AustLit

'Teddy, a young koala, lived in the eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia. One day, he fell out of the home-tree. Curious to know what went on in the world, he did not scramble back up the tree to his mother. Instead, he started off on a walkabout, as a hike is called in Australia. Along the way, he met other unique animals of Australia - the platypus, the kangaroo, the dingo. He was rescued twice by boys who tried to keep the koala as a pet - one an Australian aborigine, the other the son of a sheepshearer. After many exciting adventures, Teddy Koala found a home in a local sanctuary; then he was brought to America.

'As with the fine historical biographies of Alice Curtis Desmond, this fascinating book is absolutely authentic in its presentation of the animals of Australia. The author is "crackers" (Australian slang for enthusiastic) about koalas and made the long journey to their native land to observe them and other Down Under oddities. Later she visited the "teddys" who were brought to America successfully - even though they are such fussy eaters - and obtained valuable material from the zoologists who managed this feat.'