This lovely book was a Christmas present from an old friend and made its way to us here in the UK all the way from Australia!
Rusty is a small kangaroo who loves to race and his ultimate goal is to take part in the biggest competition of all – The Race That Stops The Outback. However when he tells the other kangaroos his plan they all laugh and tell him he”s not tough enough to do it because he’s too small.
Determined to prove them wrong, he turns to his friends for help and they suggest that he try something a little different. All of the kangaroos will be hopping but if he could learn to run then maybe he could move twice as fast! It’ll be tough but Rusty is up for the challenge.
What follows reminds me very much of the montages from the ‘Rocky’ movies, as Rusty trains and trains in a variety of different locations and with a whole host of outback animals. Storks, Emus, Lizards and more all teach him different skills which will help strengthen his legs and enable him to run.
Finally race day comes around. Can little Rusty achieve his goal and win the race?
I love this book for 2 reasons.
Firstly, it has introduced Ivy to a whole host of animals that we don’t see a lot of in kids books in the UK (Echidna, anyone?).
Secondly, it has a moral which I feel very strongly about. You don’t have to be the biggest, the loudest, the smartest, the strongest or the most popular to do well. You just need work hard, learn from those around you and always try your best.
Unfortunately the book doesn’t seem to be available in the UK but if you live in Australia or New Zealand you can buy it here: https://bit.ly/2pQM538