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The Drover’s Son

Mar5
The Drover's Son

The Drover’s Son

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Drover’s Son

Leah Purcell

Dub Leffner

Puffin, 2026

40pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9781761341977

In 1892, renowned Australian storyteller Henry Lawson published his short story, The Drover’s Wife in which, through the life of Molly Johnson, he shone a spotlight on the courage and resilience of the pioneer women who followed their husbands to the rural and remote regions of Australia – in this case, the alpine country of New South Wales – and held the fort against the landscape, the isolation, and the dangers of the country while their husbands were away for months at a time trying to earn a living.   

The original story has inspired artworks, retellings, and other interpretations including a play written by Leah Purcell, itself becoming a film, a book and an opera.   Central to Molly Johnson’s story are her love for and protection of her children, and now, emerging from such auspicious beginnings, is this new picture book that focuses on her oldest son Danny, who believes he will have no choice but to leave home and go droving with his father. But then he meets Yadaka, an indigenous man, who despite the attitudes towards First Nations people at the time, takes Danny under his wing and shows him there can be  another path – one in which a man can be wise and gentle, and a warrior too. “It’s not what you wear on your feet, Danny. How you carry yourself is what makes a decent man.”

Set in 1893, with the Ngarigo landscape and intriguing characters perfectly portrayed in Leffler’s exquisite illustrations, Purcell, herself, says, “This is a yarn about fathers and sons, a mother’s love, fierce and true, and about family in whatever form that takes. A tale of cautious meetings, bonding and the sharing of stories.  Of lessons learnt and of cultural understanding and genuine respect. This is a story about a time in our history we shouldn’t forget.”

Although the primary story is Danny’s, Molly’s also remains central as she awaits the birth of yet another child, isolated and without modern medical assistance – giving today’s girls plenty of food for thought. How would they cope with being almost constantly pregnant, the likelihood of losing the baby anyway, while all the while having to take full responsibility for the other children 24/7?

Whether it is read and shared through the lens of the power and endurance of the women of the time; the attitudes towards and treatment of First Nations peoples; Yadaka’s connection to Country and heritage and the importance of that; the difference in childhood between then and now; the relationship between Yadaka and Danny and the importance of role models; the visual literacy of Leffler’s interpretation of a landscape and history that I see daily out my window; the reimagining of a story from long ago into so many versions so that it is as powerful today as it was then; or any other perspective this is a must-have addition to the collection that will open up so much of this nation’s early European history for older, independent readers.  

Milly Meelyu

Mar1
Milly Meelyu

Milly Meelyu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Milly Meelyu

Holly Bradley & Darryl Fogarty

Corinne Fogarty

Fremantle Press, 2026

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781760996314

Milly Meelyu and her family live in an old, hollowed out log in the dry, scrubby woodlands around Geraldton, WA.  They have lived there for years, young and old together – a very rare thing in the world of lizards.

But now the bulldozers are coming and soon there home will be no more.  Not only must they move before their log is crushed, but they must find a new one that suits them all and survive perils like feral cats and hungry birds to get there…

Western Spiny-tailed Skink (Egernia stokesii badia), Photo Holly Bradley

Western Spiny-tailed Skink (Egernia stokesii badia), Photo Holly Bradley

Australia has approximately 10% of the Earth’s reptile species, and over 96% of all lizards and snakes occurring there are found nowhere else in the world. However, this incredible and irreplaceable biodiversity is under threat and in this eye-opening story that has evolved from her research, conservation biologist Holly Bradley has teamed with Badimia elder Darryl Fogarty (for whom the meelyu is a sacred totem, as it is for the illustrator) to create a picture book that not only introduces this endangered species – aka Western Spiny-tailed Skink  or (Egernia stokesii badia to the boffins) – to young readers but also highlights how human activity can cause chaos in the natural world.  

