AustLit

'What does it take to become a hero?

'Albert has escaped from the Adelaide Zoo to go in search of the "old Australia", somewhere in the desert, north of Adelaide, a "Promised Land" that he's heard so much about from other animals. Unusually, Albert is a duck-billed platypus.

'Four days north of Alice Springs and carrying nothing other than an old, almost empty soft-drink bottle, Albert has no idea where he's going. One thing he does know, though, if he doesn't find water fast, he's going to be in all sorts of trouble. But when all seems lost, he comes across a wombat by a campfire who offers him a cup of tea.

'And so begins Albert's adventures, during which he meets two drunk, wise-cracking bandicoots (Roger and Alvin), a wrestling Tasmanian Devil (called Muldoon), escapes from a burning hotel (set alight by his good friend the pyromaniac wombat Jack) after a very lucky streak at two-up, and runs for his life from the dingoes.

'Charming, funny and entrancing, Albert of Adelaide is a novel of mateship, adventure and honour.' (From the publisher's website.)