Just So Stories

Nan, Why Don’t I Look Like You? – Book 1 Nan & Me Series

Paperback ISBN:  978-1-7640638-0-7

Hardcopy ISBN: 978-1-7640638-7-6

Digital online ISBN: 978-1-7640638-5-2

Nan, Where Did We Come From? – Book 2 Nan & Me Series

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7640638-1-4

Hardcopy ISBN: 978-1-7640638-8-3

Digital online ISBN: 978-1-7640638-6-9

It gives me tremendous pleasure to start off this year’s NAIDOC reviews with these two titles for Lil Yarnlings, from Natasha Weribone of Ganu Gii Creations (check out her beautiful wares!).

These came to my attention via Riley Callie Resources, and immediately struck me as so important as it’s not just my grandies who are fair-skinned, blue-eyed despite their ancestry (in fact, only one has darker skin and brown eyes!) but over the years I have taught many kids, and still do, who do not fit the ‘stereotype’ of what Aboriginal looks like. And I think it can be true that it’s not just non-Indigenous people who can be judgemental because I’ve seen plenty of reverse-racism as well.

This pair of simply told, easily understood narratives, the first in a series of five, make an absolutely vital addition to your First Nations collection. It is not only fundamentally important for young Aboriginal kiddos to understand this concept but also for all children.

The first is a very gentle outline of how the Aboriginal people were stolen, denied their languages, beliefs and culture along with their Country. And for a large number, this means that today many Aboriginal people are descended from various other cultures, often ‘white’ races.

Book #2 continues Nan’s wisdom sharing with her little granddaughter, as they sit cosily observing the night sky. She talks about the Dreaming, the connection to Country, the ancestors who still watch over their people, the many different nations that make up the whole, one oldest living culture in the world. These are the beliefs that have sustained our First Nations peoples throughout the dark history of our country since colonisation, and that they continue to hold on in the pursuit of reconciliation, truth-telling and treaty.

Natasha’s text as well as her illustrations have combined to present a really easily digested learning resource, and I applaud her for this foray into helping young ones make sense of what can be a confusion for them.

Make no mistake, this is the start of series that is a must for your collection for all your readers, not just your jarjums. Hardcopy and e-book are available directly from Gunu Gii Lil Yarnings and softcover editions can be ordered via Riley Callie Resources . My congratulations to Natasha [yes! Toowoomba is ‘local’ enough for us!] for her bold steps as an ethical entrepeneur – read more about Natasha on her beautiful website. [I’m totally going shopping there, I can tell you!] It’s a 4 🌟🌟🌟🌟rating from me.