This baby board book names various bush foods in Wakirti Walpiri, Alyawarr, Kaytetye, and English languages, alongside bright coloured illustrations of emus, bush plums, witchetty grubs, and other ‘bush tucker.’ Children will delight in viewing their own reflection in the small mirror as the book is opened, which is surrounded by eye-catching circular Indigenous artwork. Young viewers will also enjoy helping to identify the different animal tracks and hunting utensils pictured on the opening page.
This book, with its rich colour and language, provides a sensory learning experience for young children as they share in and absorb knowledge of Indigenous languages, artwork, story and culture. The book may be useful to engage slightly older children in conversation about bush foods and animals and where they might be found, bush medicines, animal tracks, and hunting tools. The book can also be used to teach numeracy to young children as they count the ‘bush tucker’ pictured on each page. An audio CD of the story and songs in Indigenous languages is included with this book.
'Let's Go Hunting in Alekarenge' was created as part of the Bilingual Baby Board Books project, to be given to families in communities through the Families as First Teachers (FaFT) program. Program participants in eight remote communities developed the content and artwork for the books in collaboration with FaFT and the Northern Territory Library.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
