Indigenous Perspectives into Book Week 2024

“Reading is Magic”. This is the gorgeous theme for this years Children’s Book Week, and we at Riley Callie Resources couldn’t agree more! Books have the ability to transport children to new worlds, introduce them to new ideas and encourage them to expand their perspectives. Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to chat with Jade Goodwin, Gamilaraay children’s book illustrator, Carl Merrison, Jaru/ Kija author, and Elise Goodwin, Teacher/Librarian and owner of Reading Opens Doors, about why we need diverse books in our schools.

One of our favourite take-aways from this session, came from Carl as he shared about why he writes the stories he does. A fundamental principle of why we do what we do here at Riley Callie Resources is that our kids can't be what they can't see. Books are the perfect platform to inspire our kids and show them they can be and do anything.

We have over 200 different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authored and illustrated books here on our website, and there are so many more books out there, with new stories being released every month. The impact that including these diverse books in your libraries can have on students, cannot be understated.

Blak books introduce children to new places - many Indigenous picture books are set in communities or places where the authors / illustrators may be from themselves.. offering readers insight into places they may never have been before.

They also teach about Australia’s First Nations culture; regardless of whether or not a child is themselves Indigenous, the culture and history of our First People’s should be shared with all as it is very importantly, the first culture of this country. In doing so, they break stereotypes and help to build a positive representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. These books remind our children that Indigenous culture and history is long, complex, multi-layered and like any other culture, continually changing.

So with Book Week fast approaching, I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some important First Nations resources around literature and representation. First up are the incredible resources from Learning to Ngangaanha. Learning to Ngangaanha is a hub of information and resources to help primary teachers embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and perspectives in classrooms and schools around Australia. It has been created by Wiradjuri, Ngemba and Paakantji woman and primary teacher, Jordyn Green. On her website you will find teaching notes and activities for various Indigenous books, but my favourite resources are the Blak Book of the Month and her List of Recommended First Nations Books for Children.

‘Blak Book of the Month’ is an initiative to support the inclusion of First Nations children’s books regularly throughout the year in all Australian early learning centres and primary classrooms. It includes details for 12 books, carefully selected to cover a range of First Nations themes/content such as identity, Country, sustainability, bush tucker, the Stolen Generations, wellbeing, art and music; as well as link to all subject areas in the Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework. Books have also been carefully chosen for particular months to align with significant dates within each month, e.g. the book My Lost Mob was chosen for the month of May to coincide with National Sorry Day. You can purchase the book packs from our website, and download the accompanying resource from Learning to Ngangaanha.

In the List of Recommended First Nations Books for Children, you will find a free list of recommended texts for teaching Australian Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories and perspectives in Years K-6. For each text listed, Jordyn has provided the title, authors/illustrators, front cover, recommended year levels, blurb/synopsis and a list of teaching points. For books that she has found teaching notes for, she have provided a button/link to the website or PDF online.

Another resource I wanted to bring your attention to, is Koori Curriculum’s Children's Book Week 2024 Guide. In this useful guide, they explore the nuances between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation when exploring Australian First Nation books and authors in Book Week.

Then we have the incredible Book Week costume challenge released by the team behind Wylah.You can also download a heap of Wylah resources like colouring in pages, and character images which can be used to decorate your library displays.

Finally, I wanted to highlight a few lovely Book Week resources by Miss Gibbs, who has created some lovely downloadable resources to celebrate Book Week. She’s got Book Week bunting and a gorgeous Library Borrowing pack featuring Sheri Skele’s stunning Bigi Ngala Burn Off artwork. Be sure to check out some of her blogs too, where she explores the importance of First Nations books.