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Filling in the Map: Exploring Inland Australia

Jun27
Filling in the Map

Filling in the Map: Exploring Inland Australia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filling in the Map: Exploring Inland Australia

Carole Wilkinson

Wild Dog Books, 2025

48pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781742036557

When the First Fleet arrived in Australia in 1788 Australia’s First Nations people had already lived on the continent for at least 60,000 years.

Matthew Flinders drew an accurate map of Australia’s coastline, but none existed of inland Australia. Aboriginal people knew their Country in detail without the need for maps. They had a network of tracks across the continent and detailed knowledge of food and water sources. But for the
European settlers Australia was a 7.7 million km2 mystery to solve.

This is how they set about Filling in the Map of Australia.

Using images of people, places and maps sourced through a range of official libraries, archives and museums, younger readers are taken on an historical journey of how this country was explored by Europeans after Captain Arthur Phillip established the first permanent settlement in 1788 in what Captain James Cook had named Port Jackson but which Phillip renamed Sydney.  While acknowledging that the Aboriginal people had been here for thousands of years prior to Phillip’s settlement and knew the country intimately with established tracks called Songlines and which the Europeans used, often without consent, this book focuses on those early European explorers beginning with Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson penetrating the seemingly impenetrable Blue Mountains in 1813 and includes the travels of Hume and Hovell, Charles Sturt, Thomas Mitchell, Edward John Eyre, Leichardt, Burke and Wills, John McDouall Stuart, and Albert Canning offering straightforward factual information of each expedition. 

While it provides an overview of the opening up of the continent for future European settlement for the casual reader. teachers’ notes linked directly to the Australian Curriculum History strand, particularly those in Years 3-5, offer ideas that will make it come alive for those students, particularly connecting the past to the present. 

It is the ideal companion to its predecessor, Putting Australia on the Map (Wild Dog, 2020) offering not only a peek into the past of this country but also the opportunity to consider how countries were explored and mapped before satellites, drones and other devices and how we actually found our way before Google Maps, satnav and GPS.  (It’s only 20 years since my students sat watching our school janitor demonstrate how he found his way on his 4WD expeditions using a handheld GPS device, being fascinated by it and wanting to have a go to pinpoint the school as we asked “Where is Palmerston? as a special assignment for the school website!) 

And for those who prefer non fiction, it is the ideal book for this year’s CBCA Book week theme, “Book an Adventure”.  What if you were a journalist reporting on one of the expeditions as you accompanied it, particularly if you could timeslip while taking today’s technology with you?

The Girl and the Ghost

May16
The Girl and the Ghost

The Girl and the Ghost

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Girl and the Ghost

Jacqueline Harvey

Penguin, 2025

352pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

9781761349409

Josephine Eloise Thomas (aka Jet) has moved  from metro Sydney to rural France with her dad Matt, stepmum Ellie, brother Teddy and golden retriever, Daisy to renovate an old chateau they have bought to turn into a guesthouse. They have chosen the location deliberately because Jet’s mum was born and raised there, but she died when Jet was very young and little is known about her childhood.  But what sounds like it could be another episode of Escape to the Chateau takes an interesting turn when Jet finds an old locket hidden in an armoire (wardrobe) in her room, and even more intriguing when she opens it and a ghost emerges. And it’s not any old past resident of the chateau but  one who claims to be Louis XVII. younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette and heir to the French throne. 

It seems that only Jet and Daisy can see and hear him, and if she closes the locket he is locked away again, which she does often until they start to build a “friendship” but that’s when the mystery begins… Is it about Louis’ life because history says he died in 1795 at the age of 10 at the Cafe La Tour du Temple in Paris yet the ghost claims to be 14 and was smuggled out of the capital and looked after in a nearby chateau until he got sick and died from a broken heart?  Is it about the mysterious childhood of Jet’s mother where there are questions and clues, but no answers? Or is it about the strange events happening in the seemingly abandoned Chateau du Lac which adjoins their chateau and which Jet and Louis witness when they go exploring?  What has this painting by Rembrandt got to do with what is going on?

Rembrandt’s “Storm on the Sea of Galilee.”

Rembrandt’s “Storm on the Sea of Galilee.”

Once again, Jacqui Harvey has written a story that is going to engage independent readers who enjoy a good mystery with relatable characters but not too many twists and turns in the plot. While they might not relate to moving to France, they can get a glimpse of life through Jet’s narrative as well as her emails and Facetime conversations with her best friend Harriet, who, herself, has had to upsticks and move with her family to Singapore, as well as the notes Jet makes in her diary as she is determined to become an author when she is older, particularly one who writes mysteries spurred on by her reading of the  Kensy and Max, Alice-Miranda and Friday Barnes    series, mirroring Jacquie Harvey’s own ambitions.

