Magpie learns a Lesson

Magpie learns a Lesson by Sally Morgan & Ezekiel Kwaymullina, illustrated by Tania Erzinger (Omnibus Books)

HB RRP $24.99

ISBN 978-1-74299-059-0

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Magpie and Brown Falcon are friends. Brown Falcon loves Magpie's singing, but secretly Magpie is jealous of Brown Falcon's flying abilities. This jealousy makes Magpie so cross that he decides to play mean tricks on his friend. Brown Falcon puts up with these tricks for a while until Magpie goes too far.  How will Magpie feel when he loses his friend?

This is a simple story about jealousy and friendship, told with lovely Australian flavour. The illustrator, Tania Erzinger, has depicted the animals and bush of this country beautifully. The painted pages capture the browns, greens and blues of the Australian bush wonderfully.

The word count in this book makes it more suitable for primary aged children than pre-schoolers. The concepts also, of envy, teasing and loyalty, are well suited to those beginning to navigate the school playground.

My Country

My Country by Ezekiel Kwaymullina, illustrated by Sally Morgan (Fremantle Press)

HB RRP $24.95

ISBN 9781921696916

Reviewed by Neridah McMullin

“This book was inspired by my Nana and Gran, who passed on their love of country to me. When I wrote the book I imagined what it would have been like for them as little girls, playing in their country without a care in the world. At the same time, I wanted to encourage self-esteem in Indigenous youth as I feel Australia is in need of more Indigenous heroes. Because all heroes begin as children with a dream, hopefully books like this one bring them closer to that dream” – Ezekiel Kwaymullina

‘My Country’ is an Australian Aboriginal picture book to be enjoyed and celebrated.

It is a book to be poured over and shared between a parent and a child. Whilst the prose is simple and lyrical, it is perfectly matched with the acclaimed Sally Morgan’s illustrations, which are gorgeous and bright, and vivid and intricate. There are double spread pages full of wonder including a smiling sun, happy lightning clouds and friendly animals. There is such a strong feeling of being connected to the earth and the moon and the stars, it’s truly heartfelt and beautiful.

The little girl is on a journey of discovery and the reader is swept along with her. She feels completely safe with her country and is as ‘one’ with her environment. This is definitely something we should all aspire to and encourage our children to explore.

This is a delightful book for a very young audience, aged 3 – 5 years, and is a wonderful book to encourage the imagination and play discovery finding games, and games such as ‘peekaboo’.  For older readers, it’s the perfect book for ‘outdoor’ reading along with paper and pencils to let the imagination flow.

Sally Morgan is a best selling author and internationally renowned painter. She is the author of ‘My Place’, which has now sold over 600,000 copies nationally. This is her first book in over a decade.

Ezekiel Kwaymullina is from the Palyku people from the Pilbara region of Western Australia and this is Ezekiel’s third children’s picture book.

Neridah McMullin is the author of two books for children. Her next book is an Indigenous folklore story called 'Kick it to me!'. It’s an ‘aussie rules’ story that’s being endorsed by the Australian Football League. Neridah loves family, footy, and doing yoga with her cat Carlos (who also loves footy). www.neridahmcmullin.com