15 Australian Picture Books Everyone Should Read

OK, here we go. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I am taking a riff off this article by Susan Wyndham in this week's summer Sydney Morning Herald. The idea is to list, in Susan's words:

''15 Australian books - and some extra suggestions - that every
Australian can enjoy if they want to understand our literature, our
country and ourselves''. Culture is a conversation and knowing these
books enables us to talk to each other."

I am preparing 3 lists of 15 books: picture books, children's books and young adult books. Like Susan, my emphasis is on fiction, but there will be some non-fiction books as well. There's no poetry to speak of. And like Susan, I consulted friends and colleagues and my personal reference library (particularly The Dromkeen Book of Australian Children's Illustrators for the picture book list and Maurice Saxby's 3 volume history). However, the final decisions are my own. I'm looking forward to the discussion that may follow.

Remember—these are not lists of the best, or best-selling, or most beloved or even most highly awarded books. They are not a survey of the most important or Best-Beloved authors and illustrators, although I anticipate that many of them will make an appearance. It is a list that, if you read them all, would go some way towards an understanding of, in addition to what Susan has noted, the preoccupations Australian children's literature, and what those preoccupations say about Australian childhood and adolescence (or perhaps our adult perceptions of and ideas about Australian childhood and adolescence). The books are organised chronologically.

The final things to say was that this was an extremely difficult task. Here is the picture book list: the children's and YA lists are still to come (because I am still working on them!). Have at me!

(Also—please note. This is a very long post!)

15 Australian Picture Books Everyone Should Read

1. Karrawingi the Emu by Leslie Rees and Walter Cunningham (ill) (1946)

This book was the winner of the first Children's Book Council Book of the Year awards, and so is worth kicking off this list for that reason alone, but it is an early example of our interest in indigenous animals as a subject for children's books—especially picture books. (As we'll see, this interest persists to the present day.) Karrawingi is just one of around a dozen of these nature stories by Rees and illustrated mostly by Cunningham (with some other significant illustrators such as Margaret Senior also involved in the series). The books use fictional techniques to tell stories of Australian animals who are characterised but not anthropomorphised—they remain true to their animal nature, and the stories were carefully researched, as their purpose was as much to educate as to entertain. These days we'd classify it more as an illustrated chapter book than a picture book, but putting it in the picture book list is an opportunity to recognise the importance of the creators of these books to Australian children's literature,  writer Leslie Rees  and especially illustrator Walter Cunningham. Jeffrey Prentice credits Cunningham for changing the format of the Australian children's picture book. Walter Cunningham was also an art teacher, and married one of his students, Noela Young, who herself went on to become one of our most important children's book illustrators (sadly not represented on this list, so yay I can mention her here!).

2. The Quinkins by Percy Trezise and Dick Roughsey  (1978)

There's a big gap of years between the first and second books on this list, and when I was doing my research, I was interested to note how few Picture Book of the Year awards were given by the CBCA through the 50s and 60s. I'm not well educated enough to know what might have been going on in printing technology/industry that might have contributed to the relative dearth of picture books, but I'm curious enough to wonder why they seem like drought years for the format.

Anyway, all of that aside, it seemed necessary to include one of the picture books by the Roughsey/Trezise team. Working in the modern picture book format (pioneered by Cunningham? Any picture book historians out there?), the intention of Trezise and Roughsey (Aboriginal name Goobalathaldin—from the Lardil language group of Mornington Island) was to preserve traditional, non-sacred stories (suitable for children) via the picture book format. I think it's safe to say that for at least one, if not more, generation of Australian children, the Trezise/Roughsey books were their first (and in some instances highly dramatic!) experience of authentic Indigenous stories. They are also really beautiful!

