First Nations Perspective Book List
Book recommendations – First Nations Perspective
We have grouped books into topics that align with our four pillars of learning – Biodiversity, Food Production, First Nations perspectives and Waste Management.
Know about a book that you think should be included in our reading lists? There’s no better recommendation for educators than from like-minded peers. Please submit your recommendation here.
Title: Young Dark Emu – A True History
Author(s): Bruce Pascoe
Age group: 10+
Description: 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.
Title: The Trees – Learning Tree Knowledge with Uncle Kuu
Author(s): Victor Steffensen
Age group: 10+
Description: Take a walk with Uncle Kuu in The Trees, a picture book about caring for Country and respect for Indigenous knowledge. Looking after the trees is important for keeping Country happy and healthy. First Nations People have cared for the trees on Country for thousands of years. In return, the trees look after the people and provide them with gifts of seeds, flowers, wood and more. This creates the balance between giving and taking from the land. Featuring stunning artwork by Sandra Steffensen, The Trees is a powerful and timely story to help future generations manage our landscapes and ensure that they thrive. At the back of the book, you will find lyrics to a song written by author Victor Steffensen with the title, ‘We are the Trees’, and a QR code to watch the song’s YouTube video. This book is the follow-up to Victor Steffensen’s Looking after Country with Fire, which explains Aboriginal burning practices for children.
Title: Cooee Mittigar
Author(s): Jasmine Seymour;Leanne Mulgo Watson
Age group: 5-12
Description: Warami mittigar. Hello friend. We welcome you to Darug Country.’ Cooee Mittigar, meaning Come Here Friend, is an invitation to yana (walk), on Darug Country. In this stunning picture book, Darug creators Jasmine Seymour and Leanne Mulgo Watson tell a story on Darug Songlines, introducing children and adults-alike to Darug Nura (Country) and language.
Title: Open Your Heart To Country
Author(s): Jasmine Seymour
Age group: 4+
Description: Welcome home lost children To land singing you back home Listen to its language Learn how to speak its song’. Told in English and Dharug, Open Your Heart to Country is a moving account of reconnection to Country from a First Nations perspective. Sharing the nourishing power of returning home and being immersed in the language of Country, this picture book invites readers to reflect on the importance of place, not only for First Nations’ peoples but for everyone.
Title: Child’s Dreaming
Author(s): Kevin Gilbert
Age group: 7+
Description: This beautiful journey through the outback in verse and pictures captures the spirit and the sights of the Aboriginies’ ancient land in a book to treasure long after childhood has gone.
Title: Wiradjuri Country
Author(s): Larry Brady
Age group: 6+
Description: This is a unique book combining language, culture, Indigenous history and storytelling, written by a Wiradjuri author. It features colour photographs of animals, plants and habitats, as well as illustrations by Indigenous artists Kristie Peters and Scott ‘Sauce’ Towney.
Title: A Home for Bilby
Author(s): Joanne Crawford
Age group: 6-9
Description: An engaging picture book that takes children on a journey through the Australian outback and the habitats of the animals that live there. Join Kangaroo, Emu, Platypus, Wombat and Koala as they help find a home for their new friend, Bilby.
Title: The Two-hearted Numbat
Author(s): Ambelin & Ezekiel Kwaymullina
Age group: 3-5
Description: Numbat has two hearts, one of stone and one of feather. His stone heart makes him strong and powerful while his feather heart makes him soft and gentle. When having more than one heart becomes troublesome, Numbat must choose which one to keep…
Title: Looking after Country with Fire
Author(s): Victor Steffensen
Age group: 6+
Description: Mother Nature has a language. If we listen, and read the signs in the land, we can understand it. For thousands of years, First Nations people have listened and responded to the land and made friends with fire, using this knowledge to encourage plants and seeds to flourish, and creating beautiful places for both animals and people to live. Join Uncle Kuu as he takes us out on Country and explains cultural burning. Featuring stunning artwork by Sandra Steffensen, this is a powerful and timely story of understanding Australia’s ecosystems through Indigenous fire management, and a respectful way forward for future generations to help manage our landscapes.
If you have a book recommendation to add to the list, please email: juniorlandcare@landcareaustralia.com.au