Announcement - National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature

Introducing a Unique, Comprehensive and Free Resource of Books for Children by and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature has produced a new Resource that celebrates children’s books by and about Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Stage 1, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education, offers a range of books for children aged from birth to eight years now extended to 12 years. These are offered for consideration and selection according to individual needs and interests. Each book is annotated and includes related resources to explore the book in many ways. The Resource is current to June 2020 and will be continuously updated.

Providing Perspectives and Expertise

A team of knowledgeable people, with wide ranging perspectives and expertise collaborated to produce this Resource. The team included Aboriginal People and culturally diverse individuals of various ages, genders and backgrounds. Teachers, teacher librarians, public librarians, parents, professionals in early learning and childcare centres, publishers, editors, reviewers, booksellers, authors, illustrators, researchers and academics with knowledge of Australian children’s literature and literacy all contributed.

Scoping the Resource

Books chosen feature the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ culture and languages, teaching and Dreaming Stories, insights into communities and cultural practices, and communication between cultural groups. The Resource showcases books with a variety of storytelling techniques, genres, illustration and presentation styles to entertain, inform and engage readers.

Accessing the Resource

The Resource is user-friendly and provides numerous searching options including free-text, author, illustrator, title, series, publisher, publication date, the Early Years Learning Framework, the Australian Curriculum, audience level, subjects and annotations, which give the essence, context and synopsis for each book. This Resource celebrates the rich culture of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Peoples by providing a diverse range of books and related information that supports teachers, librarians, parents, care-givers, home schooling groups and others working with young people.

Free access is available on NCACL’s website at ncacl.org.au/resources/databases/ 

For further information email: info@ncacl.org.au