3. Mulga Bill’s Bicycle AB "Banjo" Paterson, Deborah and Kilmeny Niland (ills) (1973)

Several suggestions were made that I include picture books of classic Australian poems: Desmond Digby's beautiful Waltzing Matilda (I have been lucky enough to see the original illustrations of this, held in the State Library of NSW—they are TINY!), The Man from Snowy River illustrated by Annette Macarthur-Onslow (which gives me the opportunity to mention her classic Uhu, which, alas, didn't make the final 15), and I'd also add Andrew McLean's gorgeous My Country (Dorothea Mackellar). I settled on Mulga Bill's Bicycle for a few reasons. First of all, children will have a good chance of meeting these other classic Australian poems without the picture books, beautiful and important as they are, whereas Mulga Bill is these days not so well known outside of the picture book. Secondly, Mulga Bill is a lovely example of the peculiarly Australian take on the—well, not exactly tall tale, but something close to it. It's a typical Aussie bush ballad, a sort of mix of adventure and cautionary tale, full of outrageous over AND understatement and rueful good humour. So I think it's not only a classic of the Australian funny-bone, but it's also illustrated by Kilmeny and Deborah Niland, daughters of writers D'Arcy Niland and Ruth Park (look for her in the children's list). Saxby says of the Niland twins that "Before Julie Vivas they established a wide-eyed, idiosyncratic humorous approach to children's book illustration".

Special Mention: The Oath of Bad Brown Bill by Stephen Axelsen (1978) An original ballad in the style of, well, Banjo Paterson, this was the lovely Steve Axelsen's first published book, an honour book in the CBCA awards (sadly long out of print). Steve may not be the most famous of our illustrators, but he's possibly our finest comic illustrator and for many years defined the look of the very influential and important NSW School Magazine. Of which, more later.

4. John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat Jenny Wagner and Ron Brooks (ill) (1977)

Because we're not all bush babies and ballads. John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat is a classic of a different order. Never out of print, it's a story that can be read on many levels—as a simple tale of friendship and loyalty, or on a deeper allegorical level as a story about the coming, and acceptance of death. It was the picture book that taught me how picture books work, about metaphor and allegory and the role of illustration, and about the beauty that can be found in even the darkest of subjects. It's perhaps one of the early example of a type of picture book Australian writers and illustrators have excelled at—sophisticated and accessible, beautiful and slightly melancholic. It's a standard-bearer for excellence and artistic integrity. And while Ron Brooks will get another look-in, this is a great time to remind everyone how important Jenny Wagner has been to Australian children's books, and how prolific and essential she was in the 70s and 80s. (See also The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek.)

5. Possum Magic Mem Fox and Julie Vivas (1983)

Well, really, you just couldn't leave this one off, could you. Apparently we ARE all about the marsupials. Also, Vegemite. Possum Magic is pretty much unarguably the pinnacle of classy Australiana for kids. The story behind the story is well known by now—multiple drafts (and rejections) of a manuscript originally about mice, until Sue and Jane at Omnibus Books suggested the mice be possums, and voilà—history was made. Also, Mem Fox is, for much of the world, the face of Australian children's picture books. Also—Julie Vivas. Enough said.

To be honest, I wonder if Possum Magic would be published today. We've moved a long way past overt Aussie-isms in our books, by and large—but then, looking back and forward to the two ends of this list, what really distinguishes Possum Magic from Karrawingi or the book at number 15? (No peeking!) And there's little doubt Possum Magic is probably our best-loved children's picture book ever, and likely to remain that way. It makes for an interesting conundrum about our attitudes to our own cultural touchstones, that we cringe at, for example, our losing bid for the FIFA World Cup (surfing kangaroos! Eep!) and yet hold Hush and Grandma Poss so close to our hearts. Whatever, it's a charmer, there's no doubt, and it does capture a peculiarly Australian sense of humour, I think. Plus—Vegemite.

