Animals on Country

By Victor Steffensen & Sandra Steffensen

Reviewed by Barbara Braxton

‘For thousands of years, Aboriginal people looked after the land to keep it healthy, so there was plenty of food for the animals to eat. But today, the animals are wondering what has happened to the people. Trees have been cut down, land has been cleared and rivers have been polluted.”

As our children become more aware of both the natural environment surrounding them as well as the relationship that our First Nations peoples have with Country, this book is ideal for helping them understand that relationship better as the family join Uncle Kuu on a walk through the bush to learn more about what lives there and how his ancestors cared for them.  From learning to identify particular animal tracks to understanding the special bond between a person and their totem to how the land was kept healthy by only taking enough to eat and only at certain times, while always being respectful of all the flora and fauna, it provides an insight into why it is important to do so as well as encouraging readers to start thinking along the same lines.  

With accessible text in a large font and exquisite pictures and even including the lyrics and music to  a song, this brother and sister duo have created something special that is not only going to deepen the readers’ knowledge of that special connection between First Nations peoples and their Country, but also encourage them to respect the natural world in a similar way regardless of their heritage, perhaps even beginning to consider the interdependence of the creatures and their surrounds as well as how human life is dependent of a healthy, sustained, thriving natural environment. What might they do to promote these links even within the school playground or their own backyard?

Allen & Unwin Children’s , 2025

Reprinted with permission