I recently read Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937 by Anita Heiss. The fictional diary of a 10-year-old Aboriginal girl taken from her family as part of the Stolen Generation, the book is written for children aged 10 or 11+.

I recommended the book to a friend who is a librarian for a primary school and her response was “we wouldn’t have a book about the Stolen Generation for our primary school students”.

I understand that the story of the Stolen Generation is a complex one and primary-school aged children are unlikely to be able to understand and/or process many of the political, social and historical issues involved. This book is specifically written for children in late primary school, however, and it deals with the issue from a more personal level that is appropriate and accessible.

Australia’s modern history is filled with stories that have confronting elements, yet these stories are available for students to read. Jackie French has written a wonderful series of books, the Animal Stars series, that includes stories of Australia’s involvement at Gallipoli and the ill-fated expedition of Burke and Wills. If these stories are acceptable for our children, I’m not sure that I understand why a book written about the Stolen Generation is not.

At times I am guilty of helicopter parent tendencies. It is sometimes hard to resist the temptation to shelter my children from the potential dangers and disappointments of the big bad world. I am also a firm believer in the phrase ‘knowledge is power’, however, and I have always tried to make sure my children are given every opportunity to understand the world they live in.

Do I wish that I never had to explain the Stolen Generation to my kids? Absolutely. I wish that it had never happened and that it wasn’t part of Australia’s history. Do I think my children should know about the Stolen Generation? Without a doubt.

I want them to understand that such things can happen when people choose to accept injustice simply because it is condoned by those in positions of authority. I want them to understand that the damage caused by such decisions can span generations and that even actions undertaken with the best intentions can cause hurt and confusion when the underlying assumptions are flawed.

I don’t think my children will come away from reading The Diary of Mary Talence fired up to fight social injustice. I do believe such books are part of web of information that gradually develops a social conscience however and I think this is a wonderful thing – that such information is available in a way that is age-appropriate. My children do have a sheltered and protected life and I think that such a life can lead to a very narrow view of the world if they aren’t made aware of the lives and stories and experiences of others that have lives different to their own.

Is 11 too young to read a story about the Stolen Generation (or refugees or terrorism or other socio-political issues)? How do you decide what issues and information you share with your children? Do you let them watch the news or read the newspaper? If so, do you discuss the things that they hear/read with them? I’d love to know what you think, so please leave a comment.

Related links:

Book review of The Diary of Mary Talence by Anita Heiss at RUD

Title: Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937
Author: Anita Heiss
Publisher: Scholastic, 2010 (first published 2001)
ISBN: 978-1-86504-361-6
Genre: Young Reader Historical Fiction

Summary (from back cover)

‘I woke up this morning and I couldn’t sop crying cos this place is not my home, even thought everyone says it is. I miss Matron Rose and all the kids and now I miss my real mum more than ever. When I was a little girl Mum would always hug me when I cried and tell me everything would be all right. Who’s gunna hug me here?’

Mary was taken to Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home when she was only five years old. Now she’s 10 years old and living with a white family in Sydney. She doesn’t fit in and starts to question why.

Comments

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect reading The Diary of Mary Talence. I knew that it raised the issue of Australia’s Stolen Generation and I wasn’t sure how this complex and emotive issue would translate into a fictional story for younger readers.

I think Anita Heiss does a wonderful job of introducing the concept of the Stolen Generation to her audience. The book deals with the aspects of the situation that younger readers could most easily relate to – Mary’s sense of confusion and grief at being separated from those she cares about and her sense of isolation and personal identity issues arising from the mixed messages she receives about the Aboriginal people and her need to pretend that she is ‘white’.

Mary shares her story well through one year of diary entries, mixing more serious thoughts on the deeper issues affecting her with a commentary on life in late 1930s Australia. While Mary’s separation from her family may not be something that most readers will easily relate to, there are many other opportunities that they may more easily connect with as Mary deals with bullies, homework, sports carnivals and family life.

Despite the serious historical issue that is central to the story, the book maintains a very positive feel and Mary is a charming narrator.