6. My Place Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins (ill) (1987)

Perhaps the best and only picture book that captures our history and the experience of urban Australian kids from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, all in 48 pages. For those readers who don't know the book (and that would be my international readers—surely every Australian interested in children's literature knows this book intimately), each sequence of 2 double page spreads is set at the same address in an inner Sydney suburb and takes the reader back in time ten years, from 1988 to 1788 and the arrival of the First Fleet of convict ships from England. Nadia Wheatley is a trained historian (why do we always say 'trained' historian?!) and the research is immaculate—as is Donna Rawlins' research for the illustrations, which are exquisite in their detail and full of warmth and a sense of time and place. And so they perfectly match, complement and extend Nadia's text. Written in response to the 1988 bicentennial of the white settlement of Australia, it's also an early example of a picture book that brings in the political, but never at the expense of story. A 20th Anniversary edition was published this year with some additional material to bring the historical timeline into the modern day. A timeless classic—every home should own it. Oh, and apparently the second series of the TV show based on the book is under way. Yay!

7. Greetings from Sandy Beach Bob Graham (1990)

Ah! Bob Graham. I confess to the fact that Bob Graham was one of my first author crushes. Early on in my days working with the NSW Branch of the CBCA, when the Awards ceremony was held in Sydney (1991—the year Greetings from Sandy Beach won Picture Book of the Year) a friend of mine and I followed Bob into the auditorium (I think it was at the Opera House), and we giggled like schoolgirls the whole way. He was just so warm and avuncular-looking, like a cuddly teddy bear, and those qualities come through in all of his books. I generally think every new Bob Graham book is my favourite Bob Graham book, but Greetings from Sandy Beach makes this list because it so perfectly captures the Australian family, and the Aussie beach holiday. It's joyful and funny and drenched in sunshine—just the way our country, and the Australian childhood, are at their very best. 

8. Window Jeannie Baker (1991)

I mentioned in my post about Ruth Park's death that it's an interesting phenomena that outsiders are often the best observers of a country and its society and culture, and I think the English-born Jeannie Baker is a really good example of this. Jeannie's picture books have not only captured our landscape, flora, fauna and natural environments perhaps better than any non-indigenous illustrator, but with books like Window and its follow-up Belonging, she also captured the social and cultural life-cycles of Australian families, city and the bush. And in her most recent book, Mirror, she also places that Australian experience in a broader world context. Plus—those extraordinary collages. I've been fascinated by them for 20 years, and I've been lucky enough to see a little of Jeannie's process, and I am still utterly bamboozled by the patience and focus creating these works of art requires. Anyway, I could have picked any of Jeannie's books for a slot on this list, but I really like the way Window follows the life-cycle of a child and her home. It echoes My Place in that regard—perhaps there's something about our relatively short history that encourages and requires us to interrogate it in the intimate way these books do, piece by piece. (Discuss!)

9. Tjarani Roughtail Gracie Greene and Joe Tramacchi, Lucille Gill (ill) (1992)

When I was in Ireland on my Churchill fellowship, and young girl in a school in Dublin asked me if children in Australia learnt bilingually, as Irish children do. With a little probing, I confirmed that she meant, did Australian children learn the Indigenous language alongside English? Well, it set me back on my heels a bit. I explained to her that there wasn't a single Aboriginal language, but more than 200 (many tragically now lost), but privately I realised that even if there had been a single Aboriginal language, there'd be no political or social will to introduce bilingual education in this country. That young Irish girl had a better understanding of the value of bilingual education than any one of our politicians.

And so we turn to books...

Tjarany Roughtail is a landmark in Australian children's publishing. It is a collection of Dreamtime stories of the Kukatja people of north-western Australia (the Kimberleys), told through text, illustration and diagrams that explicate the complexities of Aboriginal culture, law and kinship connections. It's also a bilingual text, with the stories and other information presented in English and Kukatja. And, like all of the books on this list, it's beautifully written, illustrated and designed. From Magabala Books, our leading Indigenous publisher.

