The book gives no clues about the author so I found myself doing some research on Google. And found that there was an intertwined NZ/Australian link. Her mother was NZ born Ruth Park..and I remember listening to the radio broadcasts of her story of the "Muddle headed Wombat" ..as a child. Kilmeny Niland spent some time in both NZ and Australia but went to school in Australia and, I guess, is mostly identified as Australian. She died relatively young (59) which was clearly a loss to the art world. I must confess that I love her illustrations of animals. How does she convey that softness of fur just with brush strokes and subtle colour changes. She has a very sure and deft touch and this is truly a lovely book.....featuring....as the title says: "Bright eyes and bushy tails". Well, more or less because there is also a picture of a pheasant and a marine iguana (with nary a bushy tail in sight). Each full page illustration is accompanied by some interesting text and by a pen and ink drawing of the same animal...though not in the same pose.
I really loved the book. Five stars from me. ( )