In the 1990s, the development of the Gungahlin Town Centre in Canberra was significantly altered to protect threatened species, specifically the Striped Legless Lizard (Delma impar) and habitat for other endangered fauna, including the Canberra Grassland Earless Dragon (Tympanocryptis lineata) -although new developments nearby continue to threaten.  Having been a resident of Gungahlin at the time I remember the furore that that decision involved, with all levels of the community involved, most of it passing over the heads of the little people I was teaching at the time. But the beauty of this book is that it brings the plight of the creatures that will be impacted right down to the child’s level of understanding – the first log had lots of yummy flowers but was too small for Father Meelyu;  the next one was surrounding by cat pawprints meaning danger for everyone; the third was in a shady spot and so there was not enough sun to keep the meelyus’ bodies warm.  By focusing on this one family of meelyu, the accessible text accompanied by illustrations that are at eye-level for the child embedding Milly’s habitat. food sources and protective techniques without the need for extra words, the huge concepts of habitat destruction, conservation and guardianship are within the young reader’s grasp.

Yet, while this is such a focused story, that is presented in both English and the Badimia language and thus might be dismissed as being for those is Western Australia only, it has far-reaching potential for all.  What happens if we stomp our way through the bush, brush away spider webs,  rearrange the rocks in the rockpool or any of the other actions we make without really thinking? Whose homes are we destroying?  Are they replaceable?  Whose life have we irrevocably altered if not destroyed?

While Milly’s life might be threatened by big-picture habitat destruction like mining and farming, clever discussion about our own actions on the space around us again, bring the hazards into sharp focus. Teaching notes expand the opportunities further, and the story is told in the Badimia language here.

There are many books being written and shared that encourage students to be more aware of their natural environment and to take better care of it, but this one shines an even brighter spotlight on the impact we can have – for better or for worse. 

Outstanding.

Muttonfish Magic

Feb25
Muttonfish Magic

Muttonfish Magic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muttonfish Magic

Aunty Ruth Simmons & Lucy Robertson

Jasmine Seymour

Magabala Books, 2026

32pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

9781922864130

It is one of those days that in itself, is unremarkable, but which leaves an imprint on the mind that lingers decades later as childhood memories are revisited and warm, fuzzy feelings are evoked.

Mummy has loaded up the old cane pram with its wobbly wooden wheels with supplies and Ruth and her brothers set off on the long walk from their home in La Perouse to the cliffs and rock pools of Cruwee Cove on a mission to gather muttonfish. for their evening meal.  It’s lunchtime by the time they get there and so Mummy shows them how to twist a fish hook and sinker onto a ropy line of fish intestines, and it’s not long before there is a speckled spiny muckendy flapping at their feet, ready to be the basis of a delicious soup.

But it is the muttonfish that are their prize, notoriously tricky to prise from the rocks of the rock pools while all the time watching for the razor-sharp teeth of the eels who also enjoy them.  But with success, just enough muttonfish for the evening meal and a tummy full of the delicious soup, it’s time to make the long walk home again.

Born in 1941 on The Reserve in La Perouse, Aunty Ruth Simms is now a Bidjigal Elder working as an Aboriginal Education Officer and this is her story of her lived experience as a child at a time when being self-sufficient was a way of life. even if it did take a whole day just to gather the evening meal. For apart from gathering their food, there was much else to be learned about traditional foods, medicines, stories and practices as her mother shared her knowledge with her and her siblings – knowledge that she remains passionate about sharing with today’s children. 

Like Going for Pippies, this became a trip back in time and nostalgia for me as I read and recalled a similar childhood – although I was at the very south of the South Island of New Zealand, the walk to the beach was just across the road, and the muttonfish (which Australians call abalone) were ‘paua’ to Kiwis. 

Between them, Aunty Ruth, Lucy Robertson and Jasmine Seymour have created a book that not only celebrates a slower, simpler way of life but shows how sometimes the basic and necessary chores such as feeding the family can form critical connections between generations, and pass on “invisible” knowledge and understandings that just become part of who they are. Creating the magic of memories.

