WHY IS THAT EMU WEARING ONE RED SHOE?
JOHN FIELD | DAVID LEGGE (Illustrator)
Once there was an emu wearing one red shoe,
Who set out on a walk just like emus do,
Leaving from the town they call Tullabaloo . . .
Why was that emu wearing one red shoe?
News reporters, radio crews, a snake named Sue, a llama, a turtle and two polkadotted motorcycle riders set out on a walk behind the emu. Follow all the animals
and sing along with John Field as they try to solve the hilarious mystery—why is that
emu wearing one red shoe?!
About the author: John Field is an Australian composer-songwriter. He was a founding
mainstay member of a rock band, The Cockroaches, on rhythm guitar and sharing
lead vocals. He has written tracks for The Wiggles, including the fan favourite, ‘Hot
ISBN: 9781760154493
RRP: $19.99
Potato’. This is his first book for Scholastic Press.
About the illustrator: David Legge has been a professional illustrator since 1986. He has produced
over seventy book jackets, illustrations for packaging and advertising and is a regular illustrator
for The School Magazine. Bamboozled, the first book that he both wrote and illustrated, won the
Study notes written by
Radhiah Chowdhury
Honour Book in the 1995 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards and collected six
children's choice awards in both Australia and the USA. David strives to instil warmth and humour into
his picture books which he reflects, are the two things that fill his own childhood memories.
STUDY NOTES
•
Before reading the book, study the front cover as a class. Write ten possible answers on the board
to the question posed in the title. After you have finished the story, return to this list. Were any of
the guesses close to the answer?
•
As a class, talk about rhyme. What is rhyme? How can we make words rhyme? What sounds do
words have to share in order to make them rhyme? Why is that Emu Wearing One Red Shoe? is a
great springboard to introduce children to the concept of rhyme, as its rhyme scheme is very
simple.
•
All the characters in the story are animals, but they don’t act like animals—they have human
attributes. Go through the book in pairs and identify all the different animals that you can see.
How has David Legge made them look and/or act like human beings? Each animal has at least
one item that is human—can you find them all? Pick an animal that doesn’t appear in the book
and draw it in a similar fashion with human attributes.
Study notes written by
Radhiah Chowdhury

Research emus. What kind of animal are they? Where do they live? What do they eat? List five
interesting facts that you have learned about emus and present them to the class.

Tullabaloo is a made-up town, but there are many towns in Australia that have similar names.
These names come from Aboriginal words, the first settlers in Australia. Some examples include:
Badgingarra (WA), Dirranbandi (Qld) and Goonellabah (NSW). Find five towns that have
Aboriginal names. Which Aboriginal nation/people named that town? What do these names
mean? Why is it important for us to preserve and maintain the languages of all the different
Aboriginal nations and peoples in our towns and landscapes?

Listen to the song as you read through the book. What different voices can you hear in the song
(eg lead singer, chorus)? How does the way the words are written on the page (the font) show
you who sings each part of the song?

What are polka dots? Create a polka dot stamp by cutting big circles out of a sponge. Use the
sponge circles and acrylic paint to make your own polka dot patterns on sheets of butcher’s
paper. You can use your polka dot patterns to decorate your classroom, or even use them as
wrapping paper!

Look at the spread where the animals are waiting at the station. How does the colour of the sky
show how long the animals have been waiting?
Study notes written by
Radhiah Chowdhury

On the bottom half of the station spread, we can see the train speeding away. How does the
illustration show us which direction the train is moving in? How is the speed of the train shown?

What are the elephant and the penguin holding throughout the story? What is a microphone?
What does it do? How does it work?

Without listening to the song or reading the last page of the book where the song lyrics are
written, can you tell what the emu’s name is? There are clues on the last few pages of illustration.
See if you can find them!

Endpapers are the first and last pages of a book that include the inside covers. Compare the front
and back endpapers of Why is that Emu Wearing One Red Shoe? What do these pages show?
How are they different? How do they relate to the story?
Copyright © Scholastic Australia, 2016.
Study notes written by
Radhiah Chowdhury