Welcome To Country

This is an invitation to readers to embrace a sense of their country that not only puts its long Aboriginal history first, but values what that history can offer to us today. Recommended for readers five to fifty. * Reading Time *Welcome to Country is an important narrative for teachers in schools and kindergartens and for families to share. Highly recommended. * ReadPlus *A beautifully illustrated portayal of the Wurundjeri People and their connection to Country. * Australian Family Therapists’ Award For Children’s Literature *This beautifully realised picture book…is a lyrical yet simple welcome to the traditional lands of the Gurundjeri People of Melbourne and the surrounding areas. * Magpies Magazine *This is an important book for young readers and a boon for educators who are seeking to find really strong examples of Aboriginal culture and tradition. The beauty of the imagery only serves to enhance the gravitas of Aunty Joy’s Welcome to Country message. * Creative Kids’ Tales *

Joy Murphy Wandin is a storyteller and writer who is passionate about using stories to bring people together and as a conduit for understanding aboriginal culture. She is an Officer of the Order of Australia. Welcome to Country is her first book. Aunty Joy lives in Victoria, Australia.

Lisa Kennedy is descendant of the Trawlwoolway People on the north-east coast of Tasmania. Lisa was born in Melbourne and as a child lived close to the Maribyrnong River. Here she experienced the gradual restoration of the natural river environment alongside cultural regeneration and reclamation. Through sense of place she feels connected to the Wurundjeri country and all that entails — the water, the land, the animals and the ancestors. The experience of loss and reclamation is embedded in her work. Welcome to Country is her first title with Walker Books.