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Did you know it’s the emu father who protects the chicks? Follow a doting dad as he keeps his brood safe—from when they’re granite-green eggs until they’re all grown up.
In the open eucalyptus forest of Australia, an emu as tall as a human settles down on his nest to warm and protect the eggs left by his mate. When they hatch, the chicks will be ten times bigger than domestic chicken hatchlings and covered in chocolate-and-cream stripes to provide camouflage in the grasslands. This unusual family sticks together until the hatchlings grow up, facing dangers that include eagles and dingoes. Ornithologically inclined youngsters will delight in this visually striking chronicle full of fun emu facts.
In the open eucalyptus forest of Australia, an emu as tall as a human settles down on his nest to warm and protect the eggs left by his mate. When they hatch, the chicks will be ten times bigger than domestic chicken hatchlings and covered in chocolate-and-cream stripes to provide camouflage in the grasslands. This unusual family sticks together until the hatchlings grow up, facing dangers that include eagles and dingoes. Ornithologically inclined youngsters will delight in this visually striking chronicle full of fun emu facts.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Claire Saxby
74 books29 followersAn Australian writer of fiction, non fiction and poetry for children
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
November 20, 2015
Alas for poor emu. Forever relegated to be consider a second rate ostrich, it encompasses all of the awkwardness and none of the stereotypes. Does anyone ever talk about burying your head in the sand like an emu? They do not. Are schoolchildren routinely called upon to ooh and aah at the size of an emu’s egg? They aren’t. And when you watch Swiss Family Robinson, do you ever find yourself wishing that the kids would try to saddle an emu for the big race? Not even once. Emus are the second largest living bird in terms of height, coming right after the ostrich, and you might be fooled into believing that they are the less interesting of the two. There, you are wrong. Wrongdy wrongdy wrong wrong wrong. I do not wish to start a war of words with the prominent ostrich societies of the world, but after reading Emu by Claire Saxby (illustrated by Graham Byrne) I’m a bit of what you might consider an emu convert. Chock full of interesting information and facts about what a typical emu might experience in its day-to-day life, the book is full of thrills, chills, and a species that gives stay-at-home dads everywhere a true animal mascot.
Meet the emu. Do not be offended if he fails to rise when you approach. At the moment he is safeguarding a precious clutch of eggs from elements and predators. While many of us consider the job of hatching eggs to be something that falls to the female of the species, emus are different. Once they’ve laid their eggs, female emus just take off, and it is the male emu that hatches and rears them. In this particular example, the male emu has a brood of seven or so chicks but though they’re pretty big (ten times bigger than a domestic chicken hatchling) they need their dad for food, shelter, and protection. The chicks find their own food right from the start and within three to four months they’ve already lost their first feathers. They zigzag to escape predators, live with their fathers for about a year, and have a kick like you would not believe. Backmatter of the book provides more information about emus, as well as an index.
This is not what you might call Saxby and Byrne’s first rodeo show. The Aussie duo previously had paired together on the book Big Red Kangaroo, a book that did just fine for itself. Following a kangaroo called “Red”, the ostensibly nonfiction title was best described by PW as, “An understated but visually arresting portrait of a species.” For my part I had no real objections to the book, but neither did I have anything for it. Kangaroo books are not rare in my children’s rooms, though the book was different in that it was written for a younger reading level. That same reading level is the focus of Emu and here I feel that Saxby and Byrne have started to refine their technique. One of the problems I had with Red was this naming of the titular kangaroo. It felt false in a way. Like the author didn’t trust the readers enough to show them a typical day in the life of an animal without having to personalize it with faux monikers. Byrne’s art too felt flatter to me in that book than it does here. This may have more to do with the subject matter than anything else, though. Emu faces, after all, are inherently more amusing and interesting than kangaroos
In terms of the text, Saxby utilizes a technique that’s proven very popular with teachers as of late. When kids in classrooms are given open reading time there can sometimes be a real range in reading levels. With this in mind, sometimes nonfiction picture books about the natural world will contain two types of text. There will be the more enticing narrative, ideal for reading aloud to a group or one-on-one. Then, for those budding naturalists, there will be a complementary second section that contains the facts. On the first two pages of Emu, for example, one side introduces the open forest with its “honey-pale sunshine” and the emu’s job while the second block of text, written in a small font that brings to mind an expert’s crisp clean handwriting, gives the statistics about emu (whether or not they can fly, their weight, height, etc.). In the back of the book under the Index there’s actually a little note about these sections. It says, “Don’t forget to look at both kinds of words”, and then writes the words “this kind and this kind” in the two different fonts.
