Stolen Girl Trina Saffioti & Norma MacDonald (Magabala Books)A young Aboriginal girl is taken by the Child Protector of Aboriginals to live in a new home with other Aboriginal children. At night she whispers to herself her Aboriginal name and she sings songs, imagines and dreams. She remembers her early life and upbringing with her mother and the Elders. She hears of the 'lucky' girls who are taken as domestic help and decides she doesn't want to be that lucky. One day the time has come and she takes her first steps back to her home.
This fictionalised account is a great way to introduce young readers to the Stolen Generation. The story is beautifully and emotionally told and accompanied by lovely water colour illustrations.
Ubby's Underdogs : The Legend of the Phoenix Dragon Brenton E. McKenna (Magabala Boooks)The cast of Ubby’s Underdogs – a small rag-tag group of misfits who makeup the town’s smallest gang but are often underestimated by the other town gangs includes Ubby, a street-wise Aboriginal girl, Sai Fong, a Chinese girl just off the boat from Shanghai, Fin a cool Irishman and Sel a big friendly giant and a New Zealander descended from Maori warriors called Gabe.
Set in the 1940s in the small pearling settlement of Broome this graphic novel is a heroic tale of fun and adventure, with themes that include courage, bravery and friendship, and the weak and the strong and the battle of the underdogs. It is intertwined with myths and legends.
This is a fun read – especially if readers like graphic novels. It is the first Australian Indigenous novel (and the first in the Ubby's Underdogs trilogy).
