AustLit

'In the 1860s the game of cricket was hugely popular and often played between neighbouring pastoral stations in Western Victoria.

'One day at Pine Hills station, a tall aboriginal boy steps out from the phalaris grass and joins in a game of cricket. He shows them all how to play the game with skill, grace and flair. His name was Unaarramin or Johhny Mullagh from Mullagh Station.

'Touring England, playing for the Melbourne Cricket Club and for his local club the Harrow Cricket Club Johnny Mullaghs achievements in batting and bowling are comparable to the best the game has ever seen. Fifteen years before Test Cricket began, Johnny Mullagh became a true sporting legend, his feats making him one of Australia's first international cricket stars.

'A cricketing hero to a white audience, he was also a man caught between two worlds, facing racism and discrimination his entire life.

'Knockabout Cricket is a fictional account of how Johnny Mullagh may have come to play cricket, told from the perspective of a squatters son. This picture book is supported by historical facts about Knockabout Cricket and Johnnys life from historical documents and newspaper clippings.' (Publication summary)

'On Christmas Eve, 1882, Lady Janet Clarke burnt wooden bails at her home in Sunbury, Victoria, after a social cricket match between some local lads and the visiting England team. The 'Rupertswood' Ashes were presented to the Honorable Ivo Bligh, the England captain, by Lady Janet as a personal memento of his victory that Christmas Eve - but also as a joke. This picture story book is a fictionalised account of the story, told from the perspective of Lady Janet's six-year old son, Russell. ' (Publication summary)

The product of 15 years work of Aboriginal singer songwriter Ruby Hunter with support from her partner Archie Roach. This stunning children's song book, Butcher Paper, Texta, Black Board and Chalk is beautifully illustrated and accompanied with a music CD and informative DVD.

Many of the songs were written by children in the Cape York, Penisula region, through song writing and music workshops held by Ruby and Archie. Through the perspective of Aboriginal children and songwriters, the songs reflect the beliefs, pride, aspirations and issues of clan groups and Aboriginal communities for the coastal savannahs of Kowanjama to the rainforest of Lockhart River. (Source: ABS Shop website: http://shop.abc.net.au)

''This song came to me when I was living in Papunya in 1982. Here I was in the minority as a whitefella working in a majority blackfella community but I was having a great time. I was mixing in and getting on well with everyone. Especially the young fellas my own age. We played footy and music together. So with that and the truth of the experiences I was having in Papunya the song just came to me. It was like a simple but powerful message. I still wasn't sure though, so I showed it to Sammy Butcher. He said we (the Warumpi Band) should do it. We're all living together now - black and white, we gotta get along. Before we recorded it, our lead singer, George, suggested we include yellafella as well. Which we did, which was right because the song went further than just blackfellas and whitefellas, it had to include all peoples from all places and it didn't matter what colour they were.'' (Publication summary)

'Vullah Vunnah Nah is a Gunditjmara [Dhauwurd Wurrung] lullaby, translated into English by Patricia Clarke. She has included both English and Gunditjmara words in the text and illustrated them with bright rainbows. This simple song could be mastered in the classroom quickly and shared with others. It also reminds that to have a rainbow, there must be rain, providing an opportunity for classroom discussion (on many levels)...' (Source: Publishers website)

'Vera is a caravan who has seen better days. She sits abandoned in a wrecker's yard. Her life is turned around with the arrival of a family who want to bring her back to her former glory and set about cleaning, repairing and painting her, ready to start a new life.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Inspired by the well-known Australian song 'From Little Things Big Things Grow' by Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly, the class 5 and 6 children of the Edmund Rice Primary School in Deleco, East Timor, have retold the story of their school growing from small beginnings, with problems along the way, to big things in a small mountain village. Despite the history of invasion, poverty and struggle still felt by most of the Timorese population, the children at Deleco Primary show a great love and devotion to their country and have much hope for the future.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In 1982, Shane Howard's massive anthem "Solid Rock" from the album Spirit of Place, (recorded with his legendary band Goanna), reverberated across the airwaves and still does today.

'It was one of the first songs of its idiom to broach the subject of Aboriginal rights in Australia and impacted powerfully on a whole new generation of writers and musicians that followed. The album was released in 35 territories, worldwide.

'Solid Rock is an inspirational Australian story by singer songwriter Shane Howard, illustrated by the school children from Mutujulu, near Uluru, Australia.

'Shane returned to Uluru with renowned Queensland artist Peter Hudson to gather stunning illustrations from the local school children to adorn the book and retell the story of these famous lyrics for a new generation. Peter Hudson's brilliant images of Uluru and surrounding landscape place the story in the land itself.' (From the publisher's website.)

'"Took the Children Away", is a moving indictment of the treatment of indigenous children from the 'Stolen Generation' and a song which 'struck a chord' not only among the wider Aboriginal community, but also nationally. The song was awarded two ARIA Awards, as well as an international Human Rights Achievement Award, the first time this had been awarded to a songwriter because of a song. The album it came from featured in Rolling Stone magazine's Top 100 Albums for 1992.

'From the lyrics of this iconic song a very special book for children of all ages has been created. Featuring he heart wrenching lyrics of Archie Roach and the classic artwork of his late wife and soul-mate Ruby Hunter, this book is destined to become a masterpiece.

'Renowned Queensland artist, Peter Hudson has adorned the book with his stunning landscapes of South West Victoria - Archie's traditional lands.' (From the publisher's website.)

'From the iconic Australian song written by Neil Murray comes an exciting and inspirational story for children of all ages. Every page is bursting with colour to depict the song lyrics as seen by the paintings of school children of the Kintore and Galiwinku communities.

'Neil Murray travelled back to these places that inspired his beautiful song with renowned Queensland artist, Peter Hudson. Peter's artwork graces the book with his stunning landscapes ... writer Martin Flanagan [says] "Aboriginal people sing 'My Island Home' like it's theirs. White people sing it like it's theirs. People in Australia who have come from other countries, other cultures, sing 'My Island Home' like it's theirs. That what makes it such a great song. Everyone who loves Australia can sing it."

'This was the song sung at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics and will become a must have in every Australian home!

'A percentage of the profits will be returned to Ian Thorpe's Fountain for Youth, who have in part funded the project and will auspice the raised funds.' (From the publisher's website.)

From Little Things Big Things Grow presents the lyrics of the Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly song of the same title, alongside the history of the Gurindji people's plight for their traditional land in the Northern Territory.

The song recounts the story of when Vincent Lingiari and other Gurindji workers walked off the Wave Hill cattle station in 1966. What began as a strike over wages and conditions became an eight-year long struggle for the return of traditional lands. It ended in August 1975 when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically poured sand into old Lingiari's hand. The book is illustrated Queensland artist Peter Hudson and the kids from Gurindji country.

From Little Things Big Things Grow is a not-for-profit project established to raise funds to provide art, heritage, and cultural facilities for Gurindji people, with the assistance of Ian Thorpe's Fountain for Youth.

The budding young artists who illustrated From Little Things Big Things Grow attend the local Kalkaringi Community Education Centre (CEC). Kalkaringi is a remote community approximately 500km southwest of Katherine in the Northern Territory. The school services both Kalkaringi and the nearby community of Dargaragu. (Adapted from Publisher's Website)