Artist Graham Byrne’s bio says that he’s an electrical engineer, builder, and artist. This is his second picture book and the art is rendered digitally. What it looks like is scratchboard art, with maybe an ink overlay as well. I enjoyed the sense of place and the landscapes but what really made me happy was how Byrne draws an emu. There’s something about that bright yellow eye in the otherwise impassive face that gets me. I say impassive, but there are times when one wonders if Byrne is fighting an instinct to give his emu some expression. There's a scene of the emu nosing his eggs, his beak appears to be curling up in just the slightest of smiles. Later an eagle threatens his brood and there’s almost a hint of a frown as he runs over to the rescue. It’s not enough to take you out of the story, but such images bear watching.
In comparing the emu to the ostrich I may have omitted certain pertinent details. After all, the emu doesn’t have it quite so bad. It appears on the Australian coat of arms, as well as on their money. There was an Emu War of 1932 where the emus actually won the day. Heck, it’s even not too difficult to find emus on farms in the United States. Still, culturally they’ve a far ways to go if ever they are to catch up with their ostrichy brethren fame-wise. Books like this one will help. I think there must be plenty of teachers out there a little tired of using Eric Carle’s Mister Seahorse as their de facto responsible-dads-in-the-wild motif. Now kids outside of Australia will get a glimpse of this wild, wacky, wonderful and weird creature. Consider it worth meeting.
For ages 4-8.
Meet the emu. Do not be offended if he fails to rise when you approach. At the moment he is safeguarding a precious clutch of eggs from elements and predators. While many of us consider the job of hatching eggs to be something that falls to the female of the species, emus are different. Once they’ve laid their eggs, female emus just take off, and it is the male emu that hatches and rears them. In this particular example, the male emu has a brood of seven or so chicks but though they’re pretty big (ten times bigger than a domestic chicken hatchling) they need their dad for food, shelter, and protection. The chicks find their own food right from the start and within three to four months they’ve already lost their first feathers. They zigzag to escape predators, live with their fathers for about a year, and have a kick like you would not believe. Backmatter of the book provides more information about emus, as well as an index.
This is not what you might call Saxby and Byrne’s first rodeo show. The Aussie duo previously had paired together on the book Big Red Kangaroo, a book that did just fine for itself. Following a kangaroo called “Red”, the ostensibly nonfiction title was best described by PW as, “An understated but visually arresting portrait of a species.” For my part I had no real objections to the book, but neither did I have anything for it. Kangaroo books are not rare in my children’s rooms, though the book was different in that it was written for a younger reading level. That same reading level is the focus of Emu and here I feel that Saxby and Byrne have started to refine their technique. One of the problems I had with Red was this naming of the titular kangaroo. It felt false in a way. Like the author didn’t trust the readers enough to show them a typical day in the life of an animal without having to personalize it with faux monikers. Byrne’s art too felt flatter to me in that book than it does here. This may have more to do with the subject matter than anything else, though. Emu faces, after all, are inherently more amusing and interesting than kangaroos
In terms of the text, Saxby utilizes a technique that’s proven very popular with teachers as of late. When kids in classrooms are given open reading time there can sometimes be a real range in reading levels. With this in mind, sometimes nonfiction picture books about the natural world will contain two types of text. There will be the more enticing narrative, ideal for reading aloud to a group or one-on-one. Then, for those budding naturalists, there will be a complementary second section that contains the facts. On the first two pages of Emu, for example, one side introduces the open forest with its “honey-pale sunshine” and the emu’s job while the second block of text, written in a small font that brings to mind an expert’s crisp clean handwriting, gives the statistics about emu (whether or not they can fly, their weight, height, etc.). In the back of the book under the Index there’s actually a little note about these sections. It says, “Don’t forget to look at both kinds of words”, and then writes the words “this kind and this kind” in the two different fonts.
Artist Graham Byrne’s bio says that he’s an electrical engineer, builder, and artist. This is his second picture book and the art is rendered digitally. What it looks like is scratchboard art, with maybe an ink overlay as well. I enjoyed the sense of place and the landscapes but what really made me happy was how Byrne draws an emu. There’s something about that bright yellow eye in the otherwise impassive face that gets me. I say impassive, but there are times when one wonders if Byrne is fighting an instinct to give his emu some expression. There's a scene of the emu nosing his eggs, his beak appears to be curling up in just the slightest of smiles. Later an eagle threatens his brood and there’s almost a hint of a frown as he runs over to the rescue. It’s not enough to take you out of the story, but such images bear watching.