Because this story takes place in the school holidays before Jet starts her new school where her previous detective work has uncovered it is the school her mother attended, the introduction of potential boyfriend Gabriel as well as Harriet’s impending visit in September, and the links and leads that suggest there is more to not only her mother’s story but also Louis’, it’s clear that this is the first in yet another series by this popular author – and, indeed, it is. 

When they were Jet’s age, my granddaughters devoured Alice-Miranda and then Kensy and Max , and I particularly enjoyed this one, so it’s definitely one to introduce to your readers who like a bit of historical fiction mingled with a good mystery, likeable characters and an enchanting setting, especially as the genesis of the book is explained in the back matter, perhaps inspiring aspiring young writers themselves  Stories can come from anywhere!  

Koala Koala

Apr27
Koala Koala

Koala Koala

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Koala Koala

John Williamson

Jonathan Bentley

Puffin, 2025

24pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9781761344244

Ask any little person (or international visitor) to name an iconic Australian creature and it’s highly likely they will say “koala”.  Yet there are fears that this favourite will be extinct in NSW by 2050, the greatest threat being loss of habitat because of  urban development, agriculture, mining and the expansion of existing infrastructure. Already, those in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory have been  classified as an endangered species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) since February, 2022.

So this picture book version of John Williamson’s 1990 song of the same name, is a provocative reminder that even though we have recognised the predicament of these favourites for decades, there is still much to be done.

With the original lyrics slightly modified and enriched by poignant, evocative illustrations by Jonathan Bentley , little ones are introduced to needs of koalas and the key dangers koalas face – deforestation, traffic, bushfires and dogs – helping them to understand that if they want to be able to show their children this treasured marsupial, the time to act is now. While they might not have the power to stop urban sprawl, they can be aware of the work of Koala Conservation Australia   (of which, Williamson is a special ambassador) and perhaps hold a fundraiser to support their work in building a new breeding facility, education the public generally, or even visiting the centre.

Even just learning about the koala’s habitats and habits can be a start, and such a study was my go-to intro to developing information literacy skills with kindergarten.  Use the book itself as well as lots of different pictures of koalas so there is at least one between two, and ask pairs, “What can we learn about koalas just by looking at these pictures?”. Record the responses,  and then classify what has been discovered into three columns… What do we know for sure? What do we need to check?  What more do we want/need to find out?  Not only does that give a structure to the class investigation but it also gives them the foundation for their own personal investigations into other native species.

On the other hand, more mature readers could use it as a starting point to investigate how songs and music have been used over time to build awareness of human rights, environmental and other issues to reach a wider audience, particularly the anti-war protest movement of the 1960s, although there have been many before and since. 

An essential addition to any collection to support the environment and sustainability curriculum. 

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

 

Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles

Feb4
Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles

Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles

Corey Tutt

Ben Williams

A & U Children, 2025

140pp., hbk., RRP $A32.99

9781761181030

There is an old adage that says, “Never judge a book by its cover” and it certainly applies to this one for, at first glance, it would appear to be yet another one about the deadly and dangerous reptiles that inhabit the planet. 

But if you look more closely you will see the words, “from the author of The First Scientists” and you realise that the word “deadly” is used in its Aboriginal context of meaning ‘excellent’, ‘fabulous’ or ‘awesome’ and so, instead of having just another addition to your 597.9 collection, you have something new and unique.  For this is an examination of the reptiles that inhabit Australia, arranged by the Country on which they are found while celebrating their original indigenous names so that the links back to thousands of years of knowledge are strengthened.

Beginning with an intro from the author about the why, what and how of the book (which has been a childhood dream), it continues with general information about turtles, lizards, crocodiles and snakes especially their importance to the ecosystems and the threats they face as well as how the individual can help, and then, using the AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia as a guide, the various reptiles of 20 of the First Nations are featured individually.  Each Country is itself given a brief introduction including a map of its location within the continent and the predominant language.

Accessible text and colourful illustrations offer an insight into favourite feeds, breeding and babies, conservation, predators and prey, and most importantly, what makes that reptile deadly (in a good way) as well as  descriptions of the landscapes where each can be found, and threaded through it all is the author’s passion for the topic. 

This is so much more than an information book about the reptiles of Australia, and, IMO, is an essential addition to the library’s collection for many more reasons than its factual content. 

