Indigenous Picture Books for Children

For Lisa's Indigenous Literature Week I had planned to post a selection of new Indigenous picture books, however my plans were bigger than my time management abilities!

Fortunately, these beautiful books deserve to be shared at any time, regardless of NAIDOC week or ILW.

Baby Business (2019) by Jasmine Seymour is a wonderful story for new parents, showing us, sharing with us, one way to welcome a new baby to country. However it's not just baby business, but also mother, grandmother and aunty business.

Respect, love and tradition embues every page as we follow the rituals of a smoking ceremony of welcome.

I loved this a lot.
I loved it for its celebration of new life, diversity and belonging. For its pride in our heritage and traditions. For its openness in sharing personal rituals and beliefs.

It's a book that reminds us that we belong to Country; that it doesn't belong to us. That we should only 'take what we need and no more' then 'give back what you can, and help your Mudgin (family) and Nura (country) when they need it.'

Durag words are scattered naturally throughout the text.

Seymour's beautiful, warm earthy illustrations create tender scenes of family, women and country. The background has a soft, dreamy quality which draws the eye towards the action around the sharp-focused baby on each page.

Jasmine is a member of the Durag Custodian Aboriginal Corporation. Her bio at Magabala Books also says that she is,

a descendant of Maria Lock, daughter of Yarramundi, the Boorooberongal elder who met Governor Phillip on the banks of the Hawkesbury in 1791. Maria was the first Aboriginal woman to be educated by the Blacktown Native Institute. She was married to carpenter and convict, Robert Lock and their union resulted in thousands of descendants who can all trace their Darug heritage back past Yarramundi.

When I was growing up, this kind of Indigenous family history and acknowledgement of local Indigenous heritage did not exist. In certain circles, there was a lament that this information had been lost, but most (white) people didn't see the point of remembering it.

But then colonial family history research took off during the 1980's, as so many of us searched for our convict ancestors and the UK county of our forebears. Suddenly (white) Australians were proud of their convict past as they (re)claimed a small patch of the UK as an ancestral 'home'.

It feels like it has taken a lot longer for pride in our Indigenous history to also be embraced. It is still an evolving idea in many circles. But books like this can help all of us to acknowledge, understand and respect the traditional heritage of our land. To learn some of the language, to have a window into another culture, to share a moment together - theses are all tiny, baby steps towards truth telling, reconciliation and treaty.

Sorry Day (2018) by Coral Vass and illustrated by Dub Leffler tells two stories told side by side - a modern story set on the lawns of Parliament House on the day that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised for the Stolen Generation.

The older story provides a window into what it felt like to be stolen.

"Hide. HIDE!!" 

"White men  

The children trembled."

I have read sections of the Stolen Generation report and feel that I am open to seeing things from a perspective other than my own, but it is still confronting to realise that Aboriginal children today, and of old, automatically viewed all white men as people who they should fear. 

Dub Lefller is from the Bigambul and Mandandanji people of SW Queensland. His illustrations include a sepia style for the historic story, while the modern story is in full colour. A double page spread opens up at the end to combine the two styles. A timeline with the relevant facts and figures about the Stolen Generation and the events leading up to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology are provided at the end.

The book includes a foreward by Lee Joachim, Chair of Rumbalara Aboriginal Coop and Director of Research & Development for Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation.

It was Shortlisted for the 2019 CBCA Eve Pownall Award and a Winner of the Speech Pathologist Book of the Year 2018.

*August Update* Sorry Day won the Eve Pownall Information Book Award.

Little Bird's Day (2019) by Sally Morgan is a gorgeous picture book about a day in the life of a bird. Sally belongs to the Palyku people from the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia and is best known for her 1987 autobiography, My Place.

