"My name is Wilaaran. My family has lived on this Country for thousands of years.
We walk in our old people's footsteps, hunting, collecting and catching seafood.
Today I'm goin' for pippies with the biggest mob.
With me are my mum and dad, nans and pops, uncles and cousins.
They're going to show me how to find pippies, just as our old people taught them."
The pipi is member of the clam family and staple of the Indigenous Australian coastal diet for thousands of years ... Pipis are fished year round in South Australia, but it's the larger New South Wales pipi that attracts most of the attention when the season runs, from early June to late October (or November in a bumper season). When cooked properly they have a subtle flavour and soft texture, perfect to try as a variation to other clams.
Publisher blurb from Magabala Books: Going for Pippies is a beautifully illustrated children’s picture book that welcomes readers to a First Nations narrative about family, culture, traditions and a way of life. Join Wilaraan and his family as they venture on Country to collect pippies for dinner. At the very heart of the story is a family outing, demonstrating how generations come together to teach and share knowledge, such as the practice of gathering pippies. This reinforces the importance of intergenerational learning and the passing down of cultural wisdom.
Read more about Pippies:
Here is a recipe for the fritters that Wilaaran and his family enjoy at the end of the book:
To make delicious Pipi Fritters, follow these steps:
Ingredients: Gather 250 grams of tuatua/pipi meat, finely chopped; 1 small onion, finely diced; 1 firm tomato, finely diced; and foodies Extra Virgin Olive Oil for cooking.
Batter: In a bowl, mix flour, eggs, milk, and curry powder to form a smooth batter. Season and add the tuatua/pipi meat, onion, and tomato.
Cooking: Heat a frying pan or barbecue plate to medium and add enough foodies Extra Virgin Olive Oil to shallow fry the fritters. Cook spoonfuls in batches, flipping halfway through, until golden brown on both sides.
Sydney are holding an indigenous food festival this weekend so it is timely to talk about this book. Thank you to Magabala Books for sending this review copy. You can read more about Going for Pippies in this review from The Bottom Shelf.
Wilaaran Hunter Laurie is a Yaegl boy whose family come from Yamba on the north coast of NSW. Wilaaran enjoys playing footy and going to the beach to swim and fish. He currently lives on the Central Coast with his mum, dad and little brother.
Wilaaran Laurie wrote this story when he was just five years old. He is now fourteen. This is something I would be keen to share with students - to show them the journey from idea to book can be a long one.
Tori-Jay Mordey is an established illustrator and artist based in Meanjin/Brisbane. Born on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, she is descended from the Meriam and Maluyigal clans. Her published works include Bakir & Bi co-written with Jillian Boyd (2013), and In the City I See (2018). Her other works include illustrating the portrait of Cathy Freeman in Shout Out to the Girls (2018) and the Children’s Picture Book A Blue Kind of Day (2022, Kokila). A Blue Kind of Day has a Kirkus Star review.
Read more about Bush Tucker here.
Companion books:
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