Meerkat Mayhem

Nov11
Meerkat Mayhem

Meerkat Mayhem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meerkat Mayhem

Mem Fox

Judy Horacek

Puffin, 2024

32p., hbk., RRP $A19.99

 9780143777687

Meerkat loves his food, snacking whenever he finds something he fancies. Until the day he decides to go for a walk and finds himself stuck tight at the entrance to his burrow!!   No problem, though. Surely strong Elephant will be able to pull him out. No? Well, how about the combined strength of Elephant and Giraffe? 

The team that gave our young readers classics like Where is the Green Sheep?  have once again combined to bring them another superb story that will engage and enchant.  Reminiscent of the traditional tale of The Enormous Turnip, they will enjoy predicting which creature will come to help next,  as they follow the patterns of it being one from Africa and one that is smaller than its predecessor, and no matter how often they hear it, the ending will delight.  Using cardboard necklaces depicting each character, my Kindy kids adored acting out the original story as we turned it into a Readers’ Theatre, each clamouring for a role as we just enjoyed the fun of a seemingly simple story, and I predict this will have a similar appeal.  

Mem Fox is THE  master of stories for little ones IMO, and I have attended so many of her presentations and just been mesmerised at her knowledge and understanding of what it is that little children love and need in their books, and, once, again, she has excelled. She is the one who has been saying for decades that if we read our children three stories a night – a first-read, a familiar and a favourite – to our children from birth, not only will they have heard over 1000 stories by the time they get to school and have all the nuances of our language in their DNA, but that such a strategy would solve the illiteracy problem. 

Ms Now-20 is introduced to Possum Magic on her first night home from the hospital.

Ms Now-20 is introduced to Possum Magic on her first night home from the hospital.

 

At the same time as Mem’s carefully chosen words flow across the pages, Judy Horacek’s illustrations carry the narrative along perfectly, so even if you’re not quite able to read the words yet, you can still tell yourself the story and engage in all those pre-reading behaviours that are the foundations of being a ‘real’ reader.  (If you want evidence, look at the photos in my review of Green Sheep. That 2 year-old now reads anything and everything she can find.)

If you or someone you know has just had a little one, then this is a must-have on their bottom shelf so they can reach for it whenever they want it.  

 

For the story behind the story, read this ABC article.

The Boab Tree

Nov6
The Boab Tree

The Boab Tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Boab Tree

Helen Milroy

Fremantle Press, 2024

40pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781760994631

In the desert-like lands of northern Australia stands a huge family of boab trees, witnesses to the scaping and shaping of the land as generations survived and thrived in conditions ideal for them and those that followed as their flowers bloomed, the nuts formed, fell to the ground and a new generation began.  But at the precise moment one little nut fell, an eagle flew beneath it and instead of landing on the ground, it became wedged in the bird’s feathers and carried for hours before it finally rolled off over a forest of very different trees, taller than it had ever seen.

Tumbling through the branches it finally landed in a soft pile of leaves covering the earth, but even though it was safe, nothing was familiar,  There were birds but they looked different and sang a different language, the trees around looked down in disdain, and Boab felt lost and alone.  How was it to survive in this alien place so different from all that was familiar and without the support of those who knew its story and all that it needed to become a grown-up as Nature intended?

Written by the Western Australia 2021 Australian of the Year and descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara Region, this is a story of many layers that is more than a tale about the boab nut and its eventual return home because of the friendships it forms with the hopping mice and their growing interdependence.  Not only does it echo Aesop’s fable of The Lion and the Mouse   and all that can be learned from that, but Boab’s feelings will also resonate with anyone who has been uprooted and finds themselves trying to find their way in a new and unfamiliar place. Most significantly though, is the dedication to “all our Stolen Children” that will take this to a new audience of older readers who are learning about that period in Australia’s history and who, through the personification on Boab, can begin to understand the loss and bewilderment that the children felt and how, deep in their DNA, they knew their real home was elsewhere and there was a need to return. 

While the comprehensive teachers’ notes examine vocabulary, science and the mice’s message that ‘We are all important’, for me it is that clarification of connection to Country that so many non-Indigenous people find hard to comprehend and which is such a prominent part of school life now, that is important.  Using the displacement of the boab nut and its inherent and intrinsic instinct to survive as an allegory, puts those feelings into a context that can be more readily understood. The power of that connection underpinning and driving the resilience and determination to return to their roots, to that which has sustained endless generations over thousands of years, now has an almost tangible setting that they can relate to, acknowledge and appreciate.

With strong, vibrant illustrations this is one that needs to be promoted, particularly to those for whom this period of history is in their curriculum and even moreso, to those who still believe that picture books are for the very young who are not yet independent readers. 

