Down the Hole - PB by Edna Tantjingu Williams; Eileen Wani Wingfield; Kunyi June-Anne McInerney (Illustrator)In the stark desert mining town of Coober Pedy when the government people came to take the fair-skinned Aboriginal children away they didn’t always find them. They were ‘down the hole up the tree across the sandhills . . . running from the State. This beautifully illustrated children’s picture book is a true story. Includes informative historical and cultural supplementary material.‘A visual reading treat . . . a wonderful picture book.
Call Number: 362.7089991 WIL
ISBN: 9781864650242
Publication Date: 2000
The Drover's Boy - PB by Ted Egan; Robert R. IngpenThis powerful and unusual picture book ostensibly presents a song about an Australian drover mourning for the death of an Aboriginal employee killed by a bolting horse and tells of the time when it was illegal for whites and Aborigines to marry, and how such relationships were hidden.
Call Number: 782.42 EGA
ISBN: 9780850918403
Publication Date: 1997
Solid rock - PB by Shane Howard“Solid Rock” is a big song. You wouldn’t know that if you only heard the words and didn’t hear the music but you do get the idea if you read the words and see paintings of the place where the song comes from. Uluru, the great rock at the heart of Australia. “Solid Rock is like a spear that struck and held. It’s a passionate, angry song about the great silence masking fundamental truths of Australian history that won an enduring place in Australian popular culture.
Call Number: 828.307 HOW
ISBN: 9780980564327
Publication Date: 2010
Took the children away - PB by Archie RoachTook the Children Away is a moving indictment of the treatment of indigenous children from the 'Stolen Generation' and a song which 'struck a chord' not only among the wider Aboriginal community, but also nationally.
Featuring he heart wrenching lyrics of Archie Roach and the classic artwork of his late wife and soul-mate Ruby Hunter, this book is destined to become a masterpiece. Renowned Queensland artist, Peter Hudson has adorned the book with his stunning lands capes of South West Victoria - Archie's traditional lands.
Call Number: 828.307 ROA
ISBN: 9780980564341
Publication Date: 2010
Jandamarra - PB by Mark Greenwood; Terry Denton (Illustrator)He emerged from the cave of bats with the name given to him by his people. He was Jandamarra - a man of power who could appear and disappear like a ghost. Set in the Kimberley region in northwest Australia, this is the story of a young warrior born to lead. To the settlers, he was an outlaw to be hunted. To the Bunuba, he was a courageous defender of his country. Mark Greenwood's text and Terry Denton's watercolour illustrations bring to life this story of conflict and divided loyalties - giving a unique insight into an extraordinary man and a tragic but important part of Australia's frontier history.
Call Number: 994.1403 JAN
ISBN: 9781742375700
Publication Date: 2013
A Is for Aunty - PB by Elaine RussellThis book was inspired by aboriginal artist Elaine Russell's childhood memories of her family and their life on the mission at Murrin Bridge. Each letter of the alphabet takes the reader on a different journey through the daily events of Elaine's childhood - being chased by emus, billycart racing, looking after her pet possum, picking quandongs.
Call Number: 994.44 RUS
ISBN: 9780733308727
Publication Date: 2000
Picture books
Fair Skin Black Fella - PB by Renee FogortyThe story of Mary, a young girl who lives on a dusty cattle station. When she is shunned by the other girls because of her fair skin, Old Ned, one of the community Elders, speaks up for her. With words of wisdom, he teaches the girls that Aboriginal identity transcends skin colour and that family, community, country, and culture is what being Aboriginal is really about.
Call Number: F FOG
ISBN: 9781921248146
Publication Date: 2010
The lost girl - PB by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Leanne TobinThe girl had lost her way. She had wandered away from the mothers, the aunties and the grandmothers, from the fathers and the uncles and the grandfathers. Who will show her the way home?
Call Number: F KWA
ISBN: 9781921977060
Publication Date: 2017
Magic boomerang - PB by Frane Lessac and Mark GreenwoodThe wonders of Australia are brought to life by an enchanted boomerang. From swimming with fish in the dazzling blue waters of the Great Barrier Reef to the surprise discovery of a crocodile in the still waters of a Northern Territory river; from the beauty of Uluru at sunset to the tranquility of an outback billabong where scores of animals play, Napuru and his friend Cody are transported on a magical trip, discovering the wonders of Australia and its flora and fauna. This exhilarating tale by Mark Greenwood can't help but enthral all children while teaching them the uniqueness of Australia.
Call Number: F LES
ISBN: 9780957955127
Publication Date: 1994
The rabbits - PB by John Marsden & Shaun TanUses rabbits, a species introduced to Australia, to represent an allegory of the arrival of Europeans in Australia and the widespread environmental destruction caused by man throughout the continent.
Call Number: F MAR
ISBN: 9780850918786
Publication Date: 1998
Kick it to me - PB by Neridah McMullinIn 1846, 10-year-old Tom Wills was living in Moyston in the Gariwerd Grampions near an indigenous tribe called the Djab Wurrung. Befriended by the local children, Tom learned their language and joined in their games of Marn-grook football.
These childhood years laid the foundation for a passionate interest in sport and a belief that Australia could have its own football code. In 1858 Wills wrote a letter to a local Victorian newspaper suggesting that a football club be formed. He went on to become the first hero of Australian Rules and one of the most influential figures in the game, helping to form the rules, officiate, administrate and play the game.
