Title

Digger

Author

Dumbleton, Mike

Illustrator

Cowcher, Robin

Publisher

Allen & Unwin

Published Date

2018

Annotation

When her brother, James, went to war, Annie stitched the name ‘Digger’ onto her toy kangaroo and presented him to her brother, declaring, 'A Digger for a digger’. Both James and his toy are wounded. Colette, a young French girl, mends and returns the kangaroo, but for a second time James is wounded and this time does not survive. This is a story of soldiers and the French school children of Villers-Bretonneux who have been tending the graves of the Australian soldiers who were killed there in 1918. Death is not dwelt upon in this picture book, rather it is there for discussion.

Key Concepts

Conflict, Friendship, Peace, War

Audience

Primary, Upper primary

AC Links/EYLF

English, HASS, History, ACELA1475, ACELT1594, ACELT1596, ACELT1599, ACHASSK063, ACHASSK064, ACHASSK065, ACELA1487, ACELA1498, ACELT1602, ACELT1603, ACELT1605, ACELA1500, ACELA1502, ACELA1608, ACELA1609, ACELA1610, ACELA1612, ACELA1515, ACELA1518, ACELT1613, ACELT1614, ACHASSK134, ACHASSK135, ACHASSK136, ACHASSK137