My enormous thanks to Morgan Lloyd at Sweet Cherry Publishing for sending me a copy of the middle grade children’s book Blue’s Planet: Australia by Lucy McRobert, illustrated by Alisha Monnin and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour. It’s my pleasure to share my review today.

Out in the UK from Sweet Cherry on 15th February 2024, Blue’s Planet: Australia is available for purchase through the links here.

 Blue’s Planet: Australia

You’re never too young to save the word.

Blue has always dreamt of joining her parents as they document environmental issues around the world. Finally, she gets her wish.

A hot summer in Australia brings Blue face to face with the climate crisis. From volunteering at a wildlife hospital to joining a koala rescue mission, she’s determined to make a difference.

But with bushfires raging out of control, no animal is safe – and no human either.

About the Blue’s Planet Series:

Blue’s Planet is a globetrotting ecological adventure series, following a passionate 12-year-old animal lover called Blue and her quest to save the world. Whether its climate change and wildfires in Australia, or wildlife trafficking and palm oil deforestation in Borneo, nothing will stop Blue from making a difference and encouraging others to do the same. Perfect for budding young environmentalists and fans of Greta Thunberg.

My Review of Blue’s Planet: Australia

Animal lover Blue is moving across the world.

What a totally cracking children’s book! In Blue’s Planet: Australia Lucy McRobert includes a little bit of everything that nature loving children will adore, as well as everyday issues like friendships, so that this book really is more than the sum of its parts. Add in the brilliant illustrations from Alisha Monnin and Blue’s Planet: Australia is quite fabulous. 

I loved the physical presentation of text. It’s well spaced and sufficient to engage confident readers with new and interesting vocabulary, but it is also accessible and well supported by image to encourage more reluctant independent readers, especially as unfamiliar vocabulary is frequently explained skilfully and naturally in the story.

It’s a brilliant story too. There’s good pace with all kinds of things happening as Blue becomes embroiled in her new life in Australia. There’s excitement and danger, wildlife and friendship and so much to engage young readers in a totally fabulous plot. Whilst the Australian setting and storyline is the most exciting, I loved the inclusion of Hugh the hedgehog at the start of the story in Leicester as it shows children there is wildlife everywhere if only they knew to look. This makes the story all the more inclusive.

If Blue’s Planet: Australia were to be used in classrooms, its potential is amazing. There’s so much geography, ecology and science that I believe it would be a catalyst for further engagement in subjects beyond English where it would be brilliant for writing newspaper reports of the events Blue encounters. The use of ‘Natterjack’ social media would make a brilliant starting point for discussion about online presence and safety, for example.

However, the most wonderful aspect of Blue’s Planet: Australia is the status given to children. Through Blue, Archie and Katy, young people are presented so sensitively but without being patronised. Lucy McRobert makes it clear that children have intelligence and knowledge and that they have the power to make a profound and positive impact on the world. The author presents real world difficulties like climate change, bush fires, and disappearing flora and fauna without sentiment but in a way that engages readers of all ages and fills them with enthusiasm to want to do something to help. There are other realistic aspects too such as the power of social media, the impact of family and the exploration of bullying, for example, that make this a relevant, important and absorbing story. I think young readers will really take to the pragmatic Leo with his occasional use of ‘bloody’ in his speech too. 

I have a very strong feeling that Blue’s Planet: Australia is going to turn many young readers into wildlife advocates, climate activists or travellers – or all of those things. I would have adored this story as a child and I loved it as a middle aged grown up. If you’ve a young person in your life remotely interested in nature and animals, don’t miss Blue’s Planet: Australia. It’s quite brilliant. 

About Lucy McRobert

Lucy McRobert is a storyteller, writer and communicator, who has been working in UK wildlife conservation since she was 21-years-old.

Originally from Leicestershire, she has worked for a variety of UK organisations from Suffolk to Rutland, Dorset to the Isles of Scilly and more. She is passionate about encouraging young people to make nature part of their lives and empowering them to take action for the environment, which is why she founded a youth nature network called A Focus On Nature.

She has written extensively on nature and wildlife, including publishing her first book 365 Days Wild in 2019, as well as being a columnist for Birdwatch and writing for several magazines and newspapers including BBC Wildlife, I News, British Birds and the junior magazines for both the RSPB and The Wildlife Trusts. She has appeared several times on local and national television and radio, always talking about birds, wildlife and connecting people with nature.

She is also a Marine Mammal Medic, meaning that she is trained to rescue seals, whales and dolphins. A wildlife lover, she spends her spare time watching birds, whales and dolphins, and exploring wild places with her young daughter, Georgiana.

For further information, follow Lucy on Twitter/X @LucyMcRobert1. or find her on Instagram.

About Alisha Monnin

Alisha Monnin was born and raised in rural Ohio in a small village where distance is measured by cornfields. Growing up, she was a voracious reader and daydreamed about going on magical adventures. As an adult, she still spends her days daydreaming and reading, but now her imagination is funneled into her artwork. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and now resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with her Manx cat named Beignet.

For further information, find Alisha on Instagram.

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