However, for me, Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr's stunning illustrations are the main attraction of this book. Malibirr is a Yolgu man from the Ganalbingu clan who has recently been awarded the Inaugural Kestin Indigenous Illustrator's Award. His bio on Magabala Books also says that he,

is known for his paintings of Ganalbingu song lines as well as his mother’s Wägilak clan stories. Along with other members of his clan, Johnny keeps culture strong through painting, song, dance, and ceremony. Johnny lives in the remote East Arnhem Land community of Gapuwiyak, where he is Chair of the Gapuwiyak Culture and Arts Aboriginal Corporation.

The illustrations have a strong connection to nature, using a traditional colour palate and styles. The sense of movement on each page is gracefully achieved, with a pleasing balance of details and open space.

It's a lovely nature story for a 3+ audience, that lends itself to simple dramatisation and dance moves.

Welcome to Country (2016) by Aunty Joy Murphy and illustrated by Lisa Kennedy is one of my favourite picture books of the moment. It not only feels worthy (of awards and recognition) and timely, but it's also sensitively and beautifully executed.

The initial 'welcome to the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri People' is presented in both English and Wurundjeri language, with a another reminder to 'only take from this land what you can give back.' The book celebrates Indigenous language, culture and art and is another example of a book naturally introducing the local language to a wider audience. 

Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin AO is an Elder of the Wurundjeri People of Melbourne and surrounds. She is a storyteller who 'is passionate about using story to bring people together and as a conduit for understanding Aboriginal culture.'

Lisa Kennedy is a descendant of the Trawlwoolway People on the north-east coast of Tasmania.

It was then my challenge to find a way to express this living culture in a contemporary way in my illustrations. I wanted to show the physical and the spiritual connection to Country and Ancestors using imagery accessible to a wide audience.

• Winner of the Environment Award for Children’s Literature
• Winner Educational Publishing Award
• CBCA Notable Book 
• Short-listed for the CBCA Crichton Award 
• Short-listed NSW Premier’s Literary Award
• Short-listed Speech Pathology Book of the Year Award

Land of the Echidna People (2019) by Percy Trezise and illustrated by Mary Lavis.

I wasn't completely sure about including this book in my collection of Indigenous picture books. Neither Percy Trezise (1923 - 2005) nor Mary Lavis are Aboriginal. However in the end I decided that the story behind this book was interesting and a good conversation starter around the whole cultural appropriation topic.

The Land of the Echidna People is the eighth book in Trezise's Journey to the Great Lakes series,
first begun in 1996. The eight books follow Jacinda and his younger sister Lande, brother Jalmor and dog, Lasca after a violent storm has carried them away from them family. The series follows their journey through various countries as they try to make their way home. Many of the books contain maps that allow the reader to follow the path they took. The stories are full of adventure, danger, belonging and family.

The first seven books were illustrated by Trezise himself. Sadly he died before finishing the last book. Mary Lavis offered her services to the family to finish Trezise's work to bring this series to an end.

• Home of the Kadimakara People (1996)
• Land of the Dingo People (1997)
• Land of the Emu People (1997)
• Land of the Snake People (2000)
• Land of the Brolga People (2001)
• Land of the Magpie Goose People (2001)
• Land of the Kangaroo People (2002)
• Land of the Echidna People (2019)

Trezise devoted his life to Aboriginal causes. In 1956 he moved to Cairns as a pilot to be closer to Aboriginal people. Discoveries of rock art during the 60's by road crews, encouraged Trezise to use his aerial skills to search for other 'lost' rock art areas. One of the most significant finds was the Quinkin Rock Art, in Cape York Peninsula, the oldest art site in the world. He helped the local Aboriginal community to advocate for this area to become a national park administered by them. He also purchased two properties to preserve and protect further rock art sites.

There is absolutely no doubt that Trezise's heart was in the right place. Various interviews and articles, including an Australia Story episode on ABC TV, show his life-long passion and support of Aboriginal culture and art. His collaborative friendship with Mornington Island illustrator, Dick Roughsey (1920 - 1985), gave him access to many of the 'old people'. He was granted the Aboriginal name, Gubbaladalli from the people of Mornington Island Mission.

After his death, two of his sons have continued his work in the area.

