Melody Finch
I wrote Melody Finch with good friend Gary Luck, a Professor of Ecology who knows a lot more about Australian wildlife than I ever will. Developing this story and all its characters taught me more about Australia, our diverse wildlife, and the effects of drought than I ever could have imagined when we started writing.
What's it about?
Melody Finch is a story about the hardships of drought along Australia's major river
system, as seen through the eyes of its native wildlife. When lightning strikes the Klomp family's sheep station in Charleville, Queensland, 12-year-old Melody turns into a Diamond Firetail Finch. After learning from two frog spies that big rains are coming, she must fly to the Coorong in South Australia and warn her Nanna that the rivers will soon be filled with water, before she sells her beloved tour boat. Accompanied by Ramon the rainbow bee-eater and a bee named Buzza, Melody begins an amazing journey half-way across Australia, meeting many wonderful birds, frogs, and native animals along the way. When she reaches her destination, she and her bird friends must fight a greedy net fisherman and his pet osprey, Silverclaw, who are threatening the lives of all animals on the Coorong.