The Croc and the Platypus

An Australian reimagining of Edward Lear’s nonsense poem The Owl and the Pussycat.

The croc and the platypus trundled off in a rusty old Holden ute. They took some damper and tea in a hamper and bundled it up in the boot.

Join Croc and Platypus for an Australian outback hullabaloo!

This is an ode to the Australian outback and its icons as well as a rollickingly good read that kids will soon have memorised. Kids' Book Review
This is clever and fun and I can easily imagine reading it to kids who will love it! ABC Radio Central West NSW Deborah Abela
Hosking’s appreciation of, commitment to and finesse with the rhyming word are self-evident. She works them all to perfection in this richly Aussie-flavoured celebration about embracing unlikely friendships and sharing stellar moments with those closest to you whilst enjoying a good old Aussie road trip. Boomerang Books
Jackie Hosking’s first picture book is simply brilliant! Buzz Words
is my three year olds FAVOURITE book at the moment and fortunately the text is so lyrical and lovely to read aloud that I don’t mind that I am up to about 30 reads of it! Children's Books Daily

Jackie Hosking is a Nigerian-born Cornish Australian. She moved to Victoria, Australia when she was ten. Jackie has always loved reading, but she didn’t start writing until her youngest child turned two. Her first poem for children was published by The School Magazine in 2005. In 2012, Jackie won a Maurice Saxby Mentorship, which helped her to polish the manuscript that was to become The Croc and the Platypus.


Marjorie Crosby-Fairall was born in America and currently lives in Sydney, Australia. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Northern Illinois University. In 1997 she won the CBCA Eve Pownall Award for Information Books and has since been short-listed for other awards. She currently works as a freelance illustrator for educational publishers, general editorial book publishers and magazines. Marjorie loves to experiment with new techniques for her illustrations, but always seems to return to her beloved and well-used colour pencils. The Croc and the Platypus was her first Walker Books Australia title.

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