I suspect if Roughsey had still be alive, they would have collaborated on this series of myth-making stories, as they did with so many books before. My understanding is that they shared creative ideas and painting techniques. Trezise's interest in Aboriginal culture was not just a passing thing. It was a passion and belief that guided his whole life.

Reading Race: Aboriginality in Australian Children's Literature (2001) by Clare Bradford. She discusses at length the 'complex cultural politics' evident in the Trezise/Roughsey relationship. She claims that their work sits somewhere between an older style assimilationist approach and the contemporary retelling of traditional stories, 'caught between times and between changing practices.'

She sees Trezise's post-Roughsey work as 'redolent not so much of appropriation...as of a set of formulae not too remote from Aboriginal traditions to function effectively for contemporary readers.'

Wilam: A Birrarung Story (2019) is another story by Aunty Joy Murphy with Andrew Kelly, illustrated by Lisa Kennedy.

Andrew Kelly is a Yarra Riverkeeper, who had this to say about the writing process with Aunty Joy on the Booktopia Q&A site,

The writing of the book was a process of bouncing words and ideas between myself and Aunty Joy. The first draft of the manuscript had many more words and it was a matter of whittling them down to a sufficient elegance. The other part I really liked was working with Aunty Joy on the language and creating a seamless flow between Woiwurrung words and English.

I love this trend in embracing and sharing Indigenous languages in a natural way. We should all be growing up, hearing and using Aboriginal words, not just in the names of our country towns and rivers, but in songs and everyday speech.

Aunty Joy Murphy and Andrew Kelly use traditional language to name many known animals and natural things (like rain, tree, creek, river etc) in a beautifully illustrated story about the water cycle.

As ngua rises, Bunjil soars over mountain ash, flying higher and higher as the wind warms. Below, Birrarung begins its long winding path down to palem warreen. Wilam – home.

Kennedy has merged scenes of modern life into and around her central images of the natural environment. Gorgeous end papers bookend the story.

A glossary at the back provides definitions for all the Indigenous words used throughout the story.

My Culture and Me (2019) by Gregg Dreise.

Dreise is a descendant of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi tribes, from south-west Queensland and north-west New South Wales. As the Penguin blurb says, this is indeed a 'heartfelt and stirring story of cherishing and sustaining Indigenous cultures.'

One of the trends in children's picture books at the moment, is pride in Indigenous culture. They encourage Indigenous readers to reclaim, embrace and celebrate their cultural heritage. They allow non-Indigenous readers a window into another way of life. These stories embody a wonderful sense of sharing, acceptance and understanding with all Australians. 

It is such a long overdue idea that I'm hopeful this new trend is just one more signpost along the way to a more meaningful reconciliation process and a more 'fair and truthful relationship'* between us all. 

*Uluru Statement From the Heart

As an early childhood teacher in a previous life, I know the importance of the early years in laying down the foundation stones for a strong sense of self. Books like this help promote positive images and pride in culture. It is so important to have heroes and role models that look like you and sound like you in books. 

My one concern is that most Aboriginal children in Australia today, now live in cities and large urban areas, whereas most of these books are set in rural or remote areas. Country is such an important concept in Aboriginal culture and this shines through in all these books. But it's not only important to see people who look like you in books and stories, it's also important to have stories that reflect the lives you actually live in the places you are living them. 

Which leads me very nicely into Black Cockatoo (2018) by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler

Mia is a 13-year-old girl from a remote community in the Kimberley. She is saddened by the loss of her brother as he distances himself from the family. She feels powerless to change the things she sees around her, until one day she rescues her totem animal, the dirran black cockatoo, and soon discovers her own inner strength.

When I was teaching, the Aboriginal children in my class, were mostly being cared for by their grandparents. In fact, I can only think of one family where this was not the case. Stories that reflect this situation are important for a sense of belonging, but also for opening up the wider discussion around the why's and wherefore's of this reality.