While the Geography strand of the Australian HASS Curriculum for the early years focuses specifically on that special connection that First Nations Australians have to Country, as with Going for Pippies, this book not only addresses that but also offers the chance for young readers to share their experiences of the particular things that their families do that have always been done, foods that are always eaten at special times, stories always told and so on. Unlike me, few will relate directly to Aunty Ruth’s stories – unless they are lucky enough to live where they too, can explore the rockpools at tide-turn – but they will have their own stories to relate, and perhaps one day share with their little ones. 

 

Dingo’s Dream

Jan6
Dingo’s Dream

Dingo’s Dream

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dingo’s Dream

Helen Milroy

Magabala Books, 2025

64pp., pbk., RRP $A19.99

9781922142733

Each night, Dingo keeps dreaming there is someone in distress, calling for help from the depths of a deep hole. But who is it? He checks on everyone in his community but they’re all fine and so he ventures further and further, still having the dream but the voice is getting weaker, until Dingo reaches his homeland that stirs many memories but which he hasn’t visited for many years.  It is now an empty landscape  – or so it seems until some field mice lead him to the source of the dream and the cries.

Will he and his friends be able to work together to devise a plan that will enable them to rescue the strange creature trapped in the bottom of the ravine? 

This is the sixth  story in the Tales from the Bush Mob  series of books about the Bush Mob, a group of animals which includes Dingo, Willy-willy Wagtail, Eagle, Platypus, Koala, Wombat, Kookaburra, Echidna and Kangaroo, who work together to solve problems including  while emphasising the value of respect for First Nations culture and country.  They stress the importance of co-operation, valuing individual strengths, ingenuity, courage, perseverance and wisdom to overcome obstacles and continue to connect communities through both time and space.  

Suitable as a read-aloud or a read-alone for those who are emerging as independent readers, the story will help students better understand the First Nations connection to country, as Dingo returns to Country and once more sings to the sky at dusk, his voice carried on the winds to others who have also been long gone.  At last he knows who he is and where he has come from – perhaps a lesson for more than just Dingo. 

 

Turbo Turtle

Nov17
Turbo Turtle

Turbo Turtle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turbo Turtle

Gregg Dreise

Magabala Books, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

9781922864109

During the Dreamtime, a time on the planet that was even before Once-upon-a-time time, a little lizard hatched from his egg and wandered off from the shelter of the shadowy bushes to search for his parents.  But instead of finding them, he is swooped up by his tail by an eagle and carried far away from his home. The little lizard squiggled and squirmed and his tail broke off, and as the eagle soared on thinking it still held its prey, the lizard fell to Mother Earth, terrified.

Luckily for him, Biamme heard his cries and made a soft landing for him, and looked after him until he found his family, naming him Warrabah after the Warrah season.  Despite Biamme’s care though, Warrabah missed his family and he and Biamme set out to find them, hoping to hear the same language that Warrabah remembered hearing inside the egg.  To help, Biamme gave Warrabah the magic that would make him turbo-charged but also told him that he needed to ask the Elders permission to travel their lands.  

But Warrabah is impatient and forgets to show respect to Country and the Elders. And, for that there are consequences that change him forever…

This is the fourth book in the Scales and Tales series – the others are Lethal Lizards, Fast Fish and Super Snake – by this  proud descendant of the Goomelroi/Kamilaroi and Euahlayi people of south-west Queensland and north-west New South Wales whose many stories have shone a light on First Nations beliefs and heritage for our young readers.  But they are more than just a story about the origins of our native creatures for each has an underlying message that relates to human behaviour – in this case, it’s about actions and consequences, and how those consequences can change our pathway forward, even our lives, so that we find where we belong – and how that reinforces the connection to Country that guides today’s First Nations generations.  Dreise expands on the origins of this story and its implications on the final page, offering an opportunity for astute teachers to encourage students to consider why an author wrote a particular story and what message they are trying to pass on.  Although not all stories have such an intrinsic message, nevertheless this is a chance to get students to start thinking more critically about what they are reading.  Was it fair/right that Warrabah had to face the Boreen? Was it a reasonable consequence for his behaviour? What did he learn from it? How did it change him?  Was that a change for the better? What can they learn from both Warrabah and the story? Although they might not face the spears that Warrabah did, what sorts of consequences do they face for lack of respect, poor decisions and choices?  Should they face them? What “shields” do they have that can protect them if they find themselves having to face the consequences of their own actions?

