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Somebody’s Land: Welcome to Our Country

Nov14
Somebody's Land: Welcome to Our Country

Somebody’s Land: Welcome to Our Country

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somebody’s Land: Welcome to Our Country

Adam Goodes

Ellie Lang

David Hardy

A & U Children’s, 2021

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

9781760526726

When the white people came,
they called the land
Terra Nullius.
They said it was nobody’s land.
But it was somebody’s land.

Every day across Australia, young people will say and hear the Acknowledgement of Country recognising the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the land on which they are living, learning or playing.  But what does that Acknowledgement actually mean?  Is it just a recitation made almost meaningless by repetition, said without a lot of thought?  Or is there a deeper understanding that has come from really considering the words and phrases? Who are those Elders, “past, present and emerging” that we pay homage to and why do we do that?

In this beautifully illustrated book, the creators seek to show that despite what Captain Cook and his colleagues thought about it being “nobody’s land” it was, indeed “somebody’s land” and that the culture and connections to it by the First Nations peoples stems back tens of thousands of years, allowing them to celebrate their ancient sovereignty. 

Each double-page spread  begins with the same sentence, “For thousands and thousands of years, Aboriginal people lived in the land we now call Australia’ and then through both easily accessible text and vibrant illustrations shows how the land nurtured and supported them and how they, in turn, connected to and cared for it, clearly showing the fallacy of Terra Nullius, which is also repeated on each page. Thus young readers can begin to not only understand the concept and context of the words but appreciate the depth of their meaning. That despite it appearing vast and empty, it has always been somebody’s land. By showing how and why the First Nations people have such a respect for and relationship with Country, it is the beginnings of a bridge between the upcoming generation led by the present and emerging Elders so that they can walk with the First Nations people “in a movement of the Australian people for a better future” – a bridge that will span four more additions to the series. And to assist teachers, parents and carers, the publisher’s page has extensive teaching notes. 

 “It was Aboriginal Land. It is Aboriginal Land. And always will be Aboriginal Land.”

Toy Mountain

Nov12
Toy Mountain

Toy Mountain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toy Mountain

Stef Gemmill

Katharine Hall

EK Books, 2021

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

9781925820966

Sam is getting bored with playing with the same toys every day – toys that had been played with by his Grandma and while sturdy and reliable, they didn’t have the whizbangery of the toys made in the Tiny Hands toy factory towering over the town, high in the clouds at the end of the rainbow.

So when his mum arranges for him to become a toy tester for the factory he is very excited and day after day boxes and boxes of toys arrive at his house for him to play with and give his opinion about. He immediately discards his old favourites for the new ones but are they all that they are cracked up to be?  Why do all the bells and whistles quickly turn to a sad plonk, plonk, plonk as the toys break and become an ever-increasing mountain of broken plastic junk?

While being a toy-tester might seem like the dream, this is an important story to share about appreciating what we have and taking care of it because shiny and new isn’t always the best choice. There is also a broader message about the amount of plastic that is produced each year, the 79% of that which ends up in the oceans or in landfill. and thus, being aware of and responsible for the amount of waste we create as individuals.

So while children marched in protest at COP26, here, in one story especially written for the young is a direct way that they themselves can make a difference and show the way for others around them.

Making Friends: A Book About First Friendships

Sep7
Making Friends: A Book About First Friendships

Making Friends: A Book About First Friendships

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making Friends: A Book About First Friendships

Amanda McCardie

Colleen Larmour

Walker, 2021

32pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

9781406394542

Sukie is starting a new school and shares the concerns of every child in the same situation – will she make friends.  But she soon learns that making friends can happen in all sorts of ways, big and small, even unexpected.  However, it is not enough to make friends – you have to work on maintaining the friendships by respecting others’ differences as well as the things you have in common.