Black Cockatoo is a short story that oozes themes of connection, standing up for yourself, freedom (for birds, animals and humans), family, totem, animal rights, respect and complicated family relationships. It's contemporary, real-life nature is suitable for 10+ readers.

Jaru words are used throughout the story.

The story includes evocative black and white paintings, mostly of the cockatoo. There is a glossary of indigenous terms used in the story at the back of the book.

Carl Merrison is a Jaru man from Halls Creek. Carl was nominated for Australian of the Year in 2016.

His partner, Hakea Hustler was a high school English teacher at Halls Creek District High School. She is committed to Indigenous education with a particular focus on 'school engagement, English language and story as learning, understanding and empowerment.'

Their book has been Shortlisted for the 2019 ABIA's Small Publishers' Children's Book of the Year and the 2019 CBCA Younger Readers Book of the Year.

I had planned on including Young Dark Emu: A Truer History (2019) by Bruce Pascoe in this post, but 

1. it's first print run sold out in a matter of days, so I've been waiting for the reprint to turn up to read it properly. 

2. this post is already too long and 

3. I suspect Pascoe's book will require a longer response than the few paragraphs I could give it here!

For now I will leave you with the words of Michael Warren in his 2012 thesis, Exclusive Inclusion: Aboriginality, The 'Juggernaut' of Modernity and Australian National Identity. 

Contradiction is indeed a feature common to the relationship between Aboriginal people and white Australia.

Since creativity evolves from and is inspired by the contradictions in our lives, I'd say we can look forward to many more engaging, confronting Indigenous stories in the years to come.

The End We Start From From by Megan Hunter

There is a lot of space in Megan Hunter's The End We Start From. Known as a poet until now, her debut novel is written almost like a poem, but not quite. It's not prose as we know it either. It's fragmentary, somewhere in between.

Stark, sparse paragraphs, poetic words, no names, just letters of the alphabet. Everything is pared back to the bare minimum to create a startling story about the end of times. The End We Start From got under my skin.

Hunter's choice of epigraph was a poem by T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets,

What we call the beginning is often the end

And to make an end is to make a beginning.

The end is where we start from. 

She then shows us the end of our known world (via an environmentally disastrous flood that covers London) through the eyes of a young woman about to give birth to her first child. The story reads almost like her journal entries. Brief snatches of time captured through the lens of baby love.

Many reviewers talked about the not-so-new idea of comparing first-time mothering with the end of the world. Curiously it wasn't this particular idea that captured my attention. I was intrigued by how this baby (and the other newborns) will be growing up in this new world which will be the only world that they know and understand. They won't have to accommodate or change or adapt to this new world order; it is their world. They won't spend their lives thinking about and regretting the wonderful old ways and wishing it could be like that again. They won't be climate change deniers or head-in-the-sander's; they will know, they will be living with it as a fact. They will belong to this new world. This is our hope and the way forward.

The story is contained not only within the carefully chosen words but also in the gaps and all that is unspoken. Hunter mentioned several times that she was trying to find a way to move between poetry and prose to find a form that suited her. It worked for me just fine.

London. Uninhabitable. A list of boroughs, like the shipping forecast, their names suddenly as perfect and tender as the names of children.

The cupboards reveal themselves more by the day: their wooden backs, the greying corners we never used to see.

Days are thin now, stretched so much that time pours through the. 

Z has learnt to smile. He has cracked with it. The smiles built up inside him, R and me smiling madly into his face until it couldn’t hold any more. It cracked, and out came his smile, urgent, almost demented.

Hunter also interspersed these fragments with flood mythologies. They reminded us that since the beginning of recorded time, humans have been grappling with the chaos that mother nature throws our way. We make up stories to help us make sense of the unknown. It made me wonder what stories would then be made up for future generations about this disaster.

My only quibble was the ending. However so many authors these days fail to capture a satisfying end note that I'm becoming used to that feeling of let down after a great read. So much thought seems to go into the epigraph but the search for an equally apt epilogue is not always given the same care.

