Children’s Book Week: New Books by Regional WA Authors

Created by award-winning Yawuru graphic novelist Brenton E McKenna with Mabu Yawuru Ngan-ga, the Yawuru language centre in Rubibi/Broome, Janigun (At the Beach) is a First Nations word board book introducing young children to beach and ocean life, from seagulls to hermit crabs, in Yawuru language.

Costume idea: Show your support to our coastal seabirds by dressing your child as a seagull: A white top with a grey cardigan, orange leggings, and an orange paper cone beak.

Magabala Books: More info

Katie Stewart is a Ballardong/York-based author and illustrator, and her picture book Quokka Finds a Friend is a warm story about friendship and accepting our differences. Stewart’s winding path to children’s books, via archaeology, teaching and motherhood, has led to shortlistings for the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year (2020, 2021) and the WA Premier’s Book Awards (2022).

Costume idea: Dress a child as Quokka! Find a furry hat, brown long-sleeved shirt and pants. Most importantly, tell them to put on their very best photogenic smile.

Fremantle Press: More info

Written by Quinlan Jaffrey and illustrated by Jade Goodwin, Goorramindi the Crocodile tells the story of a wise freshwater crocodile who rescues a young boy from the clutches of a dangerous crocodile upstream, a tale of courage and respect for the river’s ancient spirits. The book honours the memory of Jaffrey’s grandfather, Isaac Cherel, known as Goorramindi, a respected Gooniyandi elder and lore keeper at Muludja Community.

Costume idea: Goorramindi is a crocodile with a Croc Dundee aesthetic; grab a crocodile costume (who doesn’t have one in the back of their closet), an Akubra and a bandana, and you’re good to go.

Magabala Books: More info

I Call the Ocean Wardan invites young readers to explore the beach in Noongar and English, from maamong (whales) to djerinkarra (seagulls) to boya (rocks). Written by Wardandi Noongar author Ebony Froome of Undalup/Busselton, with artwork from Dellas Bennell and Korrine Bennell-Yarran, both Noongar Wardandi and Yamatji Baiyungu artists, it’s a lovely introduction to language and Country.

Costume idea: Orange t-shirt, blue shorts, star necklace and a beach shovel. For bonus points, empty the child’s sneakers – you will have enough sand for a beach scene in their school’s undercover area!

Fremantle Press: More info

Ngalak Yongka Miyak Koorliny – Visiting the Kangaroo Moon Site tells the story of elders leading young ones to Yongka Miyak, a sacred ancestral site on the WA south coast where the shape of a resting kangaroo, surrounded by the phases of the moon, is imprinted in granite, teaching the next generation their connection to ancestors and Country. From the wise and ancient language of the south coast’s First People by Kim Scott, Graeme Miniter and the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories project, with artwork by Glenda Williams and Boydan Coyne, it’s a beautiful piece of storytelling and language preservation.

Costume idea: Everyone loves a yongka (kangaroo), tape some paper ears to a headband and get into character by bouncing through the parade.

UWA Publishing: More info

Written by Frances and Lindsay Haji-Ali (Yawuru and Karajarri) and illustrated by Karen Briggs, Going Fishing with Nana takes young readers on a fishing trip in the far north of Australia, using rhyme and repetition to introduce early learning concepts including counting and ordinal numbers alongside plenty of outback animals. It’s a 2026 Notable title with the Children’s Book Council of Australia and shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards. Lindsay Haji-Ali is a descendant of the Yawuru/Karajarri people of the West Kimberley region of Western Australia. 

Costume idea: We all know that one child who wants to dress up as a car… this is definitely a job for cardboard and yellow paint.

Magabala Books: More info

Warinypa wariny Mangunyjaja muwarr wirlarrapa wangalpa wika – Stories about Fire, Wind, the Moon and other Dreamings brings together fourteen newly translated Nyangumarta children’s stories from Solomon Cocky, who recorded over 200 tales on cassette across the 1970s to 90s, covering the Dreaming, hunting and desert life around his Country near Nullagine in the Pilbara. Illustrated by Solomon himself in felt pen and coloured pencil, images that were, by his own telling, as central to the stories as the words, this collection is edited by Barbara Hale, Nyangumarta elder and daughter of original transcriber Monty Hale, alongside Inge Kral.

Costume idea: The cover illustration of the moon is perfect; print it out and turn it into a mask.

UWA Publishing: More info

Darryl Fogarty, a Badimia Elder, and Holly Bradley, a conservation biologist, bring us Milly Meelyu, a dual-language picture book in English and Badimia about a family of goannas in search of a new home, carrying themes of conservation and connection to Country and its animals, alongside the story of Meelyu, Fogarty’s own family totem lizard. Illustrations by Darryl’s daughter, Corinne Fogarty.

Costume idea: Get creative with cardboard to DIY a Meelyu lizard costume, or get the scissors out on an existing dragon or dinosaur costume in your costume box.

Fremantle Press: More info

Marking its 15th anniversary, Lighthouse Girl by Kinjarling/Albany author Dianne Wolfer is an Australian classic for ages 9-11, based on the true story of Fay Howe, who lived alone with her father on Breaksea Island during WWI, facing the fear of invasion and the long wait for news from the front. Wolfer’s award-winning WWI Light series has since inspired Theatre 180’s The Lighthouse Girl Saga and PIAF’s The Giants, and her picture book Photographs in the Mud has been used internationally as a peace reference.

Costume idea: The Lighthouse – aluminium foil is your friend!

Fremantle Press: More info

Award-winning author and conservationist Tim Winton teams up with watercolourist Cindy Lane for Ningaloo (ages 6-14), a journey through Nyinggulu/Ningaloo’s wild beauty, from whale sharks to millipedes, coral reefs to mangroves, that invites young readers to become the next caretakers of this remarkable region. Winton, a four-time Miles Franklin winner and twice Booker-shortlisted, is one of Australia’s most celebrated authors.

Costume idea: Why not dress your child as the icon Tim Winton himself; long-haired wig, black t-shirt, jeans and a much-needed-in-these-times Protect Ningaloo corflute.

Fremantle Press: More info

The third instalment in Magabala’s best-selling series, following Black Cockatoo and Dirrarn, Ngurra Home by Carl Merrison (Jaru and Kija) and Hakea Hustler follows Kimberley woman Mia through her final year studying Conservation and Wildlife Science, before she’s called home to care for her ailing grandfather and joins her community in a fight to protect her Country from a mining corporation. The novel is a 2026 Notable title in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards, Older Readers category.

Costume idea: A beautiful red-tailed black cockatoo; dress in a black long-sleeve t-shirt and leggings – then cut a million feathers out of black and red card to create wings and a long tail.

Magabala Books: More info

South by historian and heritage expert Malcolm Traill brings together stories and rare images from Kinjarling/Albany’s past. While European settlement began in 1826, Kinjarling/Albany’s human history stretches back over 40,000 years with the Menang people of the Noongar nation. Traill’s collection offers a rich, layered portrait of the people, places and events that have shaped the region and is both a celebration of and a reflection on this unique corner of the state.

UWA Publishing: More info

This new edition brings back the script and score of Bran Nue Dae, Rubibi/Broome’s groundbreaking musical written by the late Jimmy Chi (Bardi and Nyulnyul) with the band Kuckles. Set in the 1960s against a backdrop of assimilation, Land Rights and the 1967 Referendum, it follows Homesick Willy on a road trip from Boorloo/Perth back to Rubibi/Broome and Djarindjin in search of identity, love and belonging. First staged in 1990, it went on to win the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award and a Special Award at the WA Premier’s Book Awards, and was later adapted into a 2009 film.

Magabala Books: More info