So many children who have been restricted by stay-at-home orders in parts of Australia are separated from their friends right now – even though they have visual contact through online sources or audio through the phones, it is the physical, spontaneous face-to-face contact they are missing and which is impacting on their mental well-being.  Even Miss 10, the family social butterfly, is  worried that she will be forgotten and won’t have any friends when school eventually returns.  

If nothing else, this time at home has demonstrated the critical role schools play well beyond the formal academic teaching and this book would be a worthwhile addition to any teacher’s toolkit as they help their students navigate making friends and being friends again after such a long social isolation. It has a wider reach than just supporting those who will be starting a new school as a new year approaches.  Readers are invited to agree, disagree and add to the situations in which Sukie finds herself – should be embarrassed and uncomfortable that Mikkel refuses her help with his jigsaw puzzle or is it OK to say no sometimes? And cleverly, illustrator Colleen Larmour has included a picture of someone sharing kindness on almost every page, opening up not only an opportunity to look closely but also the concept of doing a random act of kindness every day.  

Our children are negotiating a tricky time at the moment, different but just as confronting as children in past generations, and the strategies and coping mechanisms we help them to develop now will play a large role in how they will survive and thrive. This book has a role to play in that. 

Story Doctors

Jul11
Story Doctors

Story Doctors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Story Doctors

Boori Monty Pryor

Rita Sinclair

Allen & Unwin, 2021

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

9781760526559

What do you do when you are expected to review a book like this when you know you don’t have the knowledge, the skills or even the authority to do so?  And the text is so lyrical, the illustrations so sublime and the message so powerful that you just feel overwhelmed.

You let the words of others do your work because you know they will convey the power and the beauty so much better.

This is from its blurb…

This is a book for everybody. Welcome! Take a seat! And listen carefully, because this story has a heartbeat. Can you feel it, there in your chest?

Legendary storyteller Boori Monty Pryor invites us to travel with him from the first footsteps through 80,000+ years of strength, sickness, and immense possibility.

From the very first stories and art, to dance, language, and connection with the land, Boori offers a powerful, beautiful, and deeply rich account of Australia’s true history, drawing on a lifetime of wisdom, and on his generous instinct to teach and heal.

An exquisitely illustrated celebration of the power of storytelling to unite us, how nature connects us, and the wonderful truth that the medicine needed for healing lies within us all.

This is an interview with the author from Radio National which gives so much insight.
And this, the first few lines that demonstrate not only their origins and the thinking behind them but also the lyricism of the entire text… the language used is masterful and so clever, particularly the written version rather than just the audio.

And finally this – the explanation of the mesmerising, thought-provoking afterword on which the whole book was founded…

 

With the theme of the 2021 NAIDOC Week being Heal Country, this is indeed,  “an empowering story for all Australians, acknowledging our true history, embracing inclusivity, and celebrating the healing powers of nature and culture” from Australia’s Children’s Laureate 2012-2013.  If ever there were a book that epitomised the theme of Australia: Story Country, then this is it and it is one for all ages. 

Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the Monsoon Forest

Jun29
Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the Monsoon Forest

Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the Monsoon Forest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the Monsoon Forest

Diane Lucas & Ben Tyler

Emma Long

Allen & Unwin, 2021

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

9781760525958

When a walk through the forest becomes an opportunity to learn about the secrets of what grows and lives there, and to tell and hear the stories of its past peoples, you never know how long you will be, what you will hear or what you will see.  For this forest in Kakadu in the Northern Territory contains more riches than a pirate’s treasure trove with its plant life, insects, birds and creatures, their inter-connections and the stories they bring with them. Old man Kapirigi says, “You gotta watch those birds”, (the djuwe or northern bower bird} “they’ll steal your bones out of the cave when you die.”

