BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE

MAY 3, 2024

If your little one loves to collect treasures in their travels, or wear one colour (and ONE COLOUR ONLY!!!!), then they’ll totally relate to Bowerbird Blues. 

This beautiful picture book is about an Australian Satin Bowerbird that’s searching for something special - and most importantly, something BLUE - for its bower; and since the book’s release last December, it’s definitely taken flight.  

Bowerbird Blues has been shortlisted for the 2024 CBCA Picture Book of the Year, and on 22 May at 12pm (AEST), a giant flock of children, families, educators and other book worms will read Bowerbird Blues for National Simultaneous Storytime 2024.  

You can register for this event now, and you’ll soon see that Bowerbird Blues is brilliant!

 

Your family will love the words, pictures and related activities, and to help you get the most out of this book, we’ve had a quick chat with the creator of Bowerbird Blues, Aura Parker.  

We hope you enjoy the Q&A below, and if you’re drawn to beautiful things (and who isn’t?!), make sure you enter our very special comp at the end of this article.  

KINDICARE: Hi Aura! Bowerbird Blues has definitely struck a chord with children and their grown-ups.

Why do you think your book has become so loved, so quickly? 

AURA: I think there are a couple of reasons. 

For one thing, Bowerbird Blues is a heartwarming story, and it’s all about connection.  

It has environmental themes, and encourages an interest in nature and our amazing birdlife.  

There’s also lots you can do in terms of learning activities and craft. 

The story works for different age groups, too, so it’s great for early learning services, primary schools and siblings at home.  

I think people are also fascinated by the Australian Satin Bowerbird.  

This beautiful bird loves the colour blue, and it’s interesting how they build a bower and decorate it with pieces of blue in the hope of attracting and impressing a mate.  

The bowerbird’s weird and wonderful behavior is captivating and charming, and they reflect us humans in the way they dance and adorn their bower with treasures, which unfortunately are often pieces of rubbish or single use plastics.  

KINDICARE: From the way the book looks and reads, it’s obvious that you’ve poured a lot of love and time into it. 

How did you come up with the beautiful story and illustrations? 

AURA: Bowerbird Blues is my seventh picture book, and like all my stories, it started with an idea.   

The bowerbird was a great inspiration. I knew my bird would be in love with the blue of the sky and the sea, but couldn’t fly or reach high enough, and I took the idea from there. 

Most of my other books are set in an imaginary place, and it felt good to weave my home city, Sydney, into the story. 

I created the illustrations in watercolour, using a mixture of traditional and digital techniques, and it was fun to include a look-n-find activity, where young readers can find all the blue items in the endpapers of the book.  

This project means a lot to me, and it’s such a thrill to see so many people enjoying it.  

KINDICARE: Bowerbird Blues is a perfect bedtime, quiet time and National Simultaneous Storytime read, and it’s also a great springboard for other activities.

How can children, parents and educators get busy with Bowerbird Blues? 

AURA: Oh, there’s so much you can do with this story!  

I can’t wait to see all the blue creations that will grow out of National Simultaneous Storytime and Children’s Book Week, and it’s also fun to: 

• Go on a colour hunt outside, looking for blue things, or come up with your own treasure hunt. 
• Make a bower arch shape by arranging twigs in a base of clay or playdough and decorate it with a collection of found items, like in my Instagram reel.  
• Practise making different bird sounds. Bowerbirds are great imitators, and they mimic all sorts of sounds, even other birds. 
• Draw a bowerbird, experimenting with coloured pencils or watercolour, then adding collage to make a bower. 
• Dress up in blue clothing and create a bowerbird dance, maybe wearing some hand-crafted wings!
• Download the free colouring-in pages and seek-and-find sheets on my website.
• Watch the YouTube video of a bowerbird building its nest in Sydney.
• Check out the Teaching Notes for the book, which are full of ideas for parents and educators.
• Register for National Simultaneous Storytime 2024 and read along with everyone, or visit your local library to join in. 
  
  

KINDICARE: These are all great tips, Aura, and we hope you have an amazing time on 22 May! 

Now, here’s your chance - dear reader - to win a beautiful Bowerbird Blues prize!  

Thanks to Aura Parker, we are giving away one prize pack, containing:  

• A copy of Bowerbird Blues, hand signed by its creator (rrp $19.99), and 
• A limited edition Sydney giclee print from Bowerbird Blues (A3-sized and unframed, rrp $100).  
  
  

The book and print are both really special, and if you’d love to brighten up your child’s room and collect a prize you’ll treasure forever, then flit on over to KindiCare’s Instagram or Facebook page and enter this comp.  

Good luck!