Are We There Yet? 20th Anniversary Edition

Nov4
Are We There Yet? 20th Anniversary Edition

Are We There Yet? 20th Anniversary Edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are We There Yet?  20th Anniversary Edition

Alison Lester

Puffin, 2024

32pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9781761620416

The year I turned eight, Mum and Dad took us on a trip around Australia. Luke, Billy and I missed school for the whole winter term….

So begins the story of Grace and her family as they begin a journey around Australia in a fold-out camper van – a journey  that began a little west of Melbourne, took them to all sorts of places as they explored the coast, the bush and the outback, and which became an instant classic when it was first published 20 years ago because it opened up this country to children who didn’t know much of what was beyond their immediate environment.  

Along with Possum Magic, this was a story that could be used to initiate so many lessons and learnings about the diverse landscapes, lives, and livelihoods in the days when the internet was not as accessible and affordable to all – for many dial-up connections  for the family computer were all they had, and the first iPhone was three years in the future.  While television was a staple, travelogues were not the choice of little ones so here was a story that featured a relatable family taking off on an adventure that was told with engaging characters, story-telling and illustrations and the familiar refrain of, “Are we there yet?”  Grace’s journey was tracked on large wall maps and young readers would delight in declaring that they were familiar with a particular place and relating their adventures.  

Now, in a different gold-foiled livery and a different world, parents can share this story that delighted them with their own children and plan and plot their own journeys as many take to the roads post-pandemic, particularly as taking children out of formal schooling is not as drop-jaw now.  

And it hasn’t lost its relevance for the classroom as students could explore their own neighbourhood and identify the places, people and events that make it a unique attraction for visitors even if they take them for granted, or they could set up a challenge based on the family’s adventures for others to identify significant places around Australia based on clues such as this on from Backpack Bear, (an online quiz about Australia and Australians that I developed over 20 years ago and which is still available for free), encouraging a variety of research and presentation skills.  

I am at the top of a mountain, first climbed by a European in 1840 and named by Polish explorer Count Paul Edmund Strzelecki. He named it after one of his country’s heroes because he thought it looked like his tomb. While it stands in Ngarigo land, it is yet to be given an official indigenous name although Kunama Namadgi has been proposed.

The climb to the top was quite easy – a 6.5 kilometre walk along a raised walkway after I got off the chairlift from Thredbo and a short stop at Australia’s highest public toilet at Rawson’s Pass. The walkway protects the fragile alpine environment.

The summit is 2228 metres above sea level, making it Australia’s highest mainland mountain and from it I can see other mountains of the Main Range of the Great Dividing Range, including Mt Townsend which is the second highest mountain, Mt Carruthers and Mt Twynam. They are all part of a national park which shares the name of this mountain.

If you wish to follow in my footsteps, you need to come here between November and April, although if you are skier you can come during the winter..

Where am I?

Because it is a classic and so well-known, winning many awards, including being selected as a key focus book for the National Year of Reading 2012, there is a plethora of resources available online to support other activities including this one from Reading Australia. Our world may be smaller and different from that of Grace and her family, because although the book is 20 years old and its foundations began 10 years before that, it is still as relevant and refreshing now as it was then.  And I can hear parents saying, “I remember this” as they see it on shop shelves and pick it up to share with their own little ones and make more memories. 

Giinagay Juluum, Hello Mountains

Nov2
Giinagay Juluum, Hello Mountains

Giinagay Juluum, Hello Mountains

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giinagay Juluum, Hello Mountains

Melissa Greenwood

ABC Books, 2024

24pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780733343025

The juluum (mountain) watches over us as we walk proudly on Country.
Me, Jinda, Miimi and Gami take note of all the subtle changes in nature
as we walk up, up the rocky path towards the peaks…

As the mountains and their ancestors watch over them, the family under the guidance of Aunty make their way through the oft-trodden pathways to the mountain peaks for the corroboree acknowledging and respecting the land and it inhabitants  as they go.  It is Spring and there is fresh, green growth on the trees (jaliigirrin). birds are singing, and the bandicoots (duura), kangaroos (nunguu), koalas (dunggiirr),  snakes (dungguuny) and goannas (wirriiga) are calling, moving and mating while the bindarray (river) rises and falls with the snow melt, threading through the land connecting everything and bringing life to all.

And as they walk barefoot through the landscape, the children learn its stories, how it was made and how to walk it respectfully and pay homage to those who have gone before and those who will come after.

