top of page

The Natural Disaster Picture Books

Created with Bruce Whatley

Inspired by the 2010-2011 Queensland floods, Flood is a moving and sensitive story of a natural disaster as seen through the honest eyes of a cattle dog that has been separated from his family. 

Floodwater mercilessly rips through the towns, and finally recedes, leaving a devastating widespread path of destruction.

But from the ruins, courage and kindness emerge. A tiny tugboat heroically guides a wayward boardwalk out to sea; rescuers pluck friends and strangers from the dangerous waters; communities gather, providing aid, shelter, comfort and–above all–hope.

Inspired by the bushfires that have affected many Australians, Fire is a moving and sensitive story of a natural disaster as seen through the eyes of a cockatoo. 

Christmas Eve 1974 is marked indelibly into the Australian psyche as the night tropical cyclone Tracy devastated the city of Darwin.

Now, over 40 years later, Jackie French’s lyrical rhyming text tells the story of a city’s indomitable spirit, and Bruce Whatley’s sumptuous illustrations bring to life the powerful force of the storm fora whole new generation of readers.

I remember when rain stopped,

When day by day the water dropped.

All across a sun-bleached land,

Drought spread its withered, deadly hand.

 

From the award-winning creators of Flood, Fire and Cyclone comes Drought – a moving story about the devastating effects drought has on many Australians and their farms.

9781760976088_Pandemic_COVER_FRONT (1).JPG

The war carried the Spanish flu across the world. Faces grew masks. Shops and schools wore signs that said, ‘Closed’. Families nursing the sick drew their curtains together to say their house was quarantined ... From the award-winning creators of Flood, Fire, Cyclone and Drought, comes this powerful story of humanity prevailing during a pandemic.

Earthquake.jpg

From the award-winning creators of Flood, Fire, Cyclone, Drought and Pandemic . . .

Down below the giant rumbled,
all around us buildings crumbled,
Newcastle began to shake ...
‘Quake!’ yelled someone. ‘Out! Earthquake!’

Plague.jpg

From the award-winning creators of Flood, Fire, Cyclone, Drought, Pandemic and Earthquake ...

"Grass and wheat-lands spread to the horizon, and so did we, with too few ibis to control us. We could rage across the land. We ate the grass, the leaves, the wheat ..."

bottom of page