This charmingly illustrated picture book captures the first invitation for Tom to join the Djab Wurrung boys in their Marn-grook game. Tom is amazed by the boys’ enthusiasm and energy, especially when Balun leaps high onto Jirra’s shoulders to snatch the ball from midair.
Kick it to Me is a wonderful story for young sport fans. There is some question in historical records regarding the role Marn-grook played in inspiring Wills’ passion for creating an Australian football code, but his childhood years influenced by the Djab Wurrung tribe are undeniable and the story is a fascinating example of a blending of cultures in the formative years of Australian sport.
Call Number: F MCM
ISBN: 9780980794861
Publication Date: 2011
Sisi and the cassowary - PB by Arone Raymond MeeksWhen Sisi goes with her mother and sisters to the waterhole, she swims too far away. Chased by a crocodile she surfaces in an unfamiliar place, and can’t find her way home. Soon, she comes across a boy collecting berries and agrees to help him with his task if he will then help her to get home. However, when the time comes for the boy to fulfill his part of the agreement, he disappears, and Sisi is joined by a large bird. The cassowary gets Sisi to climb on his back, and he gives her a ride home, where she is reunited with her mother. Sisi realises then that the cassowary and the boy were in fact one. A traditional tale is made complete with the rich traditional paintings of Arone Raymond Meeks, who uses browns, ochres, greens and blues to capture the Dreamtime essence of his story. This is both an excellent sharing book and a useful educational tool for studies of Aboriginal art and dreamtime stories.
Call Number: F MEE
ISBN: 9781865045245
Publication Date: 2002
Picture books
You and me - PB by Leonie Norrington & Dee HuxleyAt the edge of a northern Australian city, where river and mangroves meet the sea, two young boys join Uncle Tobias on the beach for a day of fishing and hunting. They listen eagerly to his stories about the old days.
Call Number: F NOR
ISBN: 9781876288792
Publication Date: 2007
Two mates - PB by Melanie PrewettTwo mates is the true story of the special mateship between two boys who have grown up together in Broome in Australia’s North West. Jack is Indigenous and Raf is a non-Indigenous boy who has Spina bifida. The boys share their daily life as they search for hermit crabs, go hunting for barni, fish for salmon, explore the markets, eat satays and dress up as superheros. The fact that Raf is in a wheelchair is only revealed at the end of the story.
Call Number: F PRE
ISBN: 9781921248450
Publication Date: 2012
The Shack That Dad Built - PB by Elaine RussellWhen Elaine Russell was five, her dad built the family a shack just outside the Aboriginal mission at La Perouse in Sydney. In The Shack that Dad Built, Elaine illustrates what life was like for an indigenous kid on the urban fringes. Her recollections range from the happy memories of hide-and-seek in the sand dunes and hunting for bush tucker to more bittersweet memories, such as her "Saddest Christmas Ever" (when the charity responsible for distributing presents to the local Aboriginal kids ran out of toys just as Elaine reached the head of the queue). Elaine's colourful, painterly illustrations vividly recreate these childhood experiences.
Call Number: F RUS
ISBN: 9781877003943
Publication Date: 2005
Stolen girl - PB by Trina Saffioti & Norma MacDonaldStolen Girl is a fictionalised account of the now universally known story of the Stolen Generation and tells of an Aboriginal girl taken from her family and sent to a children's home. Each night she sings, and dreams of her mother and the life they once shared - of sitting on the verandah of their corrugated-iron home, cooking damper and hunting goanna. But each morning she is woken by the bell to the harsh reality of the children's home, until finally one day she puts into action her carefully crafted plan - unlocking the door and taking her first step back toward home. Stolen Girl gives young readers an insight into the life of a child taken away from everything they know into an alien world without love. It captures the depth of emotion that was felt by thousands of Australians during this dark chapter in the nation's history.
Call Number: F SAF
ISBN: 9781921248252
Publication Date: 2011
Marngrook : a long ago story of Aussie Rules - PB by Titta Secombe & Grace FieldingThis fictionalised story of Marngrook takes place at the foot of Duwul, the highest mountain in the spectacular Grampians region of north-west Victoria, the traditional country of people from the Djab-Wurrung and Jardwadjali clans. When Wawi, a clan Elder, notices that his son, Jaara, and the other children only have old toys to play with, he goes for a walk to see what he can find. Wawi comes across a banya (ring-tailed possum) and has an idea. He kills the banya and skins it, and sews up the skin with a tendon from a kangaroo tail. Wawi stuffs the skin with emu feathers and moulds it into the shape of an emu egg. Jaara and the children play with the marngrook every day and spend hours practising their kicks. One day, when Jaara kicks the marngrook far into the bush, he finds himself lost and has to bear the consequences of not listening to his Elders.
Call Number: F SEC
ISBN: 9781921248443
Publication Date: 2012
The shy mala - PB by Liliana StaffordIn the central desert of Australia north of Alice, Warla, a tiny shy mala sat under a bush. What was that ? Danger!" The Marla is a small nocturnal marsupial that inhabits the spinifex and hummock grasslands of the central desert. The numbers of Mala have been in decline since the 1990's due to habitat destruction and predation. The shy Mala tells the true story of how the Warlpiri people rescued the Marla and took them to safety where they now live in a protected environment.