Meet nature's most peculiar parents in a stunning new picture book from NLA Publishing

KEAN & Creative

Welcome to the charmingly funny and perfectly peculiar world of Aussie animal parents, and their amazing offspring. Peculiar Parents introduces young readers to 60 Australian native animals, focusing on all things family, including their courting practices, gestation periods, births and the raising of their young.

Discover the weird, the wonderful, the adorable—and even the downright slimy! You’ll meet drumming parrots, colour-changing cuttlefish, dancing spiders, globe-trotting turtles, kissing lizards, plonking pobblebonks, and many more unforgettable Aussie creatures.

This new title from multi-award-winning children’s book author, Stephanie Owen Reeder, features hundreds of fun and wacky animal facts to educate and entertain readers aged 6-12. Stephanie is an ACT author of over 25 books for children and adults and has deep roots in the local community. She is a recipient of the CBCA Laurie Copping Award for Distinguished Service to Children’s Literature, a winner of the NSW Premier’s History Award and a winner of the CBCA Book of the Year Award. She is also an Ambassador for the ACT Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge and a life member of the Children’s Book Council of Australia.

Accompanied by watercolour, family-portrait style artworks of each animal by talented artist Ingrid Bartkowiak, who was shortlisted for the CBCA Award for New Illustrator in 2023, Peculiar Parents connects to key areas of the national curriculum, such as biological sciences, geography and sustainability.

This book is perfect for curious kids, classrooms, and budding young biologists, eager to explore the fascinating world of Australian wildlife.

The Peculiar Parents book launch is on Saturday 5th July 2025, at 10.30am - 11.30am in the foyer of The National Library of Australia, Parkes Pl, W, Canberra, ACT. It is a free event, bookings essential.

About the Authror
Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder is the author of over 25 books for children and adults. She has worked as a schoolteacher, a librarian, a book editor, a university lecturer and a Hansard Editor at Federal Parliament. Stephanie has won many awards, including the CBCA Book of the Year Award and the NSW Premier’s History Award. In 2019, Stephanie was presented with the CBCA Laurie Copping Award for Distinguished Service to Children’s Literature.

About the Illustrator
Based in Meanjin/Brisbane, Ingrid Bartkowiak is an artist and illustrator who works primarily in watercolour. Her hand-painted work features native flora, fauna and fungi. Ingrid has a fascination with all things small and intricate, from tufts of moss on a footpath to the fungi sprouting from a wombat dropping. Ingrid has worked across a diverse array of projects, including picture book illustration, murals, packaging designs and even pet portraits.

Stephanie Owen Reeder and Ingrid Bartkowiak are available for interviews. Review copies can also be requested.

Jennifer Kean, Publicist:

E: [email protected].            

M: 0413 711 389