Just So Stories

Magabala Books

October 2024

9781922777249

AUD$27.99, NZD$32.99

It’s not just the fact that over 30 years of teaching I’ve encountered and taught many children who had a parent incarcerated, or that The Kid had a best friend who also lived with her grandmother, because Mum was dead and Dad was in jail. But I can go right back to my eldest being in Infants school and coming home with the news that in Show&Tell, XXXX had told about her dad doing something wrong and he was going to jail. I have read and reviewed books for older children where the parent is detained in custody but I honestly can’t recall any for younger children. So really, I’d have to say – about time surely?

And while this is a situation in many families, it is an undeniable fact that the statistics for First Nations incarcerations is unacceptably disproportionate to those for non-Indigenous Australians. First Nations people make up a small proportion (3.8%) of the Australian population. Yet they are over-represented in Australia’s prison system, making up 32% of the total prison population, and are incarcerated at much higher rates than non-Indigenous Australians (ABS 2023a, ABS 2023b). The health and wellbeing of First Nations people in Australia’s prisons 2022. [report released May 2024].

Tarah doesn’t know where her dad has gone. Maybe he’s gone out shearing again or fishing? But no, as her mum explains. Dad has done something wrong and as a consequence, is in prison. When they go to visit him, one gets a real sense of how overwhelming and confronting that must be for a child. No one disputes that a consequence must exist for a true infraction of the law, but the effect that has on family and, particularly, children is very traumatic.

One thing that helps is Tarah is meeting a boy at the jail on visiting day and by keeping in touch, they have a shared experience and can support each other. I’ve certainly heard reports of how offenders are helped and supported in their feelings around their incarceration and how best to move forward, but where has the support for children been up till now?

I applaud these creators for taking this vital step, certainly fuelled by their collective experiences in both personal and professional senses. This will be going to my IEO daughter to have at hand for any of the jarjums she teaches who might be in need of some reassurance and support. I would suggest that this book is a must-have for any collection, and most assuredly for whomever at your school, whether counsellor, chaplain or someone other, would be the ‘go to’ for supporting a child navigate this very difficult experience.

The text is sensitively written and the illustrations are simple but eloquent. It is getting a big 5 🚔🚔🚔🚔🚔 rating from me.