I enjoyed reading this book and I’m keen for my 11-year-old son to read it as well. This is the kind of story that parents might want to chat with their children about once they have finished reading as thoughtful readers are likely to have some questions that aren’t answered by the text or the historical note at the conclusion of the book.

This is review is part of my contribution to the Literary Road Trip hosted by GalleySmith. I am highlighting authors from New South Wales, Australia

Related links:

• How young is too young? – How old should children be before they read books about serious issues?
• Review of Manhattan Dreaming by Anita Heiss at Suite101 and Reading Upside Down.
• Author website – Anita Heiss

Despite the fact that I’ve promised to keep my 2010 reading challenges to a minimum, I’ve decided to sign on for the longer version of this challenge, trying to fill in an A to Z of both authors and titles.

Full details of the challenge can be found at the A to Z Reading Challenge blog.

There will no doubt be some shuffling around as the lists start to fill up. I’ve included links to any reviews I’ve written in brackets at the end of each entry.

Authors

• A – Manhattan Dreaming by Anita Heiss (Suite101, RUD)
• B –
• C –
• D – Dog by Daniel Pennac
• E –
• F –
• G – Little Paradise by Gabrielle Wang (Suite101, RUD)
• H –
• I –
• J – To A Distant Land by Julianne Jones (Suite101, RUD)
• K – Parenting by Kathy Walker (Suite101, RUD)
• L – E W Cole: Chasing the Rainbow by Lisa Lang (Suite101, RUD)
• M – The Greatest Blogger in the World – Andrew McDonald
• N –
• O – Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
• P –
• Q –
• R –
• S –
• T –
• U –
• V –
• W –
• X –
• Y –
• Z – Monstrum House #1: Locked In by Zana Fraillon (Suite101)

Titles

• A – After the Fall by Kylie Ladd
• B –
• C – Chess Nuts by Julia Lawrinson
• D –
• E – EJ12 Girl Hero #1: Hot & Cold (Suite101)
• F – Find your Tribe by Rebecca Sparrow (RUD)
• G –
• H –
• I –
• J – Jasper & Abby and the Great Australia Day Kerfuffle by Kevin Rudd & Rhys Muldoon (RUD)
• K –
• L –
• M –
• N –
• O –
• P –
• Q –
• R –
• S –
• T – Toppling by Sally Murphy
• U –
• V –
• W – We are All Made of Glue by Marina Lewycka (Suite101)
• X –
• Y –
• Z –

I came a little late to the Bloggers Without Makeup party yesterday. I didn’t post a picture of myself makeup-free until quite late in the day. Why the delay? Well, I was home alone all day and the self-portraits I attempted were quite tragic. I also felt like I was coming down with my son’s cold and was hardly feeling at my best, makeup or not.

I am so glad that I did finally take part. As I commented in my Bloggers Without Makeup Day post, the encouragement and affirmation being shared by bloggers and tweeps yesterday was amazing. So many women took the time to visit the blogs of those who took part and leave encouraging comments. Score one for positive power of the internet.

Beyond the love shared in the #BloggersWithoutMakeup tweet-fest, for me the highlight was reading the stories of women who had struggled with themselves to actually take a cosmetics-free photo. So many women bravely overcame self-consciousness and long-term habits of covering up real and imagined blemishes and flaws to step up and stand tall.

I regularly found myself getting teary as I read how women agonised over showing themselves without the protective veil of make-up. The most touching posts were those by mothers who overcame their fear so that they could live the messages that they were speaking into the lives of their children – messages that promoted a strong sense of self-worth, confidence, and an ability to value themselves for who they are and as they are.

I have been reading tweets about Jessica Watson sailing into Sydney Harbour today after seven months at sea. This intrepid teen has taken on a daunting challenge and demonstrated that courage and determination can triumph over adversity.

In my mind, many of the women who ‘bared all’ for Bloggers Without Makeup Day have been just as courageous and determined, bravely overcoming their insecurities to support a worthwhile project and, as a result, support numerous other women who also struggled to share images of themselves as they really are.

