Review: Respect

I knew I would love this book from the cover that images love and togetherness.

A red breasted bird hovers over the head of two girls embracing. It could be a mother or other older person and a child. The same bird is patterned on the dress of the taller one. 

Indigenous motifs are scattered over an ochre background which flow onto the back cover.

The book is about respect - for elders, family and ancestors, country, the land and sea,

culture and traditions, each other and ourselves. Also for stories passed on about everything that is above and below.

The striking red earth, the swirling velvet blue sea and sparkling night sky, create images of the past and future. Shimmering grasses and songs that are carried on a bird’s wing are portrayed in powerful images.

The stunning artwork by the gifted Lisa Kennedy, illustrator of Welcome to Country and Wilam, encapsulates all that is intended and necessary to complement the minimal and perfect text.

I loved this beautiful book that speaks of a word that is lost to many of us, but which is being reborn, through the lessons we are learning or relearning, from our first Australians. It’s an ideal teaching tool to be used to open windows and doors for children, towards an understanding of the Indigenous culture.

Title: Respect

Author: Aunty May Muir & Sue Lawson

Illustrator: Lisa Kennedy

Publisher: Magabala, $24.99

Publication Date: May 2020

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 9781925936315

For ages: 3 - 6

Type: Children’s Picture Book

from Kids' Book Review https://ift.tt/3en7dF8