In comparing the emu to the ostrich I may have omitted certain pertinent details. After all, the emu doesn’t have it quite so bad. It appears on the Australian coat of arms, as well as on their money. There was an Emu War of 1932 where the emus actually won the day. Heck, it’s even not too difficult to find emus on farms in the United States. Still, culturally they’ve a far ways to go if ever they are to catch up with their ostrichy brethren fame-wise. Books like this one will help. I think there must be plenty of teachers out there a little tired of using Eric Carle’s Mister Seahorse as their de facto responsible-dads-in-the-wild motif. Now kids outside of Australia will get a glimpse of this wild, wacky, wonderful and weird creature. Consider it worth meeting.
For ages 4-8.
June 10, 2015
I've seen this emu book by Claire Saxby reviewed and loved more than once, and the reviewers are right; it is wonderful. Just look at that face! The unique qualities of emus is that they only live in Australia, the male is the one who stays until the eggs hatch (like that sweet father penguin), and they lay eggs with shadowy stripes for camouflage in the grasses. The text is designed so that the "story" is told in one font, and the background facts are in another. I love the page (all the illustrations are full page spreads by Graham Byrne and gorgeous) where the about-to-hatch chick cheeps. The explanation says it's to help wake up the others so they can all emerge within a few days of each other. One cannot help look and look at the pictures and enjoy the story of these big birds. The book is newly released from Australia.
August 7, 2016
4.2 stars
Excellent information about how dedicated male emus incubate and raise their young. The illustrations are great.
July 2, 2016
I'm not always crazy about non-fiction books with illustrations rather than photographs, but this is an exception. To be quite honest, the emu is not a terribly attractive bird, so illustrations are probably a better choice! This book was informative and well-written.
August 8, 2015
I didn't like this book. I don't really care about Emus.
This book told me everything I never wanted to know about Emus.
This book told me everything I never wanted to know about Emus.
April 2, 2021
This is a definite favourite - a hybrid text - narrative non Fiction This is my absolute favourite of Claire Saxby's nature storybooks series. She has composed a hybrid text primarily to inform young readers about Australian Emus, their environment and life cycle. She has deliberately chosen to construct two parallel texts which could be read independently - one is primarily an imaginative text - a factual narrative. It tells the story of one Emu and his family - almost David Attenborough documentary style. It is closely paralleled by a purely factual description /Information Report. On each double page spread the narrative non fiction text is the dominant/leading text while the pure informative text appears to take a minor role & contains supplementary information which generalises some of the facts contained in the narrative or provides additional generalisations about the topic, Emus. The exquisite illustrations by Graham Byrne cleverly unify the parallel texts and together they provide a comprehensive informative text about the topic, Emus. I LOVED it!
August 8, 2024
Emu by Claire Saxby seamlessly blends narrative and expository nonfiction into one book as she teaches us about life for the world’s second largest bird. Graham Byrne’s digital artwork complements both the narrative story, as well as the facts presented, helping readers young and old, really picture a day in the life of a father emu.
You could read the narrative aloud like a storybook, you could mine the expository text for facts, or better yet, you could do both. The book begins, “In the open forest, where eucalyptus trees fringe tufty grasslands, honey-pale sunshine seeps to where Emu sits on a nest.” Talk about descriptive word candy! This contrasts with straightforward facts like, “Unlike most birds, emus cannot fly, so they build their nests on the ground.” This book truly is the best of both worlds.
This would be an excellent mentor text to add to any elementary English Language Arts unit about text features. Students could compare what they gain from each format, in addition to exploring narrative nonfiction in their own writing.
You could read the narrative aloud like a storybook, you could mine the expository text for facts, or better yet, you could do both. The book begins, “In the open forest, where eucalyptus trees fringe tufty grasslands, honey-pale sunshine seeps to where Emu sits on a nest.” Talk about descriptive word candy! This contrasts with straightforward facts like, “Unlike most birds, emus cannot fly, so they build their nests on the ground.” This book truly is the best of both worlds.
This would be an excellent mentor text to add to any elementary English Language Arts unit about text features. Students could compare what they gain from each format, in addition to exploring narrative nonfiction in their own writing.
June 12, 2017
This is a nonfiction book about emus. They are a type of flightless bird who live in Australia. They are big; they are the size of an adult human being. The male is in charge of raising his babies. Mom is not involved much.
In this book, we hear the story of one male emu who sits on his nest for 8 weeks. He cannot eat or drink that entire time. That sounds hard. His chicks hatch in late winter or spring. They are ten times bigger than a regular chick. The emu eats bugs, seeds, fruits and shoots. Emus are fast and usually live by themselves.
I had never heard of emus before this book. I liked learning about them, but the words in this book were too hard for me. My mom had to explain them. I think it would be better for kids older than 5. Still, I give the book five stars because I learned so much. Imagining these big birds with their little wings made me laugh. Read this book if you are interested in birds.
