"Screeches and snarls and hisses in trees, what kind of monsters make noises like these?"
A National Library Australia popular seller now printed in Mandarin and Marathi.
Night Monsters takes you on a spooky and suspenseful journey of bumps, hisses, screeches and squawks, all played out through the eyes of vibrant and entertaining Australian native fauna.
Cheryl teamed up with Author Nina Poulos to collaborate on this story - Nina weaving her words into a rhyming scheme rich with imagery and suspense, and Cheryl’s vibrant illustrations seemingly launching the characters beyond the pages of the book.
The rhyme and onomatopoeia make this story a great one to read aloud in group settings - children are captivated by the storyline and rich illustrations whilst benefitting from information about Australian animals and their natural habitats.
For ten years Cheryl met at Barbara Blackman’s home 'Indooroopilly' just out of Berry, with a dodgers dozen of local women artists and authors. In this artistic milieu Cheryl and Barbara's 2002 exhibition “Doggerel” was born and the idea of Dogs and Doggerel was plotted.
Nine years later, Dogs and Doggerel barked its way to glory.
Wesley Wombat really wants to be a superhero.
"If only I had superpowers like all my friends!"
All of Wesley’s friends can do special things: the kangaroo can jump really high, the frilled lizard can make itself look big and scary, the ant can lift up things bigger than itself and the eagle can see things miles away. But poor Wesley can’t compete with the incredible feats of his friends until the day of the bush birthday party, when the young wombat finally discovers his very own superpowers.
Taking the popular superhero theme, I Wish I Could Be A Superhero is a lively and entertaining story for preschoolers. Children will enjoy lifting the flaps to discover Wesley’s humorous attempts at trying to be just like his friends.
The factual information at the back of the book provides a fun way for children to learn about Australia’s native animals.
Wombats are a perennial favourite with children and the response to this book from our focus groups of young children, and also of parents and teacher librarians, was very enthusiastic.
Pat Possum and his friend Wesley Wombat are looking for Pat’s Dad.
"Let’s go and find my Dad to see what he’s doing."
This lift-the-flap children’s book from National Library Australia (NLA) is an entertaining journey about finding Pat’s dad, played out through the cute Pat Possum and his geeky but oh-so-adorable friend Wesley Wombat.
Cheryl uses captivating illustration of native Australian animals to support Susan Hall's storyline, with lifted flaps revealing Pat and Wes on their quest to find dad who turns out to be busy with a series of tasks around the house. The vibrant and compelling images are sure to elicit a chuckle, and importantly they bring to life the positive theme of fathers being involved in child-rearing and household chores.
The final pages provide a wonderful array of ring-tail possum images and factual information, on which Pat Possum and his dad are based, both engaging and supporting children’s learning.
