10 Australian Children’s Books
Some of you may not know that we lived overseas for many years. In fact, all three kids were born in Central Australia. ED was just young enough when we left that she doesn’t remember very much about Australia any more. We’ll be doing a short unit on Australia when we start back up with school. With the help of one of my Australian friends, we came up with a list of books for that unit that I thought I would share with you today:
Some of the books we have enjoyed (and own!!) include: (Many of the links below are affiliate links.)
Wombat Stew – A funny tale about a dingo who plans to make a meal out of a wombat and all the animals that conspire against him.
Bilby Moon– Little Bilby leaves her burrow each night and notices the changing moon. She meets a lot of night time creatures native to the Australian desert on her adventures.
Possum Magic– Grandma Poss uses bush magic to make Little Possum invisible. While searching to make Possum visible again they travel around Australia and try Australian foods like lamingtons and Anzac biscuits.
The Pumpkin Runner – This is the story of how an eccentric farmer from Blue Gum Creek in Australia who won a 542 mile race.
Going for Oysters– The story of an Australian aboriginal family who lives outbush. After spending the day gathering oysters, a young aboriginal girl and her siblings venture into the dangerous Eastern Swamp.
The Story of Rosy Dock -This story is set in Central Australia along the Finke River. The author explores the consequences of introducing non-native plants (Rosy Dock) to the area.
Are We There Yet? A Journey Around Australia – A friend gave us this book as we were leaving Australia. It’s the story of a family who travel around Australia in a camper van.
My friend said her kids have loved books about the aboriginal dreamtime.
Their favourite is How The Birds Got Their Colours : An Aboriginal Story. (affiliate link) You can hear it being read at this youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mda6CnUTX4U
Another favourite dreamtime story was: Tiddalick, the Greedy Frog: An Aboriginal Dreamtime Story (affiliate link)
Two more books my friend suggested that we include in our unit are
Where the Forest Meets the Sea – This book is set in the rain forest in far North Queensland.
The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie – A tale of two gumnut brothers who go on various adventures. Along the way they meet many Australian animals.
You can find other Australian books at Good Reads – Best Australian Literature for Children.
I also asked my friend if she had any suggestions of movies the kids and I might watch together. Here were her suggestions. We haven’t yet watched these, but I thought I’d share them here and you can preview them yourself to see if they are appropriate for your family.
Movies
1. Storm Boy: This is a classic Australian movie.
2. Babe
3. Australia (not sure it’s appropriate but it’s very Australian! This might be good for us parents to enjoy after the kids are in bed!)
Finally, I thought I’d share a collage of pictures from when we lived in Australia. If you are interested, you can browse through the Where We Used to Live – Australia category. I loved putting this collage together. It sure brought back a lot of good memories!
If you have any books that we should add to this list, come tell us over at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.
