Go Jojo Go!

Description

Jojo the gentoo penguin was born on an island in the Southern Ocean, halfway between Australia and Antarctica. From her nest she can see the beach, and she just can't wait to go to sea. 'Am I ready yet?' she asks. 'Not yet, little Jojo. You have to learn to swim.' When her down becomes a shiny penguin coat, and she can swim across the biggest rock pool, she is ready at last! Flippa-flap, snippa-snap, go Jojo go! Tessa Bickford spent two summers on Macquarie Island, where great numbers of penguins, seals and seabirds come ashore for breeding.

Author description

Tessa Bickford was born in Queensland and grew up by the Great Barrier Reef. After completing an arts degree, she spent several years working on boats on the reef in Far North Queensland and Indonesia. Her passion for marine life and the natural world took her to Macquarie Island, in the Sub Antarctic, where she worked as a fur seal researcher. Over two summer periods, she monitored the breeding and population growth of three species of seals. In the summer months, penguins, seals and sea birds come in great numbers to breed on Macquarie Island, and Tessa found herself working on one of the island's busiest beaches! Being so close to the birds and animals each day, and getting to know their amusing habits, inspired her to create stories for children. The story of Jojo was co-written with Jennifer Castles. Jennifer has also created stories for Tiny: A Little Dog on a Big Adventure (with Steve Otton) and A Song for Lorkie (with Dean Bowen).