Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitat

THE latest threat to the environment is a daisy-skirt-wearing brunette with a vital interest in science and an unfortunate tendency to kill unsuspecting insects with kindness.

FORGET climate change or biohazardous materials - the latest threat to the environment is a daisy-skirt-wearing brunette with a vital interest in science and an unfortunate tendency to kill unsuspecting insects with kindness.

Violet Mackerel's "theory of helping small things'' might be well-intentioned but between her determination to catch and keep new "friends'' in airtight jars and lack of knowledge about the laws of chemistry, she's at risk of inadvertently becoming the Ted Bundy of the animal kingdom.

Fortunately for all concerned, little Violet is a quick learner and after a disastrous attempt to house a ladybird in a glass jar goes belly-up (literally), she learns the error of her ways (and the benefits of ventilation).

The news isn't all bad for the doomed ladybird either: Violet, who is out to make amends, lays her short-lived pet to rest on a velvet pillow in a covered matchbox before penning and performing a song in her honour at the ladybird's memorial service (held, in the grand tradition of pet funerals, in the family backyard).

Not to be outdone, Violet's older sister Nicola uses the life cycle of the ladybird - sans Violet's intervention - as the basis for a science project that is then entered into her school's natural science competition.

With its short chapters and sweetly rendered storyline, the latest instalment in the Violet Mackerel series will successfully hold the attention of little readers, who will understand her intentions even if they can't quite predict the outcome. If nothing else, it might prevent them from making the same mistake as her which, for the sake of the world's ladybird population, can only be a good thing.

VERDICT: A 100-page science lesson

Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitat, Anna Branford, Walker Books, $19.95.

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