Title: Lenny and the Big Red Kinan
Author/Illustrator: Faith Baisden
Publisher: Binanbar Books, 2008 (16 pages)
ISBN: 978-0-98053-591-4
Suitable Age: 3+

Summary (back cover)

Awabakal is the language of the Aboriginal people from the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Lower Hunter region of New South Wales in Australia. As Lenny takes his walk and collection insects, we learn some words that relate to the bush, to the landscape and the little creatures that would be found there.

Comments

I came across this book when I was helping my daughter research a school project on Aboriginal ceremonies and customs. We decided to focus on the ceremonies celebrated by the local Aboriginal people for our area, the Awabakals.

Our search for information led us to the Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association, where we also found this lovely little story book that features words of the Awabakal language in a simply story about a young boy taking a walk through the local bushland.

The story is very basic with Lenny taking his big red kinan (bag) with him on his walk so that he can collection interesting things to bring home to show his tankaan (mother).

The illustrations are stylised and bright, the text has a familiar, repetitive rhythm and the Awabakal words scattered throughout the story are clearly listed on each page. There is also a detailed pronunciation guide and a glossary listing of 61 words related to bushwalking.

My 5 year old son now insists on referring to any bag he sees as “kinan” and my daughter is keen to take this book to school to share with her class.

Lenny and the Big Red Kinan is a fantastic way to share the Awabakal language with children. The book itself is a great resource for students learning about the Aboriginal people, especially the Awabakals from the Newcastle area, and the glossary of words would assist students with writing their own bushwalk adventure as an extension task after reading the story.

Reading this story and helping with my daughter’s project research as highlighted how little I know about the Awabakal people. I must confess I am a little disappointed with this fact given that I was born and raised within the Awabakal lands. I’m looking forward to learning more now that I have discovered the wealth of resources available at the Arwarbukarl CRA.

Related Links
Review of Lenny and the Big Red Kinan at Suite101.com
I Am, You Are, We Are Australian post at Oh, The Thinks you can Think