Combining their knowledge of and passion for the land and its stories, the authors have created a text that carries the reader along with its narrative while being laden with the most remarkable information, embedding the Kundjeyhml language in so naturally that the English equivalents seem so bland and boring in comparison. And Emma Long’s line and watercolour drawings that span full page spreads down to tiny vignettes are just sublime, highlighting just how busy even a tiny leaf can be if we take the time to look and listen. Rather than using conventional speech indicators, an avatar depicts the speaker as they point out something or tell a story and the whole just becomes an engaging read and learning experience that makes you want to go out to really embrace and inhale the nearest bit of garden you can find.  Just because we can’t get to Kakadu right now doesn’t mean we can’t learn the lessons of observation, appreciation and conservation that this book offers. There is so much more than we usually see to discover – a new world that fits in perfectly with this year’s CBCA Book Week theme. 

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

Lucas’s first book, Walking with the Seasons in Kakadu, published over 15 years ago led the way to opening up this land to our young readers so they could begin to understand its ancient stories and those who shared them and this stunning book continues the tradition. Look for it in the CBCA 2022 Eve Pownall Notables because it certainly deserves a place there. 

 

Mr Bat Wants a Hat

Jun25
Mr Bat Wants a Hat

Mr Bat Wants a Hat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Bat Wants a Hat

Kitty Black

Laura Wood

New Frontier, 2021

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

9781922326218

Mr Bat is largely content with his life, doing what he likes when he likes.  But one evening when flying above the local park, he discovers hats and decides that he needs one NOW!  His attempts to steal one from the adults is unsuccessful but a sleeping baby is a different story.  Yet, while he is proud of himself and thinks he is the grandest thing around, others are not so impressed…

This is a fun story for young readers about the impact their actions can have on others.  Even though taking the hat made Mr Bat feel good, how did the theft affect the baby? Starting these conversations starts the ripple-in-the-pond effect of our actions and helps develop the concepts of compassion and empathy, starting to move them away from their egocentric, self-centred world to understand and acknowledge the feelings of others.  

Even though this message is embedded in the story, on the surface it is bright and funny with a twist in the end that will offer lots of scope for predicting what might come next and what might happen when it does. 

Where the Heart Is

Jun23
Where the Heart Is

Where the Heart Is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where the Heart Is

Irma Gold

Susannah Crispe

EK Books, 2021

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

9781925820874

In 2011, a Magellanic penguin, washed up on an island village beach just outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, near Joao’s home.  Joao rescued him, cleaned him up and cared for him for months knowing that he would have to set him free eventually.  But for that first year they did almost everything together, until there came a time when even Dindim felt the call of the wild and knew he had to leave…

This is the beautiful story of that rescue, the friendship  and the remarkable events that followed, even after Dindim left for the cold waters of his native Patagonia. With its gentle text and pictures, it celebrates friendship and the power of the words, “If you love something, set it free.”

Teachers’ notes for K-2 are available to help young readers understand the broader aspects of Dindim’s plight.

 

 

 

 

Hello and Welcome

Apr9
Hello and Welcome

Hello and Welcome

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello and Welcome

Gregg Dreise

Puffin, 2021

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

9781760898328

Hello and welcome to our corroboree.
Hello and welcome to our gathering.
Father Sky, Mother Earth, together here with me.
Different colours, different people, together in harmony.

Welcome to Country has now become the norm before any formal gatherings in Australia and in this stunning book by Gregg Dreise, a companion to My Culture and Me, the reader is taken through this traditional welcome in the traditional Gamilaraay language of the Kamilaroi people.

Paying tribute to those who have gone before, their stewardship of the land they live on, the generosity of that land and thanking them for those who are here now and yet to come, the words are interpreted in traditional dance moves that have been passed down through generations.

If we want our students to respect these sorts of traditions, rather than pay lip service to them, then the more they understand the meaning and movements associated with them , the better. To enable this,  the initial words of welcome and their actions have been included so all children can join in.  The illustrations that depict ancestors sit alongside and intertwine with illustrations of how the modern day Kamilaroi people celebrate and thank Father Sky and Mother Earth demonstrating that this is a ceremony that embraces everyone and all can participate. Despite there being 250 Indigenous Countries within Australia, each with its own language and cultures, each shares a respect for Mother Earth, each other and sharing resources, so this book could inspire a new way of sharing that Welcome to Country.