Bapa’s Last Canoe

Oct27
Bapa’s Last Canoe

Bapa’s Last Canoe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bapa’s Last Canoe

Maree McCarthy Yoelu

Samantha Campbell

Magabala Books, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

9781922777775

As his two oldest daughters reach high school age. Bapa Liman and his wife make the difficult decision to leave their traditional Country and move to the city so they can have a better education and better opportunities. And so Bapa a respected traditional canoe maker makes one last canoe from the kapok tree and the family set off on a long canoe ride to connect to family and Country for the last time.  On the way they sing, tell stories, fish, listen,  look and laugh and at night they camp out and meet family, fish, roast periwinkles and longbums on the fire – making memories and connections that will carry them through their city life until it is time to return again.  For even though Bapa sets the canoe free on the waves when their journey is done, they now they will return to Country eventually.

This is a poignant story of farewell, made moreso because it is true because those girls are the author’s mother and aunties and Bapa, her grandfather – and so such a move was a much bigger deal in the 50s and 60s than it is today.   (Bapa was born in 1916 and it wasn’t until 27 May 1967,  that the Constitution was changed so that  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would be counted as part of the population and recognised as citizens.)

Even though this is the author’s personal story and it reinforces that particular enduring connection to Country that is such an integral part of the lives of First Nations peoples, it also has a relevance to many of our students who, at this time of the year, particularly, are about to leave behind much of what is familiar to them as they move on to high school, either local or not, or are just moving to a new town altogether.  While they might not be able to go on a long sea journey to say farewell, they too will be experiencing the same sorts of emotions that Bapa and his granddaughters do.  So while on the surface this might appear to be a book for younger children, it could be the ideal discussion starter to help our older students open up about their memories, their connections and even their trepidation about their next chapter.

Sometimes it is the seemingly simple stories that can open the biggest doors or reflect the strongest situations.

 

Prayer for a River

Oct13
Prayer for a River

Prayer for a River

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer for a River

Uncle Glenn Loughrey & Andrew Kelly

Wild Dog, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781742036915

River brings life.
River brings us together.
River holds the stories.

In what seems like a deceptively simple text, this is a homage to one of Mother Nature’s most complex stories.  

Beginning with a shower of rain whose drops are captured and savoured by the land, joining to eventually form a river that flows from the mountains to the sea, bringing life to all it touches, spilling into the ocean where the sun helps the cycle repeat itself over and over,  the reader is not only reminded of that natural cycle but also how the river is the lifeblood of the land, how it connects all living things and deserves both appreciation and respect.

While both authors have deep, personal connections to Birrrung/Yarra , Kelly having been its Riverkeeper for many years, this is the story of any river and how it connects and carries the stories of Country between and beyond its banks, its strength growing as it does and its importance depicted in the addition of colour to the illustrations as it brings life to all that it touches moving from the “simple” image of drops falling and gathering of the front cover to a landscape that it is flourishing because of its influence and impact.

From this initial introduction to the importance of water and rivers to life itself, expressed in a way that even the youngest readers will understand from both the First Nations and the modern perspective,  comes the implication that our waterways need to be protected, thus opening up the perfect opportunity to investigate local creeks and rivers, how they connect and support the land and its living, and what is being done to ensure they continue to run free and pristine.  Teachers’ notes facilitate the sorts of questions that could be explored. 