Much as I love the ocean and its endless motion soothes my soul, my home now is in Australia’s mountains, and, while so different from the mountains of my homeland in the south of New Zealand’s South Island, there is nothing quite like the silence, solitude  and  size of this land, such as is spread before me as I write this.  I can see much of what is described in the story – all except the river although the Murrumbidgee is only 200 metres at the bottom of the valley – and while we are not blessed with duura or dunggiirr we do have kangaroos, wallabies, possums, echidnas, wombats aplenty and the most amazing parade of native birdlife.  For now it is the season of the crimson rosella and the magpie, but soon it will be the cockatoos, galahs, gang gangs and kookaburras as the new Spring growth turns to flowers and seeds as the warmth spreads.  

So while Giinagay Gaagal, Hello Ocean took me back to my roots of growing up on the seashore of Bluff, this one brings me into the here and now revitalising the senses that drew me here originally. 

As with its predecessor, the text is woven together by stunning artwork that tells its own story and the full text is included in both English and Gumbaynggir in the final pages, adding to the resources for preserving and revitalising First Nations languages.  But most significantly, as again they thank the land for its protection and it awaits their return, there is that inner feeling of being in the moment, taking note of surroundings and what is going on in them, seeing through eyes not a camera lens and being connected that gives meaning to the now-familiar Acknowledgement of Country so that it more than a collection of words, encouraging readers to see with new eyes and listen with new ears.   

Days of Warmth

Oct5
Days of Warmth

Days of Warmth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days of Warmth

Gregg Dreise

Puffin, 2024

16oo., board book., RRP $A14.99

 9781761340567

On Monday, Little Goanna woke up feeling cold…

But Daddy was there to give warmth.

Combining  early learning concepts such as days of the week, Australian animals and family, this is another of the beautiful books for our youngest learners created by Kamilaroi author Gregg Dreise, particularly celebrating the special relationship between parent and child. No matter how the child is feeling, the parent is there to provide support either physically or emotionally, and always with a cuddle.  

Although the colours change slightly, the background itself remains the same underlining the universal and unending cycle of love and little readers will enjoy identifying those creatures that are familiar, learning new ones, and using their facial expressions to predict how each might be feeling – all of which help develop those early concepts of print and story that are the foundations of reading.  They might also draw on their own experiences to consider why each creature might be in the predicament it is, offering scope for them to recognise and articulate their own emotions. 

There is also scope to compare Dreise’s illustrative style with other story books that they are familiar with, not only offering scope to introduce the distinctive style of First Nations, but also encouraging them to look more closely at artwork in particular, and its role in carrying the story, again building those early reading behaviours.  

Something special to share with your own little ones, or gift to new parents to share with theirs. 

Nightlife

Sep30
Nightlife

Nightlife

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nightlife

Sandra Kendell

Windy Hollow, 2024

32pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9781922081117

“As daylight fades and twilight reaches, here creep and flutter hidden creatures. Nightlife!”

For many young children, once night falls across their part of the planet, and it is time for them to shut their eyes, they don’t realise that for many of Australia’s creatures, it is time to open theirs, and a whole new world comes to life. 

But in this beautiful book with its intricate and accurate illustrations  and lyrical text combined with brief bursts of information , readers are taken on a journey across this country to discover the incredible diversity of creatures that make the night time their time to shine. thrive and survive.  The night doesn’t just belong to the bats and owls – there are mammals,. birds, reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, insects, molluscs, worms and aquatic animals living in habitats as  varied as their species from the deserts and shrublands of the Red Centre to the cool alpine regions of the Snowy Mountains to the rainforests of tropics, and all stops in between.  

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

For them the darkness of night is their haven and as well as learning a little about some of them so  that young readers become aware of their existence and the threats they face, thus being more likely to protect them, there are also new words to learn like nocturnal, diurnal and crepiscular. Each double page spread focuses on one particular habitat –  – the author says her biggest challenge in its creation was choosing which to feature – and just a few of the creatures that call it home; while the last two have a powerful message…

Nightlife in danger from cat, fox and spark – explaining the impact of introduced creatures, deliberate habitat clearing, and bushfires through dramatic artwork; and then the reminder that there are nocturnal creatures even in the urban environment that can be seen by taking a torch outside, so this is a phenomenon that city kids can appreciate too.  

In her bio on her website, Sandra describes herself as “an artist and author based in Darwin, Australia. She works with oils, watercolour, mixed media and words [drawing]. inspiration from the local environment and ecology revealing some of its more elusive inhabitants and portraying their unique personalities in images and stories embellished with a dose of whimsy.” and that is certainly apparent in this book.  She has a number of other books, all published by Windy Hollow and each bringing a lesser-known native creature to life for young readers, especially those of her native Northern Territory, with Saltie Mumma being nominated for a number of popular children’s literature awards. .