Australia Illustrated is 96 glorious pages full of fabulous details and quirky snippets about life in Australia from Tania McCartney –
‘a small slice of the land I was born in, and the land that I love.’
… and the love for Australia beams out from every page.
The opening pages celebrate Australia for being big, beautiful and diverse before McCartney introduces her readers to native animals, taking time to highlight those on the critical list. She treats her readers to Iconic Foods, Iconic Aussies, Aussie Slang and Bush Tucker… before taking us on a journey through each Australian state.
New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory are covered in fabulous detail. The quirks and atmosphere of each state are captured with fondness and love – from the Daintree leaves, the Melbourne trams, to the birds of Kakadu.
Stand out spreads include the pages depicting Melbourne’s terrace houses and splashing in the bath with the fabulous Sydney ferries! My personal favourite captures the ‘heartbeat of a country’ with two young boys staring up at the huge night sky shining down upon Uluru. It’s quite breath taking and full of atmosphere.
Tania McCartney’s attention to detail is second to none, even the copyright page looks awesome!
Australia Illustrated is a wonderful non fiction tome to pour over and delight at. Tania McCartney has successfully captured Australia in her own unique style – its diversity, its richness and all its wonderful quirkiness.
For a sneak peek behind the scenes, revealing how Australia Illustrated was created, click here.
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