Country by Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson illustrated by Cheryl Davison

Country is past, present, future.

Country is songs and stories, art and ceremony.

Country is earth and sky, moon and stars.

Country is waterholes, creeks and rivers. Ocean and beaches. ...

Country is all living creatures. ...

Country is all of us. Country is how we behave, how we care for each other.

Just after this book was published I was in a bookshop with a friend and she commented that she would love to have a piece of art from this book Country. That certainly made me take a closer look. 

Fast forward to October this year and I spied Country at our local charity book sale - for just AUS$3 (retail price AUS$25). And yes, once again the copy is in mint condition so now I am the happy owner of this very special book.

There is a detailed annotation for Country on the National Centre for Children's Literature Indigenous books database. 

Image source: Artessence Gallery

Here are some teachers notes from Lamont. If you subscribe to Story Box Library you could share this book as a video - but in my view you should explore the print book (slowly) first.

Aunty Fay Stewart-Muir is an Elder and Traditional Owner of Boon Wurrung Country. She is the senior linguist at the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages in Melbourne. Fay is working with her own Boon Wurrung language, recording and putting language into the database for future and present generations. She presents language-related workshops to community members who are reclaiming their languages, as well as universities and TAFEs that are interested in understanding the many and challenging aspects of language reclamation. She also goes out to schools to educate the students about language and culture and to teach language. 

The images in this book are outstanding. The style employs the traditional dot style of indigenous art, with some additional flourishes. The palette is very earthy, black, white, oranges, reds, olive greens and browns. The depicted scenes vary from night time to ocean, to treetops with images of birds, fish, people, bats and other living creatures, giving readers a complete picture of what ‘country’ is.There is a quiet reverence that emanates from this book, and I can see it being used not just to learn about indigenous beliefs and culture, but also for mindfulness and connection. Reading Time

Other books by Aunty Fay Muir: