Lazy Bottersnikes in outback rubbish tips, Sir Pronoun's dilemma about standing in Miss Noun's place and the story of how Jack built a house, a hut or a shack are all to be found in this treasury of Australian children's illustrated books.

Exploring everything from schooldays to fantasy worlds, from its nineteenth century beginnings to the twenty-first century, this compilation is remarkable for its breadth of coverage, encouraging new ways of seeing the Australian child's literary history.

Bottersnikes and Other Lost Things: A Celebration of Australian Illustrated Children's Books is beautifully illustrated and includes works from some of Australia's best known and loved writers and illustrators: Mem Fox and Patricia Mullins, Bob Graham, Libby Hathorn and Gregory Rogers, Gary Crew and Shaun Tan, Pamela Allen and old favourites such as May Gibbs and Ida Rentoul Outhwaite.

Juliet O'Conor is responsible for the State Library of Victoria's Children's Literature Collection of more than 100 000 Australian and overseas children's books. This collection has been the inspiration for her to pursue further research via postgraduate study in children's literature. Completion of a State Library fellowship in 2004 led to commencement of her doctorate at Deakin University in the field of Indigenous Australian traditional stories. O'Conor shares her expertise through public talks, publications and advice on research strategies in the field of children's literature.