"Family" By Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson & Jasmine Seymour

Family

Heart and home

Yarning old people

Endless sky

Family is a thoughtful contemplation for all to learn the different ways that family makes us whole. This beautifully illustrated children’s picture book shows everyone that ‘family’ can be about heart and home; an endless sky; stories and songs. It ‘learns’ us how to be with each other and with Country. Families come in all shapes and sizes, and this remarkably simple story teaches us all, that family can be many things.

Shortlisted, 2021 Australian Book Industry Awards, small publishers' children’s book of the year

From Rose Park Community Childcare:

There are many ways in which stories can be told. Media such as books, verbal storytelling, art¸ music, signs, symbols and digital technology. In our under 2 environment, in which language is developing, using a variety of ways in which to tell a story is beneficial for a deeper level of understanding in the world in which the child lives.

Using Aboriginal symbols that are sourced from supply nation companies such as The Koori Curriculum, educators are able to use Aboriginal symbols to further introduce storytelling and embed knowledge of Aboriginal culture and communication.

From drawing symbols in the sand as we provide the meaning as we learn together, or reading First Nation stories and finding the symbols that correlate with the pages, are ways in which we further embed knowledge and are culturally responsive.

This is evident as preverbal children recognise symbols throughout the day as they transfer and adapt what they have learnt, from one context to another. One child in particular was looking at the art work on the necklace that an educator was wearing. After discussing the meaning of the Aboriginal symbols on the necklace together, the child then proceeded to independently find the cards that related to the meaning and brought them back to the educator. This was a powerful moment of shared understanding and embedded practice.

ISBN: 9781925936285
ISBN-10: 1925936287
Series: Our Place
Audience: Children
For Ages: 3+ years old
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 32
Published: 1st July 2020
Publisher: Magabala Books
Country of Publication: AU
Dimensions (cm): 25.5 x 25.5  x 1
Weight (kg): 0.42