Scaly-Tailed Possum and Echidna


Book Description

Passed down from generation to generation by the Kandiwal Aboriginal community, this engaging story explains how the scaly-tailed possum got its scaly tail and how the echidna—one of Australia’s most unusual mammals—got its spikes. Vividly illustrated by Kandiwal children, this traditional tale is not only entertaining but also educational as it provides photographs and descriptions of these two iconic Australian animals.




Scaly-tailed Possum and Echidna


Book Description

This engaging story tells how the possum got its scaly-tail and the echidna got its spikes. Passed down from generation to generation, this is a traditional Dreamtime story. Scaly-tailed Possum and Echidna features two iconic Australian animals; the scaly-tailed possum, found only in a remote part of the Kimberley, and one of Australias most unusual mammals, the echidna. Vividly illustrated with paintings on silk, this Dreamtime story includes detailed descriptions and photographs of the scaly-tailed possum and the echidna. It also tells of the Wandjina, the Creator and Great Spirit, an important part of Aboriginal dreamtime stories from the Kimberley.




The Echidna and the Shade Tree


Book Description

This book is based on a story told by Mona Green, of the Jaru people, to Aboriginal children living in Halls Creek, Western Australia. The illustrations are adapted from the children's original paintings of the story. Mona Green said, "When my husband was a stockman, we used to go out to Nongra Lake to see if the cattle had enough water. I had heard the story about this giant lake, and I think that from the air it would look like a tree with roots stretching out."




The Little Corroboree Frog


Book Description

The Little Corroborree Frog is a wonderful children's story that gently introduces the serious plight of one of Australia's most endangered species. Jet the corroboree frog is happily taking care of the tadpole ponds when the water starts to dry up and his family's eggs are threatened. He goes to visit Grandmother Frog to find out why and she tells him all about the summers that are getting hotter every year and the careless humans who are leaving their rubbish around. When a boy and his father arrive to go fishing in the nearby river, Jet seizes the opportunity to show them how humans are threatening the very existence of his species.




The Rainbow Serpent


Book Description

Recounts the aborigine story of creation featuring Goorialla, the great Rainbow Serpent.




Mammalian Sexuality


Book Description

The first detailed account of post-copulatory sexual selection and the evolution of reproduction in mammals.




Free Diving


Book Description

Free Diving is a poignant tribute to the Indigenous men and women who worked in the pearling industry as 'free divers' in the late nineteenth century in Western Australia. In a practice known as 'blackbirding' (forced unpaid labour), European pearl lugger owners used Indigenous people to dive for pearl shell. With no protective suits, the divers faced threats such as decompression sickness (known as the 'bends'), shark attack, or of being swept away by huge tides. At sea for weeks at a time, there was also the risk of the luggers being shipwrecked in cyclones that formed off the coast. The lyrical narrative is based on the celebrated song 'Free Diving' by singer-songwriter Lorrae Coffin. It sensitively reflects the emotional journey of a young man who leaves family and country to work on a lugger with Japanese and Malay divers by his side. Bronwyn Houston's illustrations are a deep-sea celebration that illuminate both the glory of the ocean and the extreme dangers encountered by the free divers. Free Diving is a fictionalised story of a young man lost at sea. Age range 7 to 10




Benny Bungarra's Big Bush Clean-Up


Book Description

An environmental tale for Early Childhood and Lower Primary readers that shows how animals are affected by rubbish left in their habitat by humans. Ambelin Kwaymullina's illustrations are an explosion of colour and cleverly show the perils faced by our native animals. When the animals work as a team to come up with ways to look after the bush, they decide to ask the humans to REDUCE, RECYCLE and use RUBBISH BINS. But it is Benny Bungarra who has the bright idea of a BIG BUSH CLEAN-UP so the animals can also help look after the bush.




Young Dark Emu


Book Description

*Longlisted for the CBCA 2020 Eve Pownall Award for Information Books* *Winner of the Booksellers' Choice 2020 Children's Book of the Year Award* *Shortlisted for the 2020 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature* *Shortlisted for the ABIA Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7-12)* *Shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2020: Children's* Age range 10+. The highly-anticipated junior version of Bruce Pascoe’s multi award-winning book. Bruce Pascoe has collected a swathe of literary awards for Dark Emu and now he has brought together the research and compelling first person accounts in a book for younger readers. Using the accounts of early European explorers, colonists and farmers, Bruce Pascoe compellingly argues for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer label for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. He allows the reader to see Australia as it was before Europeans arrived — a land of cultivated farming areas, productive fisheries, permanent homes, and an understanding of the environment and its natural resources that supported thriving villages across the continent. Young Dark Emu — A Truer History asks young readers to consider a different version of Australia’s history pre-European colonisation. 'Adapted for a younger readership from Pascoe's best-selling Dark Emu, this exquisitely illustrated picture book will transform how we see Australian history. Bruce uses the diaries of early explorers and colonists to show us the Australia where Aboriginal people built houses, dams and wells and farmed the land.' — Fiona Stager, The Courier Mail




The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name


Book Description

Perfect for fans of Alma and How She Got Her Name and Your Name is a Song, this picture book encourages readers to take up space and support each other with respect and kindness When Zimdalamashkermishkada starts at a new school, he knows he’ll have to introduce himself to lots of new people. He trips over his long name and decides to shrink it down to the shorter, simpler Zim. The nickname works fine for introductions, but deep down, it doesn’t feel right. It’s not until a new friend sees him for who he truly is that Zimdalamashkermishkada finds the confidence to step proudly into his long name. The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name is a warm and uplifting story that encourages young readers to celebrate their authentic selves, and proclaims that no one should ever have to shrink themselves to fit in.