Koala Lou by Mem Fox

Bibliography
Fox, Mem. 1988. Koala Lou. San Diego: Gulliver Books.

Illustrator: Pamela Lofts
ISBN: 0-15-200502-1

Plot Summary
Koala Lou loves hearing her mother say, "Koala Lou, I do love you." As time goes by and more children arrive, Koala Lou hears it less often. She devises a plan to hear her mother say it again.

Critical Analysis
Mem Fox's warm, delightful story is a tale that all children can understand through her use of animals as the characters. The story, Koala Lou, can reassure any child that worries about losing the love of a parent.

Fox uses animals as the characters in her book. The animals Fox uses in Koala Lou are found naturally in eastern Australia or lands off the eastern coast of Australia: the platypus, koala bear, emu and kookaburra. Also, the title of the race Koala Lou competes in is called the Bush Olympics. The bush is undeveloped area of land. The animals Fox uses as the characters are consistent with animals found in the Australian bush. Also, Koala Lou is training to climb gum trees. Gum trees make up the tree flora of Australia.

The illustrator's rendition of the animals are accurate in colors and markings, although cartoon-like in pictures where they are wearing a hats to watch the Olympics or Koala Lou wearing tennis shoes while training.

The consistencies in the text and illustrations found in Koala Lou make this story a good choice of international literature. The lesson and simplicity of this story makes it a good choice for quality literature for young students.

Review Excerpts
Kirkus Review states, "This satisfying reworking of a familiar and ever-important theme is appealingly illustrated--bright colors, soft-edged sculptural forms, precise detail, dozens of expressive animals" (1989).

Horn Book comments, "In a gentle tale set in the Australian bush, Koala Lou wants to win the Bush Olympics. A good choice for story hour, bedtime, or reading aloud" (1990).

Reviews accessed from Follet's Titlewise, http://www.flr.follett.com/search?SID=60b11f0b2c36faef18be75cd47420e72

Connections
Koala Lou would be a good book to read while learning about parent/child relationships. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and Love You, Forever by Robert Munsch would be good accompaniments.