Nadia Wheatley and Ken Searle, Going Bush, 2007, Allen & Unwin.

Going Bush is a non-fiction account of a Harmony project staged by Nadia Wheatley and Ken Searle in conjunction with eight Sydney infant and primary schools. Sixteen children come together on an excursion to explore the harmony of their own lives and that of their natural environment.

Photographs taken by the children and objects they collect along the way are used to extend the text. Drawings made by the children on the excursion enhance the photos and text with many of the drawings decorating the page boarders. Ken Searle links the real-life photographs and children's illustrations with clever artistic design. A detailed map offers a pictorial account of the children's learning experiences and itself is an excellent source of information. Plant and aboriginal glossaries are included in the book.

The children's recounts and poetry are presented in bite-sized chunks throughout the text. Nadia Wheatley's information loaded narrative compliments the children's contributions and links illustrations, photos and text beautifully.

Children love this book. They pour over the map, making discoveries and learning with the excursionists along the way. They appreciate the children's own illustrations and writings. They empathise with the children's responses and enthusiastically share their own. I think this book is able to evoke these responses because it recounts a real experience with real children, photos and informative, relevant text.