Dreamers (Ezekiel Kwaymullina, illus by Sally Morgan, Fremantle Press)

This companion book to My Country, which comes from the same mother-and-son team, is full of swirling movement and vibrant colour. ‘We are the dream and the dreamers,’ begins the short, poetic text. Each spread has a similar claim about what the cast of lively children can do, so that the book becomes a catalogue of possibilities, spoken by the group, and all linked to the natural world. Inclusive? The children in the pictures are of every skin colour, including green! Everyone will have a favourite spread—mine is: ‘The song spinners and the rainbow dancers.’ This book will be welcomed in classrooms, inspiring movement and dance, and creative writing, as children add their own attributes to the list. The voice of the child narrators sounds authentic throughout, until the last claim: ‘We are children wild and hope bright,’ which reads more like an adult comment. A cheerful and empowering book that could serve as an anthem for two- to eight-year-olds.

Robin Morrow is president of IBBY Australia (International Board on Books for the Young)

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews