Title: Back On Country (Welcome to Our Country 3)
Author: Adam Goodes & Ellie Laing
Illustrator: David Hardy
Published: November 1 2022
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
Readership: Children (Picturebook)
Rating: ★★★★★
RRP: $24.99
I received a copy of Back On Country from the publishers for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A joyful story about the power of reconnecting to family, culture and Country. From Australian of the Year Adam Goodes, co-writer Ellie Laing, and Barkindji illustrator David Hardy.
‘Back on Country,’ says Mum. ‘Where we’re going is where your nanna comes from, where we come from. Our Country is special to us. You’ll see.’
It’s Lucy and David’s first time back on Country.
They meet their cousins and Elders, and see special places, learn local language words and hear stories as old as time.
Join them to feel the strength that comes from being back on Country.
We’re back again with the next instalment in my current favourite picturebook series – Back On Country is the third picturebook in Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing and David Hardy’s Welcome to Country series around the incredible culture of Australia’s First Nations’ people. (You can also read my reviews for the first two books: Somebody’s Land and Ceremony.)
In Back On Country, and two children travel with their mother back her Country (that of the Adnyamathanha people) for the first time and meet their cousins and Elders, while exploring what it means to return to Country. They learn about their rich history, culture, locations that are important to their People and their language through the stories the hear while there.
It’s a very powerful book, and provides a greater understanding for all people about the importance of a strong connection to the Country and people for Indigenous Australians. It’s educational in a gentle way, and invites readers to want to know and understand more about cultures other than theirs.
It’s also in incredibly beautiful book to look at. The language and illustrations paint a joyful picture – when the family return to Country it’s a time of a celebration and love and joy and that leaps off the page.
As always, it’s an absolute pleasure to return to these books and then to be able to share them with others. They’re doing incredible work while remaining an incredible story in their own right, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the Welcome to Country series.
Noveltea Corner 