diversity—we're all diverse to someone
Ages 2 - 6
Peggy is a really appealing book to read with someone who is mad for chickens, or worried about new experiences, maybe a homebody—they’ll relate to Peggy’s yearning for home, someone who is a bit too busy to notice the joy and fun in life, or deeply attached to a routine - or keen to try new things!
ages 2 years to adult
In The Power and The Glory, Graham Greene wrote: “Hate is a lack of imagination.” Perhaps it follows that love is an abundance of imagination. There’s plenty of both to go around in the world just now, so I suppose the thing to do is notice imagination, encourage it, and let it build.
Sometimes we think of imagination as the stuff of fantasy worlds—The Lord of The Rings scaled down to everyday life, if you like. And that’s a wonderful way to imagine. But John Lennon’s Imagine reminds us that there’s more to imagination.
For the last 21 years—between 27 May when the Say Yes referendum was held, and 3 June when the Mabo Land Rights Case was decided—Australia has held a National Reconciliation Week.
The events of NRW can be a great starting point for conversations about race and reconciliation, and to continue that important work, here are 12 picture books that speak to indigenous life in Australia. These 8 are on my bookshelf now:
ages 6 to grownup
It seems almost dystopian that there was a time when Aboriginal people were not counted in the population statistics. And when the laws and powers that were held by each State government resulted in segregation and broad discrimination...
ages 12 years and up
Hotaka is the tale of the town of Omori-wan, one of the Japanese villages devastated by the 2011 Tsunami and the people who are trying to learn to live after everything is swept away—it's told through the eyes of a young boy, Hotaka....
ages 4 to 12 years
An asylum seeker is someone who is seeking protection as a refugee but hasn’t yet been granted recognised refugee status. So in this story, Ziba and her mother—who have left their own country after war and oppression came to their village—are both asylum seekers and refugees. They're traveling by boat to a new country where they hope to find ‘azadi’—freedom
ages 6 to 12 years
The civil war in Lebanon ran for about 15 years and even though it officially ended almost thirty years ago (in 1990), the IDMC says that there were still about 12,000 displaced people in Lebanon in 2015. This book tells the story of Sami, who is ten years old and has lived with the troubles of the Lebanon Civil War all his life...
ages 8 years and up
The reality of life in a refugee camp is no longer hidden—it permeates news cycles and images— and writings are readily available and plentiful. It's generally understood that a refugee's life is one of fear, heightened emotions, constant change. Still, the individual humanity of the refugees themselves remains hidden....
ages 5 years and up (if you're willing to read out subtitles)
Here’s a wonderful movie that you might like to try for a family movie night. Children of Heaven is an Iranian film about a boy who loses his sister’s only pair of shoes. Their family is poor and their mother is ill so the children conspire to share the boy’s shoes. It’s sad, funny, charming and troubling all at once.
ages 2 to 8 years
One of my uncles was a pilot for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) a few years ago—it was a terribly romantic profession. The goodness and ingenuity of the RFDS is widely agreed upon all around Australia. But, as Australia continues to be quickly urbanised, fewer of us have personal connections and stories about the Flying Doctors and the pilots and the nurses. That’s where Meet the Flying Doctors comes in
ages 6 years to adult
Have you seen this website? It’s a collection of personal testimonies from people of the Stolen Generation. They're so very personal and real that I feel like a welcome, if naïve, guest. Each testimony includes a short personal statement
ages 2 years to adult (a beautiful gift or coffee table book)
What does your home have lots of? Cars, cheese, Atlantic puffins? Lots beautifully illustrates cities and regions around the world, showing what they have lots of.
This is a terrific collection of women who had an impact in the public sphere. Some will certainly be familiar, and some may be new to you and yours. It's an exuberant look at thirteen women who changed your life—and you might not even know it!
ages 4 to 12 years (and up!)
