Entertainment
18 July, 2026
Rainforest yarn for kids
A CAIRNS author has turned her love of Far North Queensland’s rainforest into a children’s picture book designed to teach kindness, friendship and a love of nature.
Jennifer Reid recently published ‘The Green Frogs and the Green Ants’, a picture book for children from birth to five years, inspired by the region’s wildlife and landscapes.
The book is the first in a planned series of rainforest adventures and includes a bonus story, ‘The Green Frogs and the Green Ants Meet Sassy Cass’, featuring the cassowary.
Ms Reid, who has lived in Cairns for 24 years, said the idea grew from searching for a book for her first grandchild that reflected the region she calls home.
“When I had gone looking for a particular book myself, for my newest grandbaby, I couldn’t find anything that was really so much related to the area that I live in,” she said.
“It was all about kangaroos and wildlife ... I didn’t want to give my grandchild a book about melting snowmen when we don’t have that here.”
Instead, she decided to write her own story celebrating Far North Queensland’s unique environment.
“As we all know, we’ve got some wonderful creatures, animals that live here and other parts of the world don’t have those, so I feel it was more fitting.”
The project also carries personal significance, inspired by her late mother, Cathy, who had always dreamed of writing children’s books.
“My mum, Cathy, she’d always dreamt of writing kids’ books. Sadly, she’s no longer here, so her dream was never achieved. I had always written, but never did anything about it.”
Ms Reid wrote and illustrated the book herself over about six months, using hundreds of individual illustrations to create the finished artwork before self-publishing the title on Amazon.
“The easy part is the writing, the hard part is the illustrations, because you want the story to come through on what the kids are seeing as pictures.”
She hopes the stories encourage children to value kindness, teamwork and the natural world.
The book is available through Amazon or directly from the author via jdstropicalstays@gmail.com