Review by Jack H., age 5, New Mexico Mensa
In this book, we hear the story of one male emu who sits on his nest for 8 weeks. He cannot eat or drink that entire time. That sounds hard. His chicks hatch in late winter or spring. They are ten times bigger than a regular chick. The emu eats bugs, seeds, fruits and shoots. Emus are fast and usually live by themselves.
I had never heard of emus before this book. I liked learning about them, but the words in this book were too hard for me. My mom had to explain them. I think it would be better for kids older than 5. Still, I give the book five stars because I learned so much. Imagining these big birds with their little wings made me laugh. Read this book if you are interested in birds.
Review by Jack H., age 5, New Mexico Mensa
September 27, 2019
I always love it when an author can combine a storytelling with nonfiction and intriguing, detailed illustrations. I learned some very interesting facts about Emu's along with enjoy wonderfully rich storytelling. Descriptions like "honey-pale sunshine", "ravenous", "The breeze bustles, green and sweet.", "shadow-wings", "cacophony". The way the author weaves storytelling and factual information makes this a book that draws you in and keeps you reading. I would highly recommend this book for children and adults who love children's literature.
July 29, 2023
Fantastic book written and illustrated by those who live in Australia where Emus are found. Large pictures balanced with just the right amount of text. It also has a story text block and then a factual text block on each spread.
Seeing an emu in person was a very memorable experience for me and I've never forgotten it, but I didn't know much about them. I really enjoyed this book and learning how male Emus raise their young, I had no idea.
Seeing an emu in person was a very memorable experience for me and I've never forgotten it, but I didn't know much about them. I really enjoyed this book and learning how male Emus raise their young, I had no idea.
August 26, 2018
The Nature StoryBooks series by Walker books are all high quality books about natural history. This one about Australian emus is informative, interesting, well written (with both narrative and expository paragraphs on each page to suit a wide range of readers), and with great illustrations that somehow manage to incorporate the quirkiness of Australia's biggest bird.
February 18, 2017
Perfect for fans of Nicola Davies nonfiction animal texts, by an author that I've never read before. This was impressively well written, the kind of book that I would readily add to my library.
December 29, 2019
This is one in a series of 'Nature Storybooks' narrative non-fiction books, many of which focus on native Australian animals, and it's stunning. The text is both poetic and informative and the artwork is incredible, its scratchy luminosity perfectly suited to this flightless bird. Magnificent!
February 28, 2021
Graham Byrne completed nailed the front cover. Cheeky emu indeed.
Plenty of well written information from Claire Saxby and ‘rough’ illustrations from Byrne that reflect a rough land. Excellent addition to the Nature Storybooks series.
Plenty of well written information from Claire Saxby and ‘rough’ illustrations from Byrne that reflect a rough land. Excellent addition to the Nature Storybooks series.
May 21, 2023
I never knew about emus more than ostriches, so this book was a good starter of understanding their personality, mating, and child rearing. The biggest surprise for me in this book was that the male emus are the ones who take care of the eggs until they hatch.
November 25, 2023
This text has a lot more detail than Koala & Great White Shark, making it perfect for differentating my class and giving it to my more advanced students. Engaing story and a fascinating level of information.
September 20, 2017
Good narrative nonfiction about a little-known bird. Text features include interesting facts set off from the main text in bold, an end note, and an index.
May 3, 2019
Very informative, but also fun to read! My kids loved the story.
July 23, 2020
I liked this one so much, I went and bought one for our home library.
May 22, 2021
A great non-fiction book that teaches children about emus.
June 7, 2016
Saxby, C., & Byrne, G. (n.d.). Emu.
How many people actually know what emu are? I'm sure there are many that love their brightly colored eggs, but how many of our children are exposed t these creatures? In this colorfully painted picturebook, we explore what the life of a male emu looks like in Australia raising his young. He feeds them and protects them and the reader learns lot of interesting facts about the giant bird. The paintings in the illustrations are quite sporadic and kind of crazy, but that may be to represent the how wold the emu's life can be and is a symbol for the crazy bird itself. I really enjoyed reading this story, becasue unlike most children, some of my favorite books as a child were about emus, so I thought it was amazing to get the chance to learn more about the beloved bird. Unlike most teachers, i am going to expose my children to emus as well in order to teach them something about he big bird, because I liked them so much as a child and I think this book could help me teach them something about the bird.
