Spikey’s Day Out - NQ Author Eva-Marie Welsh

Spikey, the echidna, is snuffling around the forest floor in North Tropical Queensland, Australia. He meets a bandicoot and they talk about the coast. Later, the echidna goes for a swim in a creek and meets Paddles the Platypus. Yes, echidnas can swim! He then meets up with a wallaby and asks to have a ride in her pouch to the coast. But the wallaby carries a joey in there, and Spikey would be too prickly. She suggests that he gets a lift with the nearby transport company. He achieves this by climbing into a packing box. Later, while unloading at the coast, they discover the echidna. He climbs out of the box and encounters the local wildlife. There are frogs peeking and cassowaries thumping. Spikey rolls up into a ball. After a long day, the echidna digs a hole in the ground for sleeping. Art work of a Tawny frog mouth owl, a Rainbow Lorikeet, Licuala palms, palms, mushrooms and beautiful vines are included. It’s a cute and educational story.