Just So Stories

Penguin Australia

October 2024

• ISBN: 9781761341335
• Imprint: Puffin
• RRP: $19.99

So as someone said recently ‘I know you’re an NRL girl…’. Yes I am, I grew up in Hurstville and went to St George Girls High School and I’ve been a Dragons supporter since I first went to a footy game, aged around 7.

But you know, it’s right next door to Cronulla and I did spend a reasonable amount of time on the beach there at least in my wayward teen years. Funnily enough, our friend Mr Surfer, born and bred in Queensland, is a huge Sharkies fan so for the past couple of years, there’s been a greater awareness of the team for that reason.

And then there’s Nicho. I don’t know if you noticed but he’s a pretty fine footballer, and not bad looking either (look, I’m just saying objectively!), But more importantly perhaps from our point of view, I learned very early on that Nicho is of the Wiradjuri nation, as are my kids and grandies. In this book, he outlines what it was like growing up not knowing his culture, not able to feel proud of his heritage and the lack of information for him and his family, and he shares his journey to finding out all of this and his growth as a proud First Nations man.

As a kid, Nicho knows a few things to be true.
Everyone calls him Nicho, instead of ‘Nicholas’.
He loves the sport of rugby league.
And he is Aboriginal – but he hasn’t always known what that means.
Then one day at school, Nicho sees his friend covered in white paint and practising a special dance.
Nicho asks him to teach him the dance too . . . and that’s when everything changes.

Like many of his generation, Nicho’s lack of knowledge of his ancestry and familial connections was due to the disruption of Stolen Generations. I spoke just yesterday to a woman of around my age, who only discovered her own family line and connections four years ago – and it was quite a journey.

My own daughters knew very little of their culture until they were adults, as their father knew so little and they had no guidance. Now #2, in particular, has been living on Country for around 5 years, growing in knowledge, law and lore, an aunty in training – thanks to Elders around her – and is Aunty Kim at her primary school.

For many First Nations people, there is a dearth of knowledge of their family lines, and of their own culture. Fortunately, there is a growing number of agencies and resources to help redress this.

I love this book, and I love that Nicho is using his position and popularity with so many young people to share knowledge and his own story. It goes without saying that having two extraordinary creators walking side by side with him in this fabulous narrative takes it to an even higher plane.

Both Marlee Silva and Blak Douglas are so talented and so highly regarded that you already know before you open the book that it will be utterly sensational. But don’t presume that this is a book only for mob kids. This is a book that speaks to any young person searching for ways to grow into their own self-belief and identity.

It’s a fabulous book that will speak to your kiddos from around Year 3 right up to lower secondary. And it’s getting a big 5 🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈 rating from me and c’mon Sharkies – you’ve got this, don’t let those Panthers get to you today!!