Picture book classic: “Edward the Emu” turns 35

Sheena Knowles and Rod Clement’s Australian classic Edward the Emu turns 35 this year. It was first published in 1988 – the year my son was born (which, I admit, makes me feel a teensy bit old!)

Luckily, books age much slower than their readers and this one is as fresh today as it was then.

It tells the story of Edward, an emu who has become bored with his life at the zoo.
He decides to join some of the other animals for a while, to sample what seems to be a much more exciting existence.

The rhyming verses invite youngsters to join in or read aloud.

Edward the Emu was sick of the zoo.
There was nowhere to go, there was nothing to do.
And compared to the seals that lived right next door,
Well being an emu was frankly a bore.

Edward the Emu

Firstly he is in with the seals, then the lions, the snakes…until things turn around full-circle, and he realises that the emus are the best animals in the zoo after all.

The little twist at the end is a laugh-out-loud moment, as are the comical expressions on Edward’s face.

It’s a sweet story about falling for the ‘grass is greener’ phenomenon and about living and loving your own life.

Angus & Robertson, an imprint of HarperCollins, re-releases this timeless picture book in 2023.
My thanks to the publishers for a copy to review.