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Dreams They Forgot

Author: Emma Ashmere | Publisher: Wakefield Press

Two sisters await the tidal wave predicted for 1970s Adelaide after Premier Don Dunstan decriminalises homosexuality. An interstate family drive is complicated by the father’s memory of sighting UFOs. Two women drive from Melbourne to Sydney to see the Harbour Bridge before it’s finished. An isolated family tries to weather climate change as the Doomsday Clock ticks.

Emma Ashmere’s stories explore illusion, deception and acts of quiet rebellion. Diverse characters travel high and low roads through time and place — from a grand 1860s Adelaide music hall to a dilapidated London squat, from a modern Melbourne hospital to the 1950s Maralinga test site, to the 1990s diamond mines of Borneo.

Undercut with longing and unbelonging, absurdity and tragedy, thwarted plans and fortuitous serendipity, each story offers glimpses into the dreams, limitations, gains and losses of fragmented families, loners and lovers, survivors and misfits, as they piece together a place for themselves in the imperfect mosaic of the natural and unnatural world.

Going to the footy

Author and illustrator: Debbie Coombes | Publisher: Magabala Books

In this quintessentially Australian title, Going to the footy combines richly textured and striking illustrations of iconic Australian modes of transport, with some gentle humour. This strikingly beautiful book for early childhood will captivate young children and older readers alike. The highly original artwork of Debbie Coombes in a vibrant Tiwi style, will showcase many different ways to get ‘to the footy’. Whether you go to the footy in a tinny, a troopy or on a barge, this book is unforgettable.

Counting our Country

Author and illustrator: Jill Daniels | Publisher: Magabala Books

Counting our Country is a bilingual counting book from Jill Daniels, an Indigenous artist who lives in SE Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Jill’s paintings of animals found on her country celebrate her distinctive style and playful use of colour. Children will love counting the animals from one to 10 as they turn the pages.

Each double-page spread features the name of the animal in Ritharrnu, Jill’s Aboriginal language, and in English. A guide on ‘how to pronounce the Ritharrnu animal names’ appears at the back of the book and encourages readers and young children to see if they can say them. Counting our Country recognises the value of developing cultural literary by introducing Indigenous language and art in the early years.