Trying to escape from grief over the death of her husband, Elizabeth Fuller embarks with her 12-year-old son on a journey to the Australian Outback. Seeking answers she has no questions for, she finds herself a participant in "the most meaningful and exciting adventure on earth". In this other world, when her heart seems most wrenched and she feels most out of place, Fuller enters through a gateway to comfort and love.
*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
Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating and storing - behaviors inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Gerritsen and Gammage in their latest books support this premise but Pascoe takes this further and challenges the hunter-gatherer tag as a convenient lie. Almost all the evidence comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources.
Henry the emu wanted to fly! But flying fish, eagles and launchers can’t seem to help. It’s only after meeting Wallagoot Jean that Henry learns about the science of orbit, and the importance of flying first with his mind...
Written by anthropologist Diane Johnson, Night Skies of Aboriginal Australia has been in demand since its publication in 1998. It is a record of the stars and planets which pass across night-time.
'Colour my beak blue, that's a risky business if you're not a cockatoo,' squawked Rocky Cocky. 'You'll need a bodyguard.' They trotted and strutted off down the track, round the back of beyong, up the hill and past the black stump, until they bumped into Joanna Goanna. Early one morning, Blossom Possum gets such a fright she thinks the sky is falling down! She has to tell someone, so she sets off with her news. On the way she meets her bush mates. But she also runs into trouble. This retelling of a favourite folktale has a delightful Aussie twist and a refreshingly positive ending. The author has used typically Australian animals to create a cast of quirky characters. Rocky Cocky is a cheeky cockatoo, Echo Gecko is an old hippie lizard, and Toey Joey is a lively young kangaroo.
These widely acclaimed essays from the author of Infinite Jest -- on television, tennis, cruise ships, and more -- established David Foster Wallace as one of the preeminent essayists of his generation. In this exuberantly praised book -- a collection of seven pieces on subjects ranging from television to tennis, from the Illinois State Fair to the films of David Lynch, from postmodern literary theory to the supposed fun of traveling aboard a Caribbean luxury cruiseliner -- David Foster Wallace brings to nonfiction the same curiosity, hilarity, and exhilarating verbal facility that has delighted readers of his fiction, including the bestselling Infinite Jest.
"An authoritative study of pre-colonial Australia that dismantles and reframes popular narratives of First Nations land management and food production. Australians' understanding of Aboriginal society prior to the British invasion from 1788 has been transformed since the publication of Bruce Pascoe's Dark Emu in 2014. It argued that classical Aboriginal society was more sophisticated than Australians had been led to believe because it resembled more closely the farming communities of Europe. In Farmers or Hunter-gatherers? Peter Sutton and Keryn Walshe ask why Australians have been so receptive to the notion that farming represents an advance from hunting and gathering. Drawing on the knowledge of Aboriginal elders, previously not included within this discussion, and decades of anthropological scholarship, Sutton and Walshe provide extensive evidence to support their argument that classical Aboriginal society was a hunter-gatherer society and as sophisticated as the traditional European farming methods. 'Farmers or Hunter-gatherers?' asks Australians to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal society and culture"--Publisher's description.
The First Astronomers is the first book to reveal the rich knowledge of the stars and the planets held by First Peoples around the world. Our eyes have been drawn away from the skies to our screens. We no longer look to the stars to forecast the weather, predict the seasons or plant our gardens. Most of us cannot even see the Milky Way. But First Nations Elders around the world still maintain this knowledge, and there is much we can learn from them. These Elders are expert observers of the stars. They teach that everything on the land is reflected in the sky, and everything in the sky is reflected on the land. How does this work, and how can we better understand our place in the universe? Guided by six First Nations Elders, Duane Hamacher takes us on a journey across space and time to reveal the wisdom of the first astronomers. These living systems of knowledge challenge conventional ideas about the nature of science and the longevity of oral tradition. Indigenous science is dynamic, adapting to changes in the skies and on Earth, pointing the way for a world facing the profound disruptions of climate change. 'This book marks a profound paradigm shift in our understanding of Indigenous scientific traditions, how they are transmitted, and their relevance to life today.' - Professor Marcia Langton, University of Melbourne 'A ground-breaking book of enormous scope.' - Brian Schmidt, Nobel Laureate in Physics 'A glimpse into Indigenous ways of reading landscapes reflected in the night sky through ancient processes of inquiry.' - Dr Tyson Yunkaporta, author of Sand Talk 'A wonderful combination of scholarship and poetry.' - Dr Annette S. Lee, Lakota astrophysicist 'Beautiful, engaging, and startlingly profound.' - Alan Duffy, Professor of Astrophysics
Take a journey into the fascinating world of Australia's Aboriginal culture with this unique collection of 33 authentic, unaltered stories brought to you by three Aboriginal storyteller custodians! Unlike other compilations of tales that were modified and published without permission from the Aboriginal people, these stories are now presented with approval from Aboriginal elders in an effort to help foster a better understanding of the history and culture of the Aboriginal people. Gadi Mirrabooka, which means below the Southern Cross, introduces wonderful tales from the Dreamtime, the mystical period of Aboriginal beginning. Through these stories you can learn about customs and values, animal psychology, hunting and gathering skills, cultural norms, moral behavior, the spiritual belief system, survival skills, and food resources. A distinctive and absolutely compelling story collection, this book is an immensely valuable treasure for educators, parents, children, and adult readers. Grades K-A
