Quoll by Christopher Cheng, illustrated by Cindy Lane

Title: Quoll

Author: Christopher Cheng, illustrated by Cindy Lane

Genre: Narrative Non-fiction

Publisher: Walker Books

Published: 2^nd July 2025

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $26.99

Synopsis: An exciting addition to the narrative non-fiction series Nature Storybooks, about an Eastern Quoll.

The blue-black sky is painted with glistening stars. Quoll has woken. It’s playtime here in the moonlit night.

Join a female Eastern quoll and her playful pups as they venture through the forest and fields on their nightly hunt for food.

~*~

Australia is home to many fabulous marsupials, such as the highly endangered Eastern Quoll. It was once found all over Australia, but are now only found in a few national parks in Tasmania. According to Aussie Ark, they were declared extinct on the mainland in 1963. Quolls are the latest animal to feature in the Nature Storybook series from Walker Books, a narrative non-fiction series that tells a story about something in Australia’s natural habitats and nature, with a focus on flora and fauna. The narrative takes place across one page, with the non-fiction elements teaching readers what quolls are, where they live and how they live.

In this book, the mother quoll is taking her pups on a nightly adventure to look for food. They explore their environment, and along the way, readers learn about quolls, how they live, where they live, what they eat and how they are born. Much like the other nature storybooks in the series, it is also highlighting the animal and its predicament, bringing awareness to the plight of the quoll and its current status. Books like this are powerful ways to learn about new things, things that people may never have known about, and things that might not be spoken about too often.

These picture books celebrate everything amazing about nature and the environment in Australia, from animals, to plants, and all sorts of things that we may not know about. There’s so much in this world that is unknown, and presenting the facts next to a story makes the knowledge accessible and fun to learn about. Whilst they are aimed at younger readers in preschool, these are books that can be read and enjoyed by any age. Because it is important to remember that everyone might learn about things at different times, or have different access to information than other people. So these introductory books are great for the whole family, or any level of primary school to introduce a topic or just read it as part of studying something.

Christopher Cheng’s prose is accompanied by Cindy Lane’s realistic and delightful illustrations that bring the world of the quoll to life, exploring how they live and the life cycle of the quoll. Together, these elements bring the story and knowledge to life, and give it a sense of wonder for readers. This is another fantastic addition to the Nature Storybooks series.