The A in the Rainforest

This is the story of the A. The A in the Rainforest is a fun Australian-themed phoneme story that teaches young readers about the vowel sound A and where they can find it in different words. Beautifully illustrated by Janie Frith, the rich colours and vibrant use of multi-media enhance the magical experience.

The book is about the journey of a young Rainbow Bird from the rainforests of Tasmania to their counterparts in New South Wales. The first book from Judith and Janie, The Oo in Uluru, won a 2019 Book of the Year award from Speech Pathology Australia; this is their fourth book, the others being The EE in the Deep Blue Sea and The O in the Snow.

About the Author

Judith is an English teacher who has taught phonemic awareness to children in Europe, the Middle East, India and China. While researching a masters in phonology, Judith began to use visual language in stories, by colouring the different phonemes, so that children could make a holistic sense of the various spelling patterns. Judith published her first children’s book, The Oo in Uluru, in 2019 and it soon won a Book of the Year award from Speech Pathology Australia.

The Ee in the Sea followed in 2020 and The O in the Snow in 2021. When Judith is not writing children’s stories or plays, she teaches music therapy and meditation. She lives in Melbourne with her family and adorable Australian terriers, Nellie and Dusty.

About the Illustrator

Originally from New Zealand, Janie Frith attended art school and then became an art teacher. In 2006 Janie moved to Australia with her family and now lives in Foster, South Gippsland. Janie holds art classes in her studio, Art Blast. This is where Janie spends most of her time, usually with her naughty border collie Lucy snuggled under her feet.