As the alpine snows melt after what has been described as a “bumper season”, and the creeks and rivers start to swell and flow with vigour again, this is the perfect timing for sharing this book and focusing on your local waterway, its origins and destination, regardless of what point of its journey you live. Perhaps even have students seek local citizen science projects to be involved in (or begin one)and create a display that introduces other stories in a similar vein such as Rivertime by Trace Balla, On the River by Roland Harvey, Song of the River by Joy Cowley, and Wilam, another jointly authored by Andrew Kelly, so that the inevitable annual study of the water cycle becomes more personal and meaningful.   

Something special and unique that offers so much more than it first appears. 

The legendary Snowy River - its journeys, its stories...

The legendary Snowy River – its journeys, its stories…

 

Going for Pippies

Sep25
Going for Pippies

Going for Pippies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going for Pippies

Wilaaran Hunter Laurie

Tori-Jay Mordey

Magabala Books, 2025

32pp., hbk.,  RRP $A27.99

9781922864147

That particular time of day when the tide is on the turn and  all the family members gather at the beach to search for seafood.  And for five-year-old Wilaaran, it is time to learn the special knowledge that has been passed through generations for thousands of years – how to do the pippi dance, which is not some new craze learned on Tik Tok but a feet-squishing, heel-digging, hip-twisting set of moves in the shallows where the waves break that will detect the shellfish ready to be gathered.  Wilaaran is unsure about the waves so he sits on the shore waiting to collect what the others find in his bucket. Soon his bucket contains enough to feed the whole family and, after returning the small ones to the ocean so they have more time to grow, they head home for a meal of pipi fritters…

Written when he was just five himself, this is an authentic story that many other readers and reviewers will comment about its literary and artistic merit, but. for me, it brought back special memories of doing just what Wilaaran did when I was his age but thousands of kilometres away on Oreti Beach at the tip of New Zealand’s South Island in the post-war years of the early 1950s. Led by a group of dads who had all served overseas in World War II (and, in hindsight it was probably therapeutic for them to process their PTSD because they never spoke about it with their wives – “If you weren’t there, you wouldn’t understand and you don’t need to know”), families would gather at a certain part of the beach at a certain time of the month, laden down with gear because few had cars in those days and prepare to hunt for tea, just as Wilaaran’s mob did.  The men themselves would venture into deeper water armed with flounder nets to catch the delicious flatfish while the women and children would do the pipi dance just in case the nets were empty when they were dragged in.  And, on occasions, instead of pipis we would get toheroa, an even greater delicacy because Oreti Beach was one of a handful of places they lived beyond the North Island. 

But this book brings back more than just memories for me – for just as it tells of a tradition that goes back so many generations for Wilaaran’s family using knowledge passed down and across from one to another, and reinforcing their connection to Country, it also shows that other cultures pass on similar knowledge to their upcoming generation.  How did those men know which days to go to Oreti Beach and where,  along its 26lm length, to cast their nets?  So while the Geography strand of the Australian HASS Curriculum for the early years focuses specifically on that special connection that First Nations Australians have to Country, this beguiling book not only addresses that but also offers the chance for young readers to share their experiences of the particular things that their families do that have always been done, especially recipes for foods that are commonly shared at important times for them.  

For me, the best books for little ones offer ways that they can connect to the story, and while they might not relate directly to Wilaaran’s memory, they will have a story of their own to tell. That, alone, makes it an essential addition to the collection.

How Big Is Love?

Sep23
How Big Is Love?

How Big Is Love?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Big Is Love?

Carl Merrison & Hakea Hustler

Jade Goodwin

Lothian Children’s, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

 9780734420176

When Big Nutbrown Hare declared to Little Nutbrown Hare, ‘I love you right up to the moon – AND BACK’, in Guess How Much I Love You, author Sam McBratney gave the world one of the most quoted lines from a children’s story book in a long time.

