Though the last Thylacine died in the late 1930s, this remarkable creature is still very much alive in the hearts of many. The Dream of the Thylacine is the latest picture book from Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks, the team who brought us Fox, and is a beautiful and haunting tribute to a lost species.

In the Hobart Zoo, the last Thylacine lives behind a wire cage, but still remembers what it is like to roam free through the bush. Black and white photographs of the last Thylacine in captivity are followed by montages of wordless illustrations by Ron Brooks that show the Tasmanian Tiger in its natural habitat, surrounded by beauty and colour. The effect is quite breath-taking, and is a poignant reminder of what happens to the things we don’t take care of.

Holly Harper is a children’s book specialist at Readings Carlton.