To Jodie Ansted, the initiator of Bloggers Without Makeup Day, I offer my sincere and heartfelt thanks. The past 36 hours has helped me to understand that I am part of a community of awesome women. I have found myself humbled, inspired, encouraged and blessed by the things I have read and I have met so many amazingly beautiful women.

If you haven’t already joined the Bloggers Without Makeup bandwagon, it’s not too late. Visit Jodie at Mummy Mayhem to include a link to your blog post when you’re done.

Related links:

• Bloggers Without Makeup Day 2010 article at Suite101
• Jodie Ansted’s BWM Day 2010 Thanks post at Mummy Mayhem
• Carol Duncan interviewing Jodie Anstead on ABC (radio) 1233 Newcastle

Jodie Anstead (@JodieAnstead) challenged bloggers and tweeps to join her on Friday, 14th May for a Bloggers Without Makeup Day. I could summarise her post on the inspiration for this day, but I’m feeling lazy and running late with my own BWM post, so you should probably just wander over to Jodie’s Mummy Mayhem blog and check out her post on Bloggers Without Makeup yourself.

Basically, Jodie has called us all to step out from behind the veil of cosmetics and photoshopping to celebrate ourselves in our natural glory.

I’m a bit late to the party since I tend to be the person behind the camera instead of in front of it. Finding a photo of me at all is difficult and sans makeup almost impossible. So, I’ve waited until my kids arrived home from school and asked my son to take a photo of me with my beautiful daughter. Not sure how wise this was, since she looks infinitely better without make-up than I do, but I like the photo so I’m going to use it.

Brace yourselves.

There, that wasn’t so painful, was it?

I love that this has been such a positive, community-building event. I have many friends who just look at me in confusion when I refer to other bloggers or twitter friends. They shy away from the internet as if it’s only purpose is as a tool for those with nefarious purposes seeking to prey on the weak and naive.

I think today proves them all wrong. While there are undeniably internet abusers, there is also a great deal of encouragement, support, friendship and empowerment to be gained from being able to connect with likeminded people all over the globe. Bloggers Without Makeup has been a wonderful event – women making themselves a little bit vulnerable and receiving support, encouragement, affirmation and affection from others for their effort. What’s not to love about that?

Congratulations Jodie for setting the Bloggers Without Makeup Day in motion. You are an inspiration, as are all the bloggers and tweeps that have taken part and encouraged each other with good will and humour.

It’s not too late to join in. Post a picture of yourself without makeup on your blog and/or change your twitter avatar to a makeup free image. Please visit the blogs of the brave ladies who have taken part today and offer them some encouragement as well. Search for #BloggersWithoutMakeup on twitter for a great selection of amazing women to support. Don’t forget to add your blog link on Jodie’s Bloggers Without Makeup Day post as well.

When I interviewed Australian Indigenous author Anita Heiss recently, she brought the Indigenous Literacy Project to my attention. I am hoping to help my children organise a Great Book Swap to benefit this organisation later this year, but I thought I might also start a reading challenge with the list of Indigenous books and authors offered in the ILP reading list.

There are 134 books on the list, so I will make this a perpetual challenge. Many of the books are picture books or children’s books, so the list isn’t quite as daunting as it seems. I’ve listed all the titles below, but you can also download a pdf list from the Indigenous Literacy Project website or follow this link for the Indigenous Literacy Project Reading Challenge spreadsheet.

If you would like to join in with this challenge, you can sign-up here with your introduction post and you can also leave links to any reviews that you write for books from the challenge.

If you have any other Indigenous authors or titles that you’d like to recommend to others, please leave the details in a comment on this post.

Happy Reading!

NB This reading challenge is not affiliated with the Indigenous Literacy Project. The only association is the use of the ILP book list.