Benedict Cumberbatch's company has apparently bought the movie rights to the book.

A shout-out to the brilliant cover design by Naomi Clark and illustration by Kazuko Nomoto. I picked this book up for the first time purely thanks to the lovely, lovely cover.

1/20 #20booksofsummer (winter)
16℃ in Sydney
20℃ in Northern Ireland

My Summer Reading Plans #1

The best laid plans and all that jazz.

This summer has been a bit of bummer when it comes to reading. Normally I love the lazy summer days as a great excuse to devour books by the bucket load - by the pool, on the beach or relaxing under the fan or air-con. But so far this summer, I've only had one whole day to do just that.

Life has continued it's hectic pace, with no let up in sight for the time being. *sigh*

My chapter a day #LesMisReadalong has been perfect and easy to fit into this new world order. But I miss finishing a book.

So I've been reading and reviewing various picture books on Goodreads to help me feel like I'm making progress (and to help me sound knowledgeable at work!)

Since I have no book reviews on the horizon (and no likelihood of a book review in the near future), I thought a picture book update was in order to keep these pages active.

My biggest find over Christmas, was the latest Rory the Dinosaur book. I fell head over heels in love with Rory and his dad and quickly hunted down the two earlier Rory books by Liz Climo.

Rory the Dinosaur Needs a Christmas Tree

I had resisted the charms of Rory and his dad - the simple drawings on the covers did not draw me in - but there was something about the joyful look on Rory's face as he was being tossed in the air by his Santa hat wearing dad that warmed the cockles of my heart this Christmas. 

So I opened the book. 

Oh, oh, oh, what an utter delight I found inside! 

How Climo manages to convey sooooo much emotion with little dot eyes is beyond me, but I'm completely heartbroken for Rory who realises he has to make do this Christmas without a Christmas tree. He and his devoted dad do everything they can to make it happen, but it doesn't work. The look on Rory's face as he goes to bed gazing at the spot in the loungeroom (with longing) where the tree should be just breaks my heart every single time I read the book (yes, I have read it multiple times this past month!)
Oh, oh, oh, but Rory's dad!!! 

He wins the best dad in the whole wide world award for how he solves the problem.
It's a delightful laugh out loud, hug the book to your chest moment. You then immediately want to share the book with as many people as possible, to share the joy of Christmas with as many people as possible. 

I am a doubter no longer.

Rory The Dinosaur: Me and My Dad

I'm now an official FAN of Rory and his marvellous dad. 

My love affair started with the more recent Christmas book, which to my mind, is the best of the three books, but this, the original story, is pretty fabulous too, I'm just not sure I can completely condone such helicopter parenting!

Rory The Dinosaur Wants a Pet 

It's hard not to love Rory and his dad.

Their simple lives, so delicately drawn by Climo, are genuinely touching and heartwarming but Rory comes across as being a little bit too simple in this story about finding a pet.

I wasn't sure whether I wanted to laugh or cry at Rory's solution to the pet problem. Perhaps his dad's helicoptering parenting style (as seen in the first book) isn't allowing Rory to make good choices for himself? 

The solution is clever and tragic at the same time. 

Making do, compromise and acceptance are all good traits to develop, but some better decision making skills might help Rory achieve his goals 

I know, I know, it's a picture book for kids, right?
But I'm weirdly that invested in Rory and his dad, that I want things to turn out okay for both of them. I sincerely hope Climo is writing and illustrating book four as we speak!

Here We Are: Notes For Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers

A great way to start the new year! 

It's hard not to be seduced by the special whimsy and charm of Oliver Jeffers but now that he's a dad, the aww factor has multiplied to the nth degree.

Here We Are is a love letter to his new born babe, showing him his own particular place is this big wide, wonderful world. Jeffers trademark humour and quirkiness abounds at every point and his illustrations provide the adult reader just as much pleasure as the younger readers.

Jeffers fans will also recognise several of his regular characters making cameo appearances. 

I can see this gorgeous picture book being given to many a newborn/new parent.
A classic in the making.

