A Grain of Hope
’A Grain of Hope’ by Nicola Philp and illustrated by Aldy Aguirre is an important story about asylum seekers and detention in Australia. Nicola Philp’s inspiration to write this story was driven by several influences including her penpal on Manus Island. Another motivation for writing this story was in response to a comment Nicola heard […]
Heroes, Rebels and Innovators : Inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from history
Heroes, Rebels and Innovators: Inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People from History by Karen Wyld and illustrated by Jaelyn Biumaiwai contains seven powerful and engaging stories about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women from the early contact era. Each story is told in two parts. The first is lyrical (written in verses, […]
Worse Things
‘Worse Things’ by Sally Murphy with illustrations by Sarah Davis is a touching story about connections and belonging. This is written in free verse and tells the story of three characters, Blake, Jolene and Amed who all enjoy different sports and attend the same high school in a fictional town called Cowan. Blake played Aussie […]
Eureka! A Story of the Goldfields
Eureka! A Story of the Goldfields by Mark Wilson explores life for prospectors on the goldfields in Ballarat in the early 1850s. In this book, Molly and her father emigrate from London to work on the bustling gold fields. Upon their arrival they quickly befriend a teenage boy, Chen. Chen left his family in China […]
The Last Bear
‘The Last Bear’ by Hannah Gold and illustrated by Levi Penfold (recommended for ages 8+) is a deeply moving, hopeful and inspiring story about eleven year old April, who travels with her father, a scientist, to a remote Arctic Island, Bear Island, to live for six months during the northern summer. His job is to […]
The Imagineer
The Imagineer by Christopher Cheng and illustrated by Lucia Masciullo is a National Library of Australia publication and is a sheer delight to read. In this book, Penny is an Imagineer. She uses her imagination to plan all sorts of contraptions and gadgets and enjoys sketching, planning and scribbling out all of her creative ideas. […]
Mina and the Whole Wide World – New Release Book from University of Queensland Press (UQP)
Title: Mina and the Whole Wide World Author: Sherryl Clark With art by: Briony Stewart Publisher: University of Queensland Press – UQP Publication date: July 2, 2021 Themes: Refugees, acceptance, friendship, humanity, courage, belonging, poetry Additional notable information: Teachers’ Notes can be downloaded from the UQP website. Mina and the Whole Wide World by Sherryl […]
Grandfather Emu and How the Kangaroo got her Pouch
Over the weekend I had the absolute pleasure of attending the launch of Grandfather Emu and How the Kangaroo got her Pouch which is Book 1 in the Spirit of the Dreaming Series by Rhonda Collard-Spratt, a Yamatji-Noongar woman and Jacki Ferro, published by Boolarong Press. This title is the first of a five-part […]
Books and Digital Stories about Refugees
Hearing stories about refugees allows children to learn about the reasons why people make the agonising choice to flee their countries and put themselves in life threatening situations in a desperate attempt to seek safety. These stories are gateways to important conversations, they have the power to dismantle bias and encourage empathy and inclusiveness. Escape: […]
Escape, One Day We Had to Run
Escape: One Day We Had To Run is a picture bookby Ming and Wah and illustrated by Carmen Vela. This is a powerful collection of twelve true stories of courage and tenacity in harrowing circumstances. These are stories about desperate people fleeing their homes because of war, famine, slavery, intolerance, economic and political upheaval and […]