Black Cockatoo

HONOUR BOOK – 2019 Children’s Book Council of Australia’s (CBCA) Younger Readers Book of the Year

FINALIST – 2019 Readings Children’s Book Prize

SHORTLISTED – 2019 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year

SHORTLISTED – 2019 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year – 8 to 10 Years

SHORTLISTED – 2019 Queensland Literary Awards (Griffith University Children’s Book Award)

SHORTLISTED – 2019 Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book of the Year Awards (Younger Readers category)

Black Cockatoo is a vignette that follows Mia, a young Aboriginal girl as she explores the fragile connections of family and culture. Mia is a 13-year-old girl from a remote community in the Kimberley. She is saddened by the loss of her brother as he distances himself from the family. She feels powerless to change the things she sees around her, until one day she rescues her totem animal, the dirran black cockatoo, and soon discovers her own inner strength.

A wonderful small tale on the power of standing up for yourself, culture and ever-present family ties.