Lauren Piovesan
Founder of ESL Reads
EAL Teacher
Interesting, illuminating, but not too taxing
A brand new Australian EAL non-fiction series that is so much more than what meets the eye.
December 9, 2025
By Lauren Piovesan and Clare Harris
It’s always so exciting to see new Australian-made resources created for EAL young adult and adult learners. They’re a rare find, a kind of hidden treasure, and the truth is, when you find it, you want to shout it from the rooftops to every teacher you know. That’s exactly how I felt about discovering Clare Harris’ fascinating new non-fiction series.
EAL teacher and author Clare Harris has created a new non-fiction reader series, Read About Australia, written especially for newly arrived post-beginner/elementary learners. There are currently four readers, Outback Australia, Beach Icons of Australia, Capital Cities of Australia and Amazing Birds of Australia, released at the end of 2025, that come with audio, worksheets and discussion questions designed for self-paced learning.
"This is quite simply a series of Read about Australia books."
While these books may appear simple, with a clean, uncluttered layout and vibrant, meaningful photographs, they are anything but. Beneath the seeming simplicity lies careful thought, not only in making topics accessible for learners new to Australia, but also in courageously exploring the diversity of this land. There’s something here for each learner, no matter if they’re in different states or overseas.
Plus, they’re written in an engaging, chatty style that invites learners to become curious about Australia. As an Australian-born teacher, I have to admit that even I learnt many new things from these books and I couldn’t stop looking at the beautiful photographs!
“I was trying to not make them purely an information text… finding interesting photos and writing about things that learners might not know about,” Clare says.
“Looking for something to read that’s interesting, illuminating, but not too taxing."
So who exactly are these books for?
“I would call them easy-read books. They are laid out like a literacy reader in a very spacious way without too much text on the page. So with these books I was really thinking of learners who are fairly new arrivals, don’t know much about Australia and who are perhaps new to English script.” After being trialled and tested, it’s clear that these readers are perfect for students at the post-beginner level who are doing well with English but who may have had interrupted schooling, and need additional support. “Student with higher levels of education might find the books quick reads. Interesting but not super challenging.”
“I have taught for so many years and encountered so many students, even those who had been here for a while, who really knew so little about Australia.”
Many of our learners, through no fault of their own, lack background knowledge of Australia.
“We don’t realise what knowledge we have,” Clare reflects, recalling a road trip some of her students made from Perth to Bunbury, WA, where students drove for a couple of hours, had a quick look around, and drove home, saying, “Well is that it?” They didn’t know what to look for, or what actually lay beyond the highway and roundabouts.
Even learners who have been here a while may not know a lot about their new country. After trialling the Outback Australia book, an adult EAL teacher realised, “How little learners who had been in Australia for four years or so, knew before they started reading it.”
Often without the transportation or a local guide, many of our students are limited to their neighbourhoods, town or city, and have little opportunities to explore beyond this. These books have the power to open up Australia and a conversation to our learners.
Despite Australia’s size and diversity, the books cleverly touch on culture, landscape and local phrases so that no matter where readers live, they can both relate and learn something new.
“We are all in our own little area. What does Australia mean to me? Here in Perth, it means hot and dry, but that’s not everyone’s experience of Australia.”
“I feel a sense of responsibility.”
Like me, you might know Clare for her fiction series such as ESL Extras or ESL Easy Read e-books, but she kicked off her writing career with non-fiction 20 years ago for NCELTR.
“When you write non-fiction, you really want to be sure it’s correct and that you haven’t missed anything.”
Clare works with content experts, several editor and teacher friends, and a First Nations Elder to ensure accuracy and cultural appropriateness.
“With fiction, there’s always an element of research, but it’s just more with non-fiction.”
“I was actually writing them in relation to librarian requests.”
This series grew from conversations with librarians, seeking low-level, beginner plus non-fiction readers.
“They were originally written to go in libraries for learners to read (independently), and possibly for use in little reading groups. I was thinking that if students are accessing the books themselves and they are reading in a language that’s so different from their own language, they really need the text to be self-evident.”
The worksheets are really self-evident too. They have a clear layout, simple instructions and fun activities that, “work beautifully for self-access, small groups or reading with a volunteer.” Learners can easily access audio or worksheets by using the link on the back of the book.
However during trialling it became clear that while “I was writing them for libraries, …teachers found them helpful for use as information texts in class.” And I can certainly see why!
“I always think of my books as extras.”
This series is designed to be “extra reading rather than content reading”, offering a more “fun aspect rather than the more serious piece of text that you can deconstruct.” In this way, the books are engaging, accessible, and mindful of the language and vocabulary challenges faced by our learners. They give learners the chance to read, listen and complete worksheets at their own pace with a supportive structure that builds confidence and success in ways that non-fiction readers developed for children, or native speakers, simply cannot. For learners, “This series assumes there are things you don’t know.”
“I didn’t feel too constrained by the curriculum.”
It’s been my experience that good quality and accessible “extra” texts for the classroom are incredibly hard to find. Teachers are often so focused on sourcing materials that align perfectly with the curriculum that there’s very little time left to look for engaging extras. Just as much as we need our curriculum staples, we need the kind of resources that freshen up lessons, add some fun, build general knowledge and introduce Aussie language that our crowded curriculums don’t allow for. Thank goodness for “extras” I say!
Gimme, gimme, gimme
If you, like me, can’t wait to get your hands on these beauties, here’s everything you need to know.
- The first four books: Outback Australia, Beach Icons of Australia, Capital Cities of Australia and Amazing Birds of Australia have just been released (end of 2025). You can view them on Clare’s site: https://www.thebooknextdoor.com/read-about-australia/
- They are available from language bookshops and library suppliers, or directly from Amazon – https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0G3PSZJWH.
Each book includes a link in the back that directs you to audio (on Youtube for learners, downloadable for teachers) and downloadable worksheets. There are also Powerpoint slides for teachers containing discussion questions to help introduce the books to students.
But wait, there's more...
Clare aims to have 12 or more books in the series. Future books will include topics like Aussie English, our wildlife, flags and symbols, the bush, important days, levels of government, and iconic locations…
There’s even talk of creating a simplified version of a few titles for our beginner learners. Yippee!
If you want more info about these books, you can contact Clare at info@thebooknextdoor.com or visit her site https://www.thebooknextdoor.com/read-about-australia/.
Thank you, Clare, for creating this series, sharing its backstory, and adding to our much-needed collection of Aussie-made EAL resources. We can’t wait to stock our libraries and classrooms!
This photo shows Clare opening her proof copies!
Clare Harris taught for many years in the AMEP, as well as working on national resource projects and writing reading books for NCELTR at Macquarie University. She is now a full-time writer, publishing EAL resources independently as The Book Next Door.