Indigenous Literacy Project Book List Reading Challenge

• A Home for Bilby – Grace Fielding
• A is for Aunty – Elaine Russell
• A New Kind of Dreaming – Anthony Eaton
• Aboriginal Stories of Australia – A W Reed
• About This Little Devil and This Little Fella – Albert Barunga & Stephen Muecke
• Albert – Damien Kamholtz
• An Australian 1,2,3 of Animals – Bronwyn Bancroft
• An Australian A,B,C of Animals – Bronwyn Bancroft
• Angela – James Moloney
• Animals: An Indigenous First Discovery Book – Debbie Austin
• Anna the Goanna – Jill McDougall & Jenny Taylor
• Art, History, Place – Christine Nicholls
• Arthur Corunna’s Story – Sally Morgan
• Bajrigga the Turtle – Trevor Fourmile
• Bardi Counting Book – Lucy Wildagoo Dann
• Bat and the Crocodile – Mung Mung Lirrmiyarri
• Bawoo Stories – May O’Brian & Sue Wyatt
• Big Rain Coming – Katrina Germein
• Bilby and the Bushfire – Grace Fielding
• Binna Binna Man – Pryor & McDonald
• Bip the Snapping Bungaroo – Narelle McRobbie & Grace Fielding
• Bittangabee Tribe – Beryl Cruse et al
• Cocky the Crow and the Hawk – Dolly Daniels Granites Nampijinpa
• Collecting Colour – Kylie Dunstan
• Croc Bait – Leonie Norrington
• Crow and the Waterhole – Ambelin Kwaymullina
• Dabu Grows Up – Selena Solomon
• Deadly Unna – Phillip Gwynne
• Desert Cowboy – Pat Lowe
• Desert Dog – Pat Lowe & Jimmy Pike
• Desert Dreamings – Deidre Stokes
• Djomi Dream Child – Christopher Fry
• Do Not Go Around the Edges – Daisy Utemorrah
• Dougy – James Moloney
• Dunbi the Owl – Pamela Loftus
• Eagle’s Nest Warlawurra Manngutjarra – June Walkutjukurr Richards
• Echidna and the Shade Tree – Mung Mung Lirrmiyarri
• Enora and the Black Crane – Arone Raymond Meeks
• Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo – Alison Lester
• Even More Tales of my Grandmother’s Dreamtime – Naiura
• Father Sky and Mother Earth – Oodgeroo
• Flying Emu & Other Australian Stories – Sally Morgan
• From Little Things Big Things Grow – Paul Kelly
• Gelam and the Man from Moa – Anne Abednego Gela
• Gracey – James Moloney
• Growing up at Uluru – Stan Breeton
• Gudjal Book of Animals – William C Santo
• Gudjal Book of Birds – William C Santo
• Home to Mother – Doris Pilkington
• How the Kangaroos Got their Tales – Mung Mung Lirrmiyarri
• How the Cassowary Got its Helmet – Trevor Fourmile
• How the Birds Got their Colour – Mung Mung Lirrmiyarri
• Kuiyku Mabaigal Waii and Sobai – Aidan Laza
• Jalygurr – Pat Torres
• Jirrbal Rainforest Dreamtime Stories – Maisie (Yarrcali) Barlow
• Joshua and the Two Crabs – Joshua Button
• Kakadu Calling – Jane Christopherson
• Kangaroo and the Porpoise – Mung Mung Lirrmiyarri
• Kootear the Echidna – Cindy Laws
• Kupi Kupi and the Girl – Daphne Puntjina Burton
• Leaving Barrumbi – Leonie Norrington
• Life in the Great Sandy Desert – Pat Lowe & Jummy Pike
• Little Platypus and the Fire Spirit – Mundara Koorang
• Lizard Gang – Kirra Liscia Somerville
• Loongie the Greedy Crocodile - Lucy and Keifer Dann
• Love Like Water – Meme McDonald
• Lowitja – Lowitja O’Donoghue
• Luumpa The Magical Kingfisher – Bai Bai Napangarti
• Macquarie Aboriginal Words – Various
• Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia – Bill Arthur
• Magic Fire at Warlukurlangu – Matingali Napanangka Mudgedell
• Malu Kangaroo – Judith Morecroft
• Mark of Wagarl – Lorna Little
• Maybe Tomorrow – Pryor & McDonald
• Molly the Grey Kangaroo – John Lewis Clark
• Moonglue – Daisy Utemorrah
• More Tales of My Grandmother’s Dreamtime – Naiura
