The Land Recalls You (Kirli Saunders, illus David Cragg & Noni Cragg, Scholastic)

The title of multi-awarded Gunai poet Kirli Saunders’s picture book The Land Recalls You honours the Stolen Generations and their descendants, as well as others who have been taken from Country, in a story of remembering and returning. The book, illustrated by Bundjalung siblings David and Noni Cragg, begins: ‘Do not cry for earth who birthed you, for river as she calls your name… Do not weep for songs of land, for your old people and sacred stories’. Embracing a storytelling style that lends itself to being read aloud, scenes sweep from the river to forest, sea and bushland. First Nations people, painted with acrylics in a youthful style, fill these scenes, along with lush illustrations of native flora and fauna. I felt that the book had an implied primary readership of First Nations young people; however, this moving book would also benefit other readers aged 4+ and educators seeking classroom resources that discuss the Stolen Generations. Personal in tone, it is the story of many. Allusive and elliptical, The Land Recalls You would sit well alongside Our Dreaming by Saunders and Dub Leffler, For 60,000 Years by Marlee Jade Silva and Rhys Paddick and Open Your Heart to Country by Jasmine Seymour.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Joy Lawn has worked for independent bookshops and blogs at Paperbark Words. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Friday Unlocked reviews Reviews