1. Children as artists
2. Environmental education
3. Helpfulness
4. Insects
5. Kindness
6. Kowanyama (Qld NW Cape York SD54-15)
7. Landscapes
8. Music
9. Singing
10. Stories in rhyme

In jaunty rhythm and rhyme, viewers and listeners move through the Australian landscape teeming with insects in and around Kowanyama located 600 kilometres northwest of Cairns and 17 kilometres east of the west coast of Cape York Peninsula. The local people are custodians of 273,000 hectares of land surrounding Kowanyama.

The story exudes a passion for all insects and pleads for humans to look after them. Questions are asked such as, is the beetle upturned, needing a helping hand to get back on the track? Or, if you see a line of ants, try not to step on them and leave them alone. Each message to care for insects features opposite a lush watercolour painting by youthful artists. These capture both the insects and their particular part of the landscape. The text message conveyed throughout is ‘let the insects be’. The text entreats the viewer: ‘Crickets, caterpillars, moths and flies, cicadas, beetles and dragonflies, bees, termites and slaters too. We love insects, don’t you?’

The books in this series all feature the same horizontal landscape, which is well used. In this title, each double page features a solid bright colour behind the text while opposite there is an insect featured in its particular landscape but needing a human’s helping hand. There are brief details about the Kowanyama State School students and the area where they live at the back of the book.

Wendy Notley is a non-Aboriginal early childhood trained teacher who has worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. She is the creator of the Aunty Wendy’s Mob resources—song and stories that honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Her website states that great care has been taken to follow protocols regarding the inclusion of information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in the development of these resources. The illustrations are based on the Kowanyama State School students’ drawings.

Series title: ‘Growing Up Strong’ and Happy to be me’ is the collective series title for eight picture books, two teacher resource books and digital audio material. The texts in the book series are adaptations of songs on the ‘Happy to be me’ CD.

1. Wendy Notley’s website https://www.auntywendysmob.com
2. Queensland Government. Kowanyama history. https://www.qld.gov.au/atsi/cultural-awareness-heritage-arts/community-histories/community-histories-k-l/community-histories-kowanyama
3. Queensland Government. Kowanyama State School https://kowanyamass.eq.edu.au/
4. Cool Australia Learn for Life. Activity: Bugs in the garden – Early Learning https://www.coolaustralia.org/activity/early-learning-bugs-in-the-garden/
5. Cool Australia Learn for Life. Topic: Biodiversity (includes videos, pictures, fact sheets, research articles) https://www.coolaustralia.org/ca_topic/biodiversity/