-gentle, soft, beautiful illustrations that bring the animals to life
-full of laugh-out-loud situations and coincidences
-positive message about the consequences of one’s actions
-engaging, uplifting and surprising situations that allow parents and educators to engage children in many different ways
-includes specially written music and lyrics about the main character
-rhyming text helps children develop their artistic skills
-humorous but suspenseful story which allows parents or teachers to interact with children about what will happen next

The book starts off with a relaxed koala enjoying eating his eucalyptus leaves as he watches the world go by. The koala gets caught up in a funny story that causes a crush as the sun is shining in the Australian savannah. Between stretching, crawling and yawning, koala watches as things get interesting! A munching bug, a water dragon lizard, an emu and a mother kangaroo with her joey all enter the story. They must all learn to thrive in this hard environment, each trying to use tricks not to be discovered by the prey in their sight. As the story develops, the scene gets more exciting, helped by the beautiful colours of the bug and the water dragon lizard who, without a sound, move towards their lunch. The illustrations capture the sun reflecting the beautiful light and bright colours of both the bug and the lizard. Throughout the story children will learn how some features of the animals allow them to move in a certain way. We learn what the animals like to do, jump high, stay cool, rub their tummies, hop, scratch their noses, get messy, watch the world go by. The author builds up what is odd and beautiful about each animal with lots of humour making their entire performance in the Australian nature entertaining. The irresistible and humorous illustrations capture the wild beauty and vitality and what is unique and wonderful about these small and large creatures that come in all shapes and sizes. Through gentle rhyme and humour the book explores the circle of life, the diversity and the fantastic colours of the fauna and landscape in Australia, making this story a joy to read. On top the book comes with a song that children can sing at home, during classes and road trips. By the end of the story readers will fall in love with these lovable animals. They will help inspire wanderlust, excite curious minds and educate in a way that is entertaining for children.

Ian always believed that poetry should be entertaining and inventive and more importantly fun and make children laugh whilst they are in fact learning. His skills as a parent of four have helped form the basis of The Crush Series books to help engage more with children and to entertain them and develop their imagination and creativity.

Silke draws with pastel colours reminiscent of Beatrix Potter. She has a very special skill in making the animals in The Crush Series see the world in a certain way, which gives the reader an understanding of what is going on in the animals’ head just by a mere visual expression. Silke’s ability to take the author’s words and bring them to life in a humorous way is unique. Her use of pastel colours and soft, beautiful illustrations that give depth, is in contrast to many children’s books today.