Students in a Canberra school were challenged to examine the meaning of their local Welcome to Country text and to develop one that had meaning for them which would be used at the start of each day. This is the result from the Year 3 class in the Bungle Bungles unit. With students from preschool to Year 6 all undertaking this task at the beginning of the year, the principal reports there is not only greater understanding but greater harmony and respect for the environment across the school.

Welcome to Country

Welcome to Country

I NEED a Parrot

Nov2
I NEED a Parrot

I NEED a Parrot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I NEED a Parrot

Chris McKimmie

Ford Street, 2020 

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

9781925804287

Like so many little people, this little boy decides he needs a pet.  Not just any pet – he needs a parrot in particular. But while he feels ne needs a parrot, and is prepared to take care of it, what does the parrot need?

Apart from the enduring argument about whether birds of any kind should be kept in cages, the story opens up discussions about wants versus needs and whether the two concepts are interchangeable.  

McKimmie has a unique artistic style that makes his illustrations very childlike in appearance and this really speaks to his audience underlining the message in his text.  Not only does he use the first person to talk to his audience but the words are backed up with images that look like they have been drawn by the narrator offering a double-whammy to pay attention. Starting the book with the image of a cage and ending it with a big blue sky is a powerful mechanism that will remain imprinted in the child’s mind, another technique that reinforces the message. There are many layers to this book that, on the surface, seems quite simple – a case of how less can indeed be more.

This book won the 2020 CBCA Picture Book of the Year Award , a worthy winner if the criteria is a story’s ability to open the minds of readers and challenge or change their thinking.

Teachers’ notes are available, and if it is sold out in your bookstore, contact the publisher. 

 

 

 

The Tindims of Rubbish Island

Nov1
The Tindims of Rubbish Island

The Tindims of Rubbish Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tindims of Rubbish Island

Sally Gardner

Lydia Carry

Zephyr, 2020

128pp., pbk., RRP $A12.99

9781838935672

Since the days of the Vikings, the Tindims have lived on Rubbish Island, recycling debris salvaged from sunken pirate ships and galleons. They have always lived in secret, caring for the creatures of the sea and helping messages in bottles to find the right tides. But now as plastic threatens to overwhelm their island home, the Tindims make contact with children for the first time ever to show them how to turn rubbish into treasure…

Join Skittle, her furry pet Pinch, her parents, Admiral Bonnet, Mug, Jug, Brew, Captain Spoons,  Granny Gull and Barnacle Bow on  Rubbish Island where they seem to find a use for every piece of rubbish that the ‘Long Legs’ throw into the water. For years they have lived by their motto: ‘Rubbish today is treasure tomorrow’.  Wander through its warren of underwater rooms, including a toothbrush library and a hospital for sick fish, climb its terraces overlooking the sea and scale Rubbish Mountain. Set sail with them on their first ocean adventure as they show keen young human ecologists how to help protect our planet for the future.

There was recently a discussion on an education forum about teachers having younger readers who are newly independent and who have outgrown the levelled basal readers that are usually offered the age group.  The consensus was that these readers should not have their opportunities stifled by stories with controlled vocabulary and contrived sentence structure just because of their age and a convenient label, and that while they still needed some support with shorter chapters, larger fonts and illustrations which not only broke up the text but also helped clarify it, there were plenty of these sorts of books that offered such a platform, built on a solid, quality storyline. This series, is one of those.

It is modern in appearance and focuses on a theme that is close to the heart and minds of its target audience, that of making this world a better place by thinking globally and acting locally. There are not a lot of things that our youngest readers have the power to improve or change, but being environmentally conscious is one of them so this book which inspires them to be more aware is certainly within their realm. Reminiscent of the classic series The Borrowers by Mary Norton, it may even inspire them to expand their horizons and read that collection.

The first in this series, it is one that should appeal to those who are ready to test the next stepping stones of their reading journey.