Special Mention: Do Not Go Round the Edges by Daisy Utemorrah and Pat Torres (ill)

10. My Farm Alison Lester (1992)

Consensus from my friendly advisors seemed to be that I should include Magic Beach on the list, or Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo, or Are We There Yet?—all of which could happily have taken a slot, but I'm going for My Farm instead. (Bob Graham already had the Beach Book position sown up.) But there had to be an Alison Lester, and My Farm is as lovely an evocation of the country childhood as you could hope to find. (Plus! Cats on horseback!) Although we're actually a largely urban, coastal people, we hold the country dear to our heart, and the country childhood is an important sub-genre of our picture books.

Special Mention: Two Summers John Heffernan and Freya Blackwood (ill), A Year on Our Farm Penny Matthews and Andrew McLean (ill), Pudding and Chips Penny Matthews and Janine Dawson (ill) and Shutting the Chooks In Libby Gleeson and Ann James (ill)

11. Fox Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks (ill) (2000)

Margaret Wild is, I believe, our most accomplished picture book author by far. She's a rare writer who is both prolific and whose work is always raising the bar for others to try and meet. Fox may be her masterwork: it's an extraordinary and uniquely Australian fable of friendship, trust and loyalty. Married with Ron Brooks' raw, powerful illustrations, it's a breath-taking, emotional journey into the heart of darkness, and hope—all set against the unforgiving landscape of the Australian outback. We all know that the picture book is an art form—Fox takes it to a whole other level. (I was privileged to be working with Margaret at ABC Children's Books when she was writing Fox, and read it in early drafts, so I have a very strong personal affiliation to the book—but that's not why it's here. It's here because it's brilliant.)

12. A is for Aunty Elaine Russell (2000)

Speaking of Margaret Wild, A is for Aunty is a book that she conceived when we worked together at ABC Children's Books in the mid-90s—but I am sure she would agree that the resulting picture book is all Elaine Russell's work. This alphabet book draws on Elaine's childhood growing up on the Aboriginal Mission at Murrin Bridge in outback NSW, and so both complements and stands in contrast to those earlier-cited country childhood picture books. Now, for a picture book of this quality that depicts a contemporary urban Aboriginal childhood and I'll be very happy indeed. (And remember the gorgeous fold-out poster-sized sip jacket on the original hardback edition? What a treat!)

Special Mention: The Shack
that Dad Built Elaine Russell (2004).

13. Papunya School Book of Country and History 2001

This extraordinary book has won more awards than you can poke the proverbial at, and everyone well-deserved. It details the history of the Anangu, people from five language groups who came to live together (after being dispossessed of their own lands) at Papunya, where one of the most important and influential Aboriginal art movements developed over time. The Papunya School itself  is grounded in the Aboriginal way of learning, and this holisitic approach to educating the whole child is replicated in the way this unique book explores history, culture, Language, Law and Country. The book was put together with the support of Nadia Wheatley and Ken Searle, with contributions come from adult and child members of the Papunya School community; text and illustrations in standard English, Aboriginal English and two Indigenous languages; illustrations, maps, diagrams and photographs all combine to tell the story of the Anangu. It's a revolutionary approach to picture book design, content and collaboration: would it had led to a revolution in education! Ah well—see my comments about political will and bilingualism. It did, though, lead to Nadia and Ken running projects with children across Australia where they bring the children to write and illustrate stories and observations about their own environment. One such project led to the book Going Bush, which deserves its own Special Mention here.

14. The Arrival Shaun Tan 2006

Shaun Tan has been the brightest star in the firmament of Australian children's picture books in the past decade. Not to say that he's the only great new artist to emerge, or that the "old hands" aren't continuing to make important contributions to the field, but I think it's fair to day that no picture book writer or illustrator has received the public attention and critical success that Shaun has—both here and internationally. And while Shaun Tan didn't invent the sophisticated, intellectually and emotionally challenging picture book for older readers, he certainly has made his own definitive mark on the format with books like The Red Tree and my personal favourite, The Lost Thing*, and his collaborations with John Marsden and Gary Crew (whose own ground-breaking The Watertower, illustrated by the late and sorely missed Steven Woolman, certainly opened the gates for the publishing of this type of picture book). Shaun notes that he doesn't specifically create his picture books for a child reader, but given the format he works in, that's how his books are generally received. I'd go a little further than that and say that while his books can be read and enjoyed by people from late childhood to Advanced Age, there is definitely something very child-like and child-friendly in his characters, and his stories, and their somewhat eccentric world-view, that ensure his books are not mere gate-crashers at the party, but welcome and treasured guests. (A bit like Eric, really.)