How many people actually know what emu are? I'm sure there are many that love their brightly colored eggs, but how many of our children are exposed t these creatures? In this colorfully painted picturebook, we explore what the life of a male emu looks like in Australia raising his young. He feeds them and protects them and the reader learns lot of interesting facts about the giant bird. The paintings in the illustrations are quite sporadic and kind of crazy, but that may be to represent the how wold the emu's life can be and is a symbol for the crazy bird itself. I really enjoyed reading this story, becasue unlike most children, some of my favorite books as a child were about emus, so I thought it was amazing to get the chance to learn more about the beloved bird. Unlike most teachers, i am going to expose my children to emus as well in order to teach them something about he big bird, because I liked them so much as a child and I think this book could help me teach them something about the bird.
October 17, 2015
I probably shouldn't be reviewing this one because really, it is an information text written as a story and to be honest, as a teacher, I should find that thrilling! But I so so so so don't.
I whole- heartedly believe a picture book should be read out loud and enjoyed by all! Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I should want to read these books to learn!
I don't.
That is why, perhaps I should not be reviewing this one. It has excellent information. It has pretty great illustrations. I did not enjoy reading it.
So, while some people definitely read to learn (especially at school)I try not to so much. Reading experience 2 stars.
Learning tool much higher. Borrow it from the library if you are doing information texts. It would be a good modelling device.
I whole- heartedly believe a picture book should be read out loud and enjoyed by all! Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I should want to read these books to learn!
I don't.
That is why, perhaps I should not be reviewing this one. It has excellent information. It has pretty great illustrations. I did not enjoy reading it.
So, while some people definitely read to learn (especially at school)I try not to so much. Reading experience 2 stars.
Learning tool much higher. Borrow it from the library if you are doing information texts. It would be a good modelling device.
May 30, 2016
This book follows Emu as he, yes he, hatches his eggs and teaches his kids how to be an emu. He protects his young and keeps them warm at night until they are ready to go off on their own and start their own emu families. The book mixes a fictitious emu family with fact to create a wonderful story that kids would love.
This story is just another example of the life cycle. It shows the relationship between animal families but also between predator and prey. The books show kids what life is like in the wild scary but still full of love.
This story is just another example of the life cycle. It shows the relationship between animal families but also between predator and prey. The books show kids what life is like in the wild scary but still full of love.
December 7, 2015
Young readers will enjoy following the emu father as he settles down on his nest to keep his little ones warm and then later protects his young. The female emu has nothing to do with raising the young after she lays the eggs. The digital illustrations are quite handsome and show this unusual Australian bird as it goes about its day. The description of the Emu's protective nature is found on one page, and additional factual information on the facing page.
July 23, 2015
Emu’s are fascinating creatures! I had no idea that the male Emu is such a doting father who single winged-ly raises the entire clutch of eggs from the moment after the mother lays them, through hatching, and all the way to their maturity six months later. Talk about father of the year!
This would be wonderful addition to any elementary classroom or library and a great read aloud for parents and educators to share with their kiddos.
This would be wonderful addition to any elementary classroom or library and a great read aloud for parents and educators to share with their kiddos.
July 11, 2015
I was drawn to the perky bird on the cover of this book—and glad to find that the information inside about the visually striking emu is interesting and accessible. Move over, ostrich, and make room for your Australian cousin.
Original post on http://www.mackinvia-connext.com/2015...
Original post on http://www.mackinvia-connext.com/2015...
August 18, 2015
This books is a lovely informative book about how male emus take care of their young. It would be great for teaching about captions and indexes. They actually have captions written in different fonts and a pretty decent index for books of such sizes. The story aspect is read aloudable too since it isn't too lengthy.
September 8, 2015
EMUS!
I love when I bring a book home to read and I learn something. In this case, I didn't know that Daddy Emu's were so awesome. And that Lady Emus run off and leave the Daddy Emu to do his job. I have a new found love for Emus now that I've read this book. My fiance did not ha ha.
I love when I bring a book home to read and I learn something. In this case, I didn't know that Daddy Emu's were so awesome. And that Lady Emus run off and leave the Daddy Emu to do his job. I have a new found love for Emus now that I've read this book. My fiance did not ha ha.
January 14, 2016
This informational picture book follows the lifecycle of a family of emus as the father raises the chicks and encounters dangers and hazards along the way. Facing pages include additional facts about emu behavior.
Illustrations are busy and textured and the haystack-like birds are magnificently realistic and odd. A decent introduction to first facts about emus.
Illustrations are busy and textured and the haystack-like birds are magnificently realistic and odd. A decent introduction to first facts about emus.
October 6, 2016
This book is very educational for anyone wanting to learn more about emus. The story tells the tale of a father emu, since he is the one who protects and cares for the young. It takes you through the life cycle from after the eggs hatch to near adults. The book also provides facts throughout the story about the bird.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews