1. Art motifs
2. Bush tucker
3. Family
4. Food
5. Glossaries and vocabularies
6. Landscapes
7. Singing
8. Social life and customs
9. Stories in rhyme
10. Visual literacy

This brief story, centred on family and food, contrasts life in town with life in the country for the ‘Indigenous mob’. Similar to the other seven stories in this series, this one is told in rhyme and is based on a song. The repeated refrain gives the central theme: ‘Indigenous mob some time ago, ate from the bush and loved it so. Hunting, collecting from the land … No white sugar and food in cans!’ The common thread shared between those now living and eating in town and those who ‘some time ago’ gathered and ate their food from the bush, is that both enjoyed gathering together and sharing food. The illustrations feature food sources and typically have a border design and image motifs that are explained in the ‘Picture Glossary’ at the end of the book. Readers will be keen to reread the story and reinterpret the images using this Picture Glossary. These images represent, for example, men, women, a table setting, goanna, hunting spears, emu tracks, berries and fruit. A brief glossary of seven words such as ‘Barra’ (barramundi) and ‘Nosh’ (food) is also included at the end of the book.

Narelle Urquhart was born in Leeton, New South Wales in Wiradjuri Country. Her language group is Wiradjuri. 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.

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. ABC Radio. ‘Artist by Artist: Narelle by Nicholas’ 13 October 2011. Biographical information about Narelle Urquhart https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/09/27/3337661.htm
3. Watarrka Foundation. Traditional Aboriginal Foods http://www.watarrkafoundation.org.au/blog/traditional-aboriginal-foods
4. Traditional Aboriginal Bush Foods https://www.aboriginalculture.com.au/bush_foods.html
5. Australian Food Timeline. Pre-1788 Aboriginal food sources https://australianfoodtimeline.com.au/aboriginal-food-sources/