late 60s or early 70s fly-on-the-wall television documentary, it’s a kind of wry sociological snapshot of what different families around the country are doing at a particular moment in time. Framed within an old-style box television, the animal subjects are captured during their day as though unobserved—albeit somewhat self-consciously posed—doing the shopping, having dinner, watching movies or just hanging out. It aims to introduce children aged three and up to different family units, from the traditional nuclear family to single-parent, same-sex and blended families, while also touching on the different roles within. Snaith’s bright retro-kitsch illustrations delightfully blur the human and animal domestic spheres, while her accompanying factual text is lively and great for reading aloud, inviting comparisons to the child’s own world. Additional facts—like why echidna milk is pink—are provided at the end, helping to answer any tricky questions that pop up along the way. This is one of those books where the more you look the more you find, with many jokes and references sprinkled throughout. It is a cheerful ‘Aussie’ favourite in the making.

Meredith Lewin is a freelance proofreader and book reviewer who has worked for a children’s publisher

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Category: Reviews