‘I’m lost!’ cries Emu. He can’t find his mob. He sees their tracks but not the mob. He is lost and probably a little frightened so he asks the other animals if they have seen his mob but they are not very helpful. Kangaroo is asleep, lizard is resting and a bit grumpy, Owl won’t share his food even though Emu is hungry and Cassowary gives confusing directions. One animal does help though as Turtle points Emu in the right way and Emu happily finds his mob.
A simple tale but one that any child who has lost their family even momentarily will recognise. This is a story about belonging, of finding where you belong, of searching for your group or your mob, that place or people that provide you with safety, love and security.
The text weaves in and through the attractive bright naïve style illustrations that reflect the colours of the Australian bush. Young children will delight in following the emu mob’s tracks and repeating the refrain, ‘Have you seen my mob?’ An excellent read-aloud book
Venetia Tyson is a Quandamooka woman from the North Stradbroke Island in the Moreton Bay area of Queensland. ‘My Lost Mob’, which she wrote and illustrated, is her first book.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
