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Thousands of Australian animals went to World War One. There were dogs, cats, cockatoos, kangaroos, wallabies, a rooster called Jackie and even a koala whose name was Teddy. These animal mascots helped cheer the homesick soldiers, but just one animal returned. Working animals also went to war; carrier pigeons, horses, and donkeys. Of the 136,000… continue reading »
Why do people wear purple poppies? A: To commemorate and remember animals who served during wartime. And the animals have their own special day. In Australia the National Day for War Animals is February 24th, just over two weeks away. I first became interested in wartime mascots when I was researching Lighthouse Girl, the first… continue reading »
Dianne is the award-winning author of 19 books for children and teenagers.
Her PhD research into the Crafting of Animal Characters in Australian Children’s Literature resulted in two novels, Dog with Seven Names and Shark Caller. The latter, a cross-cultural quest novel, was a CBCA Notable and shortlisted for WAYRBA. The former, also a CBCA Notable, won the Speech pathology awards, was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Awards and will be published in China.
