1. Art
2. Country
3. Environment
4. Gudjal people (E60) (Qld SE55 -13)
5. Indigenous languages
6. Multilingual books

My Country is a beautifully simple word book, with each page devoted to a word (or words) with an environmental theme, in both Gudjal language and English. Each word is printed in large bright text font, so that young readers can attempt to pronounce the words themselves. Accompanying illustrations are vibrant and eye-catching, created with acrylic paint on cardboard.

At the back of the book are further words with an environmental focus from the Gudjala Language Pocket Dictionary, with children encouraged to try and draw these words themselves. Also included is a comprehensive guide to pronunciation.

This book encourages young children to learn new words, appreciate and learn about our environment, and engage in creative activities linked to the book.

William C Santo grew up on stations around Charters Towers. His Gudjal father came from the Lolworth Range in the basalt region. His mother was Waanyi and his grandmother Bindal. The Gudjal language was spoken from Mount Garnet to Charters Towers in Northern Queensland.

Series title: My Country is one of a Gudjal boxed set of 4 books (My Country; Gudjal Language Pocket Dictionary; Gudjal Book of Birds; Gudjal Book of Animals)

1. YouTube. SydneyCon. 22 October 2022. ‘Buried in the Sand: Digging Deep into Gudjal Language and Culture.’ Buried in the Sand: Digging Deep into Gudjal Language and Culture - YouTube
2. Vimeo. State Library of Queensland. 2022. ‘Gudjal Language Recordings. Gudjal Language Recordings: Introduction on Vimeo
3. Vimeo. State Library of Queensland. 2022. ‘Gudjal Language Recordings. My Country-Gudjal language recordings | State Library of Queensland (slq.qld.gov.au)
4. Vimeo. State Library of Queensland. 2022. ‘Gudjal Language Recordings. Sound and words-Gudjal language recordings | State Library of Queensland (slq.qld.gov.au)
5. Vimeo. State Library of Queensland. 2022. ‘Gudjal Language Recordings. Language words-Gudjal language recordings | State Library of Queensland (slq.qld.gov.au)
6. Vimeo. State Library of Queensland. 2022. ‘Gudjal Language Recordings. Animals-Gudjal language recordings | State Library of Queensland (slq.qld.gov.au)
7. Vimeo. State Library of Queensland. 2022. ‘Gudjal Language Recordings. Birds-Gudjal language recordings | State Library of Queensland (slq.qld.gov.au)
8. Northern Territory government. NT Curriculum Framework – Indigenous Languages and Culture. https://education.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/270337/indigenous_lang_cult.pdf
9. Victoria State Government. Education & Training. ‘Literacy Teaching Toolkit – Exploring and creating texts. Exploring and creating texts (education.vic.gov.au)