Australian picture books will feature in the next update post later this week.

What do you do when life gets in the way of your usual reading pattern?

Bogtrotter and Our Baby by Margaret Wild

I don't know how she does it, but Margaret Wild is a publishing powerhouse.

At the moment she has two, very different, new release picture books on the shelves.

Bogtrotter is illustrated by Judith Rossell (who recently published her own illustrated chapter book, Whispering-By-Sea, to much acclaim).

Bogtrotter is a are green, rotund, routine-loving creature who likes to run. But his life feels incomplete...until he meets a wise old frog who gently challenges his routines.

Gradually, Bogtrotter tries new things and adds new experiences to his daily rituals. With frog's encouragement he learns to appreciate the beauty of the world around him and make new friends.

Rossell's whimsical water colours add a dreamy quality to Wild's story.

Wild has created a lovely story about bravery, change and the benefits of trying new things.

Our Baby is illustrated by Karen Blair and once again sees Wild celebrating diversity and daily rituals.

Many of the current selection of new baby books focus on the issue of jealousy. Which is a valid issue for many young children.

But many older siblings embrace the newest member of their family wholeheartedly and it's lovely to see a picture book that draws on this experience instead.

Wild and Blair casually highlight all the different types of families and all the different types of babies.
Wild uses inclusive language to describe family routines and the various actions, likes and dislikes of babies.

Blair's illustrations add an extra layer of humour and authenticity. 

Our Baby is a gentle, loving look at sibling relationships filled with wonder, curiosity and delight.

New Baby Books

A number of Australian author/illustrators have put out beautiful baby books in the past few months. I thought it was time to highlight my favourites.

Alison Lester uses lovely soft pastel water colours to illustrate her Kissed by the Moon book. The story within is a simple lilting text full of wishes for the new baby...

"May you, my baby,
sleep softly at night,
and when dawn lights the world,
may you wake up to birdsong."

I love the gentle rhythm, the attention to nature and the hopeful attitude that flows through the poem.

On the Day You Were Born by Margaret Wild & Ron Brooks is illustrated in a much brighter, more vibrant fashion. Earthy colours dominate as daddy takes his new baby exploring.
The world is seen through the new baby's eyes, or perhaps filtered through the new father's love.

This is a story of inclusion, sharing and togetherness.

"My daddy said,
on the day you were born...

...I put you back in your mother's arms,
and that night we were the world,
the three of us together."

To complete my roll call of Australian grand dames of children's literature we have Mem Fox & Emma Quay and Baby Bedtime.

This is a story suffused with baby love from start to finish. Quay also uses her gorgeous pencil/pastel drawings of a mother elephant with her baby to help the love flow from page to page.

Fox has created a gentle, easy rhyme to share with your baby.

"I could gaze at you all night.
I could whisper lots of stories till the darkness turns to light."

The first 2 books are probably more for the new parents, than the baby to start with, but the Mem Fox book (along with her other baby favourite, Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes) is perfect to share with baby from the beginning.

If you'd like to see my full list of books to share with your baby - click here.

Books about New Babies

A number of friends, as well as family members are having babies this year.

It's all very exciting.

But it has given me cause to think about all the wonderful picture books out there to help siblings come to terms with the birth of a new baby.

Below is a list to get you started.

Brand New Baby by Bob Graham

Hey Hippopotamus Do Babies Eat Cake Too? by Hazel Edwards

I Love My Baby Brother by Anna Walker

I Love My Baby Sister by Anna Walker

I Want A Sister by Tony Ross

It's Quacking Time by Martin Waddell

Our Baby by Margaret Wild

Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats

Queenie the Bantam by Bob Graham

Sophie and the New Baby by Laurence Anholt

Spot's Baby Sister by Eric Hill

There's a House Inside My Mummy by Giles Andreae & Vanessa Cabban

There's Going to Be a Baby by John Burningham & Helen Oxenbury

Za Za's Baby Brother by Lucy Cousins