HMM..thanks for that Rosemary And if it doesn't make many sales then it'll make for a very nice trivia question at the local pub...
I found some information on this Rosaemary. It's definitely YA, for younger children ages 9-12 and is a picture book with words. It seems to have received some quite nice reviews including from that age group. It's 96 pages and a hardcover. Faber & Faber publish it and I've seen it advertised at both Angus and Robertson and Dymocks.
Short blurb:
Forced to leave his woodland home, destroyed by the expansion plans of the evil Gretsch, Wirral the squirrel vows to find the fabled land of Animalia, where all the animals are said to live in freedom and without fear. Aided and abetted by Froggo the hot-air-ballooning frog, Wilhamina the plucky red squirrel, and Ratsy the streetwise rodent, Wirral's personal quest turns into a full-blown plan to save enslaved animals Everywhere -- a plan that is fraught with danger. Exciting, poignant, and funny, this lavishly illustrated epic tale will delight children of all ages.