I have another beautiful picture book from Walker Books to share today - Waves. This one is written by Donna Rawlins and illustrated by Heather Potter and Mark Jackson.

This book tells the stories of some of the children who have migrated by sea to Australia over tens of thousands of years. In all we get 15 stories from different periods of migration, starting from Anak who traveled to Australia with her family 50,000 years ago all the way through to Abdul in the 2000s. I know I say it all the time, but ooooh these illustrations are so beautiful.
 

I love narrative non-fiction books (both for kids and in my own reading time) and this is a fantastic example. While I felt like the words in here were a bit complex and sometimes heavy for my daughter (at 4 years old), it was still perfect for us to look at and discuss. We looked at the timeline at the from of the book, and the illustrations accompanying each story, and I used the text to guide our discussion about the places people came from and the sorts of reasons they might leave.


I think Waves is a gorgeous and important addition to any bookshelf, and I really love that this is a book that will grow with us, and continue to give us a starting point for discussions about refugees and poverty and war and the importance of welcoming people to our country, as well as the importance of recognising its the traditional owners.

xo Bron

*** Waves***
 Available now
Source: Sent to me by Walker Books
Age: As written, from 7 years, but this could be used as to discuss the themes from an earlier age
Themes: Migration, refugees, war, poverty, illness/death