Koala Lou by Mem Fox

Hi, my name is Dave Edgren, and I'm going to read you Koala Lou by Mem Fox, illustrated by Pamela Lofts. There was once a baby koala so soft and round that all who saw her loved her. Her name was Koala Lou. The emu loved her. The platypus loved her. And even tough little Koala Klaus next door loved her. But it was her mother who loved her most of all. 100 times a day she would laugh and shake her head and say, "Koalaloo, I do love you." Whenever she stretched in the early morning sun, or climbed a gum tree, or bravely went down the track all by herself, her mother would smile and say, "Koala-lu, I do love you." The years passed and other koalas were born, brothers and sisters for Koala-lu. Soon her mother was so busy she didn't have time to tell Koala Lou that she loved her, although of course she did. Every night as she curled up under the stars, Koala Lou thought about the times when her mother had looked at her and said, "Koala Lou, I do love you," and she longed to hear her say it again. One night, Koala Lou had a splendid idea. Preparations had begun for the Bush Olympics. She would enter the Olympics. She would compete in the gum tree climbing event, and she would win, and her mother would fling her arms around her neck and say again, "Koala Lou, I do love you." Koala Lou began her training right away. She jogged and puffed and lifted weights and panted. She hung from a branch with one claw at a time till she ached. She did push-ups till her stomach hurt. And last of all, she climbed the tallest tree that she could find over and over and over again. Sometimes her mother would watch her and ask, "How you going, Blossom?" "Fine, just fine," Koala Lou would reply. At last, the day of the Bush Olympics arrived. Koala Claws had also entered the gum tree climbing, and everyone knew how fast she was. But Koala Lou wasn't scared. She saw her mother in the crowd and imagined her saying again, "Koala Lou, I do love you." Her heart filled with hope. It was Koala Claus who went first. Her climbing was a record-breaking 22 meters in 70 seconds flat, and the spectators whistled and cheered and wildly waved their holiday hats. Can I do better than that? Thought Koala Lou. "I must." As she stepped toward the tree, a hush fell over the crowd. "On your mark," said the kookaburra. "Get set. Go!" Koala Lou leapt onto the tree. Up and up and up she climbed. Higher and higher and higher. Faster and faster until— there she was, right at the very top! The spectators roared and clapped. And stamped their feet. But she wasn't fast enough. In spite of all her training and all her hoping, it was Koala Claus who won the gum tree climbing. Koala Lou came second. Koala Lou went off and hid. She heard the shouts of the Bush Olympics and cried her heart out. When the first stars of evening appeared in the sky, Koala Lu crept home through the dark and up into the gum tree. Her mother was waiting for her. Before she could say a word, her mother flung her arms around her neck and said, "Koala Lu, I do love you." "I always have and I always will." And she hugged her for a very long time.