The Arrival was something else again—a wordless narrative about the migrant experience, so deeply relevant to and resonant with so many Australians (all of us, actually, bar the Indigenous peoples, if you go back far enough, which is actually not all that far at all...). The book is presented in the graphic novel form at a time when the graphic novel had hardly raised a ripple with Australian readers (outside die-hard genre fiction fans) much less Australian publishers. And it picked up so many awards, no-one could dare overlook it, even those who with predictable bluster spluttered about a wordless text winning literary prizes. I think history will prove—has already proved—that Tan is not an artist who will be quickly forgotten, and The Arrival may be the best Australian book of the decade. Bar none.

*Oh, and if you didn't know, the film of The Lost Thing has been shortlisted for an Oscar. Keep that champagne chilled!

15. Diary of a Wombat Jackie French and Bruce Whatley (ill) 2007

And so we wind our way back to where we began—with a beloved Australian animal, the wombat. Actually, like emus, wombats aren't always that people-friendly (and nor, must I add, are emus marsupials, which I might have inadvertently suggested earlier in this Very Long Post, that they were...). I wrote earlier about our ambivalence to Australiana in our books, our dislike of a coy, retro iconography that suggests we're a nation stuck somewhere in about 1986, back when Paul Hogan was still that funny bloke who was a painter on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

But the fact is we are a nation of extraordinary flora and fauna, and it would be nonsensical to pretend otherwise, and a desperate act of cultural vandalism to excise them from our collective imagination.

So thank goodness for Jackie French, who lives cheek-by-jowl with the damn beasties and brings them to us, in books like Diary of a Wombat, in all their glorious nonsense, chutzpah and unavoidable cuteness, with great dollops of humour and a down-to-earth lack of sentimentality. She and Bruce Whatley sync together beautifully in this book and others, and if Diary of a Wombat isn't the funniest Australian picture book ever written, I reckon it's got to be in the top whatever. It's down-the-pub humour, mums-over-the-back-fence humour, kids-in-the-playground humour. And there's nought wrong with that.

So that's my 15 picture books to read if you want to get a handle on Australia culture and childhood via the picture book. And here are a few extra mentions that you really ought to read if you want to be Very Well Read in Australian picture books. The rest is up to you—see you in the comments!

Special Other Mentions:

Animalia Graeme Base 1986 Well, really, you can't profess to fully know Australian picture books without having a more than passing knowledge with Mr Base. And Animalia hasn't ever really been topped in the Favourites lists, unless it's The Eleventh Hour.

Drac and the Gremlin Allan Baillie and Jane Tanner (ill) 1988

Dog In, Cat Out Gillian Rubinstein and Ann James (ill) 1991 Dismissed and mocked by some at the time because of the "mere" four words, "Dog In, Cat Out", reconfigured on each spread, this is actually a charming evocation of the "typical" Australian suburban home in all its chaos—kids, cats, dogs, chooks... (how many were going to St Ives?) There are chooks, aren't there? There  has to be chooks...

The Royal Guest Tohby Riddle 1993 Can't fairly overlook Tohby and his idiosyncratic and witty picture books. This one has a particularly Australian sensibility, with its fanciful imagining of Our Betty bunking in with Mrs Jones from Padstow. Lovely, affectionate, and with a slight sting in the tail.

Stradbroke Dreamtime Oodgeroo Noonuccul and Bronwyn Bancroft 1993 Also not exactly a picture book, but a beautiful edition of Oodgeroo's stories of growing up in the far north-east, beautifully illustrated by illustrator and Bundjalung artist Bronwyn Bancroft.