Set in Canada, Waiting for the Whales makes a really nice stepping stone to family storytelling. It’s about a grandfather living a simple life of gardening and watching the seasons. It's a picture book to prompt one's own family stories – leading easily to thoughts, memories and 'after' conversations.
ages 4 to 12 years
Set in USA. Even though she couldn't vote, Victoria Woodhull ran for President of the United States in 1872. She was a remarkable woman with a difficult life who had a passion for equality and she gave her all to the cause.
ages 8 years and up
Set in Australia. A sweet wombat revels in the beauty of an Australian high-country winter, complete with snow on gum trees. A celebration of an Australian winter and the joy of finding your way home.
ages newborn to 8 years
Set in Paris, France. A wonderful, inspirational book that speaks of the little-known history of Muslim heroes in Paris during World War II and their rescues of Jews, Resistance fighters, Allied pilots, and prisoners of war.
ages 10 to grown-up
ages 4 years to grownup
Set in Mozambique, this beautifully told and illustrated story is inspiring and full of wonder in itself, but becomes even more so when the true story is told alongside it. It shows the courage and strength of a young mother in crazy circumstances.
ages 4 to 8 years
Set in Egypt, this is an ever so slightly suspenseful book to read aloud and it's then so very peaceful in its resolution. Ahmed has a secret—and it’s a good one! I love this book and can hardly count the number of times I've given it as a gift.
Set in Australia, one family and a caravan take it on the road! Delightfully insightful look at family relations and the gorgeousness and diversity of Australia - through the eyes of a child.
ages 4 to 12 years
ages 2 to grown-up
Some stories have a profound message – one that everyone needs to hear more than once – one that is just as relevant to a toddler as it is to the toddler’s grandpa. This isYou and Me Murrawee.
The story is told as the musings of a young girl – maybe 10 or 12 years old – who has a gift for seeing what is no longer present.
The girl is on a family camping trip in the Australian bush and, as she plays and paddles and watches her family, she senses the life of an indigenous girl, 200 years ago, doing many of the same things she is doing.
Set in Ghana. Years ago, when Max was eight, we had a conversation that went something like this:
Max: So Mum what is the solution to the people in Africa who only have one bag of grain a month to eat. One Hen goes a long way towards answering that question.
ages 4 to 12 years
Set in France. This is a wonderfully crafted story that is full of love, joy and humour, just a little tension, and a triumphant ending. A charming French mouse does all he can to care for his family and to help the hands that feed him - even when he is met with scorn.
ages 1 to 9 years
After World War II – as indeed after every war – there was a period of terrible poverty in the directly affected areas. And a terrible lack of consumer goods. In this story, a young girl, Anna, is in need of a new coat, in post-war Europe!
ages 2 to 8 years
Set in Israel, there's an overwhelming sense of 'if only' when you reach the end of this beautiful book .... If only … children really could lead the world to peace. If only … all the walls, real and metaphorical,could come tumbling down. If only … we could heal the wounds of war.
ages 4 years to grownup
ages 8 years to grownup
"Carefully, she unties the string and folds back the brown paper. Inside the parcel is a pine cone."
Based on a true story, Lone Pine tells of a young soldier who is at Lone Pine with his brother while yet another brother is also at war elsewhere. The young soldier survives, but his brother doesn’t.
This is tough stuff. It’s poignantly told and is full of sadness. But out of the sadness there is also hope and love. The soldier sends a pine cone from Lone Pine to his mother. She treasures it of course and puts it away where it lies "not quite remembered, not quite forgotten." [The story is set in Australia and Turkey]
ages 5 years to grownup
Set in Australia. There’s something special about Anzac Day—the cool early morning spent standing with a crowd at the Dawn Service, family breakfasts, and of course Anzac Biscuits to nibble on all day.
And the sense of privilege and peace that comes with living in a free and protected country.
As is true of all war stories, Anzac Biscuits is pretty horrific, but a story that must be told: to remember history, to notice everyday blessings and to understand sacrifice. It does a particularly lovely job of the noticing everyday blessings and understanding sacrifice parts.
ages 8 years to teen
For non-Australian readers: Along the Road to Gundagai is much-loved folk song written in 1922 and Gundagai is a small town a couple of hours inland from Canberra (Australia’s capital city). It’s a lovely memorable tune and in this book it’s given a whole new (and solemn) slant.
Here, it’s a young soldier musing on the words to the song and the completely beautiful illustrations show scenes from home and scenes of war.
ages 4 to 10 years
Set in USA—there was a time when matchboxes were ubiquitous, now there are probably children who will need the concept of a matchbox explained or shown to them. But once that’s done, I suspect many children will want to start their own matchbox diary – and adults too.
Madame Walker was born Sarah Breedlove, the youngest child in her family and the first person in her family to be born free. Her family were slaves in Louisiana until emancipation in 1865.
Sarah was born in 1867 and lived an extraordinary life.
During her at once difficult and blessed life, Sarah married twice, had a daughter, and built a cosmetics empire.