3 Reasons Why You Should Read Noni the Pony (15th Anniversary Edition) by Alison Lester

What’s the book about?

A celebratory hardback edition of the bestselling, award-winning rhyming book about Noni the Pony — the nicest pony any child could ever hope to meet! — from the phenomenal and much-loved author Alison Lester. Over 275,000 Noni books sold!

Would you like to meet Noni? She’s the friendliest pony. She lives on a farm overlooking the sea and loves to play with her best friends, Dave Dog and Coco the Cat. And now she is fifteen years old! Celebrate Noni’s anniversary with this beautiful hardback edition.

Recommended for:

Ages 1-4

Three reasons to read it:

1. Noni the Pony is one of those rare picture books that feels genuinely warm from the very first page. Noni is sweet, gentle, and endlessly good-natured – the kind of character that very young children immediately love and want to return to again and again. She lives on a beautiful farm overlooking the sea with her best friends Dave Dog and Coco the Cat, and the whole world Alison Lester creates around her feels safe, joyful, and alive. For babies and toddlers especially, that feeling of warmth and reassurance is exactly what a bedtime book should offer. This is a story you’ll find yourself reading night after night and genuinely not minding.
2. The rhyming text is one of the book’s greatest joys. Lester’s rhythm is gentle and bouncy in all the right places, making Noni the Pony an absolute pleasure to read aloud. Little ones quickly pick up the pattern of the language, and before long they’ll be joining in, anticipating the rhymes, and asking for it again from the beginning. Reading aloud to babies and toddlers builds language, rhythm, and a love of books and Noni the Pony makes all of that feel effortless and fun. It’s no surprise this book has sold over 275,000 copies and been shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year.
3. This 15th anniversary hardback edition makes Noni the Pony feel like the classic it truly is. Alison Lester is one of Australia’s most beloved picture book creators – the first Australian Children’s Laureate, with over three million copies sold in Australia alone – and Noni the Pony sits proudly alongside Magic Beach and Imagine as one of her most treasured works. The hardback format makes it a beautiful gift for a new baby, a first birthday, or any child who deserves a book that will last. This is a story that parents who grew up with Noni can now share with their own children, which is exactly what the best picture books do.

Buy a copy of Noni the Pony (15th Anniversary Edition) here.

About the author:

Alison Lester grew up on a farm by the sea, and first rode a horse as a baby in her father’s arms. Her picture books mix imaginary worlds with everyday life, encouraging children to believe in themselves and celebrate the differences that make them special. Alison is involved in many community art projects and spends part of every year travelling to remote First Nations communities, using her books to help children and adults write and draw about their own lives. In 2012, Alison became Australia’s first Children’s Book Laureate, a position she shared with Boori Monty Pryor. In 2016, she was awarded the Dromkeen Medal for her outstanding achievement in the creation of Australian children’s and young adult literature, and in 2018, she became the first children’s book creator to win the Melbourne Prize for Literature, for her outstanding contribution to Australian literature and cultural and intellectual life. In 2019, Alison was awarded an Australia Post Legends Award and featured on a stamp, as well as being the recipient of a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Australia Day Honours List. In 2026, her book Magic Beach was voted Australia’s Best Children’s Picture Book of all time in a Guardian Australia poll.