Module 2: Koala Lou

Summary

Koala Lou is a book about a baby koala whose mother loves her very much and tells her so a hundred times a day because she is the first child. As time goes by, the mother has many koalas who join the family so her mother is too busy to tell Koala Lou she loves her even though she still does. Koala Lou misses this and longs for her mother to say it again to her. She comes up with the idea of entering the Bush Olympics and winning the tree climbing competition so her mother will tell her she loves her again. To prepare for the Olympics, she trains and works very hard before the event. When she participates in the gum tree climbing at the Bush Olympics, Koala Lou takes second place instead of winning. She runs off to be alone and sob because she feels so disappointed. After night comes, Koala Lou returns home to her gum tree where her mother is waiting to hug her and tell her how much she loves her and always will.

Reference

Fox, M. (1989). Koala Lou. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace & Company.

My Impressions

Koala Lou’s mother loves her unconditionally—life—and kids—just get in the way after time goes by. It’s a perfectly normal emotion to feel forgotten, unloved, unappreciated, or left out—especially in a large family. People can feel unappreciated in other settings too, so this book can be applied to life. The soft watercolor illustrations of Koala Lou and her mother add a tenderness and beauty to the story. Many Australian animals are introduced with accompanying illustrations, like the kookaburra, platypus, emu, and other animals that live in the bush. The text in the book is repetitive, which makes it easy-to-follow. A message that can be gleaned from this book is that a mother’s love is always unconditional, regardless of one's accomplishments. Another message that can be learned is one may try and train one's very hardest at a sport or other endeavor but may not come out in first place. It also is important to always do one's best, but not have to be the best!

Professional Review

Fox's two new books join Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge as perfect examples of why the Australian writer has become one of today's top authors of children's books. Koala Lou is loved by everyone, but it is her mother who loves her most of all. She often tells her daughter, ``Koala Lou, I DO love you.'' As the family grows and her mother gets busier, Koala Lou yearns to hear those words again. She sets out to win the Bush Olympics as a way to gain her mother's attention. Lofts's colored-pencil drawings portray the Australian flora and fauna beautifully, including a few of the more exotic species.… Both of Fox's books send out positive messages to children about the wonders of being human: Koala Lou celebrates the eternal love of a mother for her child without the sentimentality of Robert Munsch's Love You Forever…. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)

Review of the book Koala Lou [Review of the book Koala Lou]. (1989, September 22). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-15-200502-3

Library Uses

Make cardstock copies of an outline of a baby koala on her mother’s back. Have the students color, cut out, and attach their koalas to a large branch on the walls of the library. This book could be used as an introduction to a unit on feelings, a unit on the animals of Australia, or a unit on the Olympics. To help the students participate, have them identify the animals in the book: koala, emu, platypus, kookaburra and other bush animals. Another participation idea is to have the kids repeat the phrase, “Koala Lou, I DO love you,” every time it is written in the book.