1. Bravery
2. Children as artists
3. Children as authors
4. Echoes
5. Fear of the dark
6. Music
7. Night
8. Nocturnal animals
9. Outdoors
10. Shadows
11. Stories in rhyme
12. Walking

‘Hello, hello, off we go …’ the family sing as they walk home on a very dark night. The endpapers and illustrations within the story are suitably dark and a little spooky, but not too frightening as the text says, ‘Hello, hello off we go … What is out there we don’t know’. Hand in hand the family walk through the bush, wondering what are the sounds they hear. Is it a turkey? Is it an emu? The text demands a response while the illustrations feature shadows and echoes that snare the viewer and create mystery and suspense.

The perfect ending brings comfort as the family is ‘home soon’ and note familiar sounds and creatures. The familiar story of what’s in the dark, rhyming words and illustrations by children are mesmerising and meant for sharing in a group and especially within the family.

Students from the Laverton, Menzies and Tjuntjuntjara remote schools at the third Spinifex Writing Camp created this book with support from songwriter Chris Aitken and author-illustrator Ann James. An added bonus is the QR code to hear the 'Hello, Hello' song.

1. The Making of Hello, Hello! Indigenous Literacy Foundation https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/news-events/the-making-of-hello-hello
2. ILF Spinifex Writing Camp 2018 https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/news-events/hello-hello-kalgoorlie
3. ABC Kalgoorlie-Goldfields F/B post on Hello, Hello book and Spinifex Writing Camp https://www.facebook.com/ABCGoldfieldsEsperance/posts/what-is-out-there-a-song-book-about-mysterious-noises-in-the-bush-created-by-you/10156577081346712/
4. Night Sounds of the Australian Bush – Common Brushtail Possum https://wildambience.com/wildlife-sounds/common-brushtail-possum/
5. Animal Noises in the Australian Bush https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYcDkoOXm2Y