Now, Australian children, particularly those with First Nations heritage, have their own version as grandmother and child sit on the porch, snuggled under a patchwork quilt at sunset watching a storm roll in. When the grandmother whispers, ‘I love you,’ the child needs reassurance: ‘How much?’ And with each new declaration stretching further and further beyond the child’s vision as the child repeats her question, she gets more and more comfortable until, by the time she hears ‘My love stretches back to Creation and forward to the end of time. I loved you then, I love you now, I’ll love you always.‘ she finally falls asleep, knowing she is both safe and loved and always will be.  Love has no bounds and no boundaries.

Enriched by the bright , warm colours of Goodwin’s illustrations, that wrap around the reader like the patchwork quilt – and all  that that, in itself, symbolises – the child feels protected from the in-coming storm (literal and metaphorical) , because this sort of love is infinite, regardless of whether you are Indigenous or of another heritage.  It transcends culture, religion, socioeconomic background , political persuasion or any other dictate but now has a uniquely Australian context for the young child to embrace, and for the First Nations child to connect even more closely with Country.  

While this seems like a book to be shared at bedtime between adult and child, it also offers the possibility to talk about the emotion because even though it is intangible, “love makes the world go round”  and it takes many forms between different people.  So little ones can share how people, in various roles in their life, show them love, and how they, in return, reciprocate it.  They can learn that it doesn’t always have to be hugs, cuddles and kisses, that it can take many forms – even their mum being mad at them for doing something silly because it was dangerous is a form of love.  And that if they do get yelled at, it is what they are doing that is not loved, not them.  But most importantly, whatever the words, love is all-encompassing, enduring and ever-lasting as memories allow us to love even after someone has passed. 

Young readers are often presented with books that help them understand their big emotions and how to handle them but this one just celebrates the share joy of connection, making it a delight to share. 

 

 

Dreaming: Welcome to Our Country

Sep21
Dreaming: Welcome to Our Country

Dreaming: Welcome to Our Country

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreaming: Welcome to Our Country

Adam Goodes & Ellie Laing

David Hardy

A & U Children, 2025

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

9781761065095

Adam Goodes has come a long way since his retirement from AFL, 10 years ago this month and so has the literature about our First Nations peoples that we, and particularly our young people, have access to.  What was once pretty much limited to “Tales from the Dreamtime” without acknowledgement of the vast diversity of distinct nations, language groups, and communities with each having their own unique culture, beliefs, and relationship to specific ancestral lands,  the stories were seen as being universal and applicable to all. Yet, in reality the overarching commonality is connection to Country, whatever that looks like for each community. 

Here, in this latest and final addition to this series  which began with  Somebody’s Land in 2021 and now includes Ceremony (2022) , Back on Country, (2022) and Walk with Us (2023) that has opened the eyes and minds of children and adults alike, the authors attempt to help young readers better understand the concept of Dreaming.

We acknowledge that the Dreaming means different things to different people…and that Dreaming is not a traditional word used by Aboriginal people. However it is the word commonly used to try to explain the interconnectedness, complexity and richness of the Creation stories and spirituality of Aboriginal culture. 

Goodes draws on his own Adnyamathanha and Narungga heritage to explain his Muda – the never-ending cycle that links the past, present and future of his People. Through lyrical text and the magical illustration that show a young child leaving their bed and flying through the window, young children begin to understand that Muda is not a specific time or place but something that transcends them, with the stories and lore and rules reaching as far back in time as they will reach in the future. But as well as offering that visual image, Hardy’s interpretation of the legendary Rainbow Serpent (Akurra) and clever juxtaposition of colour to depict the Law men coming down from the sky to teach about Country are memorable.

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

With both the national curriculum and the new NSW HSIE syllabus having a strong focus on the the connections people make to their past and First Nations People in particular, this book -indeed, the entire series- is an essential part of the school library collection to not only engage and connect with young readers but also to help teachers sharing the curriculum so that everyone can appreciate and value that our First Nations culture is so much more than stories about why the crow is black or how the kangaroo got its tail.  Hooray!   At last!   .