• My Country – William C Santo
• My Girragundji – Pryor & McDonald
• My Home in Kakadu – Jane Christopherson
• My Place – Sally Morgan
• Nana’s Land – Delphine Sarago-Kendrick
• Nardika Learns to Make a Spear – Chris Fry
• Nargun and the Stars – Patricia Wrightson
• Njunjul the Sun- Pryor & McDonald
• Old Frangipani Tree at Flying Fish Point – Trina Saffioti
• Old Tucker Man – Debbie Austin
• On Country: The Stories of Nyrlotte – Fiona Doyle
• Our Pet Pelican – Carol Mooka
• Outback – Annaliese Porter
• Pangkarlangu and the Lost Child – Molly Tasman Napurrurla
• Papunya School Book of History and Culture – Various
• Patterns of Australia – Bronwyn Bancroft
• People and Places an Indigenous First Discovery Book – Debbie Austin
• Possum and Wattle: My Big Book of Australian Words – Bronwyn Bancroft
• Rabbit Proof Fence – Doris Pilkington
• Rainbow Bird – Eric Maddern
• Sacred Cows – Anita Heiss & Danny Eastwood
• Sally’s Story – Sally Morgan
• Shack that Dad Built – Elaine Russell
• Sisi and the Cassowary – Arone Raymond Meeks
• Spirit of Barrumbi – Leonie Norrington
• Spotted Cat – Molly Tasman Napurrurla
• Stories from the Billabong – James Vance Marshall
• Stradbroke Dreamtime – Oodgeroo & Bronwyn Bancroft
• Tales of My Grandmother series (3 volumes) – Naiura
• Tangara – Nan Chauncy
• Tell Me Why – Robyn Templeton & Sarah Jackson
• The Barrumbi Kids – Leonie Norrington
• The Burnt Stick – Anthony Hill
• The Dream – Rae Harris & Beryl Harp
• The Flytrap – Meme McDonald
• The Magic Colours – Cecilia Egan
• The Other Side – Sally Morgan
• Tiddalik the Frog – Faundez
• Tjarany Roughtail: the Dreaming of the Rougtail Lizard – Gracie Greene
• Tom Tom – Rosemary Sullivan & Dee Huxley
• Turtle Egg Day – Ruth Thompson
• Two Hands Together – Dianna Kidd
• Two Hearted Numbat – Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina
• Two Wallabies – Henry Cook Jackamara
• Unna You Fullas – Glenyse Ward
• Walking with the Seasons – Diane Lucas
• Wandihnu and the Old Dugung – Elizabeth and Wandihnu Wymarra
• Warnayarra – the Rainbow Snake – Pamela Loftus
• When I Was Little Like You – Mary Malbunka
• When the Snake Bites the Sun – Mung Mung Lirrmiyarri
• White Clay and the Giant Kangaroo – Cecilia Egan
• Who’s That Jumbun in the Log? – Narelle McRobbie & Grace Fielding
• Willy Willy and the Ant – Cecilia Egan
• Winin Why the Emu Cannot Fly – Mary Carmel Charles
• Yolngu Aboriginal Spirit – Mununggurr & Yunupingu
• You and Me, Marrawee – Kerri Hashmi
• You and Me, Our Place – Leonie Norrington & De Huxley
• Yumba Days – Herb Wharton

Additional Recommendations

• Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937 – Anita Heiss
• Lenny and the Big Red Kinan -Faith Baiden (RUD review)
• Fair Skin Black Fella – Renee Fogorty (RUD review)

My goodness, I should have come up with a shorter challenge title. I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time.

NB This reading challenge is not affiliated with the Indigenous Literacy Project. The only association is the use of the ILP book list.

ILP Book List Reading Challenge Sign-Up

If you’d like to join me on my quest to read more Indigenous Australian authors and books with Indigenous Australian themes and settings, please grab the button from this post and add your name and a link to your introduction post in the Mr Linky below.

ILP Book List Reading Challenge Reviews

If you write reviews for any of the books you read for this challenge, please make sure you come back and add a link to your review post.