We loved the review of ‘Ngurra’ on episode 219 of the podcast ‘Your Child’s Next Read’ at 4 minutes and 50 seconds In the chat a question was raised: “my only issue as a school librarian is where do you place it?”
And so today- we answer that!We wrote the first book ‘Black Cockatoo’ as a stand alone novella as our debut. We never envisioned that people beyond the Kimberley would love it and be impacted by Mia’s story.We wrote the second book in the series inspired by our students in remote outback WA. Students who often have to travel thousands of kilometres away from home to access secondary education- a big, scary and overwhelming journey.And we wrote the last book in the series, as a way to show young people their power. That they can be powerful two ways, they can stand up against injustice and can fight for Country.
Each book was written with outback kids and teens in mind to give them a mirror and path- to give them strength and hope.So our main hope is that these books are read in EVERY school in the Kimberley, and many remote schools around Australia. We wanted to provide a mirror to Aboriginal outback readers, and a door and pathway for outback kids to follow so they can live two ways strong too.The fact that they are loved and appreciated by many teachers, librarians and young readers around Australia is a very deadly bonus. We love that we can raise awareness, empathy, and understanding about the diversity of First Nations peoples, and the vastness and uniqueness of Australia. We are honoured and overjoyed that it has reached hearts and minds of people around the world.We were inspired by ‘Blueback’ and the way that Abel grows from a young child, teenager to adult- and following the full journey of their life and challenges. We loved the concept of seeing Mia grow up and showing the challenges that remote outback First Nations kids face.How would you use it in a classroom context? We envision it being used:‘Black Cockatoo’ being studied in Year 5-6, ‘Dirrarn’ being studied in Year 7, and then ‘Ngurra Home’ being studied in Year 8-9. It could be written into your Scope and Sequence or unit plans to build on students knowledge of Indigenous culture and remote peoples. Alternatively, they could each be studied as a stand-alone text appropriate to each year.Alternatively, the whole series could be read in Year 9-10 with novel comparison opportunities across a series. This would allow for discussion of target audience, complexity of writing, growth and change in character and much more.So to answer the question of where it should go in our library? We recommend a permenant feature display hahahaha. But failing that- we aimed it at low literacy older readers, so it would fit in the YA section. Alternatively, if you have a stand alone First Nations section it could also fit there.
BUY THE BOOKS NOW
ACCESS THE TEACHER NOTES NOW