Born in 1927, Gladys Milroy was taken to the Parkerville Orphanage at two years old and spent the next 14 years separated from her mother, Daisy. Gladys say, ‘I think the thing is about growing up in an orphanage is that you live in a story all the time because that’s the way you survive.’

Three Fremantle Press titles are in the running for major awards and another has been highly commended, plus the life’s work of a Fremantle Press writer has been remembered and recognised. Stellarphant is shortlisted for the 2022 Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Picture Book of the Year and the 2021 Aurealis Award for Best Children’s […]

nlimited Futures: Visionary, Speculative Blak and Black Fiction is now available and we’re over the moon for all the contributors, editors, designers and publishers involved. A week past the release, we asked editors Rafeif Ismail and Ellen van Neerven to reflect on the journey thus far.

Backyard Birds by Helen Milroy is a children’s picture book which celebrates the birds in our backyards. The Backyard Birds activity sheet is designed to creatively improve identification skills, fine motor skills and visual and written literacy. For more teaching activities, download the free teaching notes here.

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'Backyard Birds'

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Little Jiang is a children’s fiction novel inspired by Chinese folklore. Shirley Marr wrote this book to teach Chinese mythology and folklore and to encourage children to learn about other cultures. The Design Your Own Menu activity sheet encourages children to foster imagination, creativity and improve written and visual literacy. For more teaching activities, download […]

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'Little Jiang Activity'

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Backyard Bugs is a boldly illustrated book from First Nations author and illustrator Helen Milroy, which takes you on an adventure through the garden, to search for all the creepy-crawlies that you may find there. Identify the bugs and colour them in this activity sheet that will get kids out in their backyards. Colouring-in activity […]

Activity Sheet
'Backyard Bugs Activity'

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Backyard Beasties by Helen Milroy is sending us into the garden to see what creatures live there in this stunning picture book. Backyard Beasties is designed to teach us all about the croaking, barking, screeching, mewling creatures that share our homes, and this activity sheet helps kids identify what lives around us. For more teaching […]

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'Backyard Beasties Activity'

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Written by Ezekiel Kwaymullina and illustrated by Sally Morgan, We All Sleep is a picture book that celebrates the interconnectedness of people and animals in lyrical language and sumptuous colour. The Make Your Own Mobile activity sheet is great for expressing creativity and identifying objects. For more teaching activities, download the free teaching notes here.

Activity Sheet
'We All Sleep Activity'

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I Love Me is a children’s picture book and board book which celebrates individuality and encourages self-esteem. Acclaimed creators Sally Morgan and Ambelin Kwaymullina, this book encourages visual and written comprehension using rhyme and illustrations. The I Love Me Self-Portrait Activity activity is a great learning tool for self-awareness, human anatomy and self-esteem building. For […]

Activity Sheet
'I Love Me Activity'

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Bush and Beyond is a short story collection drawing together four tales for younger readers from the Waarda series of First Nations stories, edited by acclaimed author Sally Morgan. The Create Your Own Special Tree activity sheet supports visual and written literacy, creativity and fine motor skills. For more teaching activities, download the free teaching […]

Activity Sheet
'Bush and Beyond Activity'

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Last year was a great year for Helen Milroy. Her work was shortlisted for the WA Premier’s Book Awards, the Readings Children’s Book Prize and the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards, while reviewers called her picture book Backyard Birds vibrant, bright, beautiful, wonderful, colourful and bold. In 2021 the First Nations author […]

Just days after receiving the Australian Mental Health Prize and right in the middle of NAIDOC Week 2020, Fremantle Press First Nations children’s book writer and illustrator Helen Milroy was named the WA state recipient of Australian of the Year 2021.

Hello and welcome to August. What a month it’s been! Congratulations to our Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards winners and shortlisted authors: Fiona Burrows, Amanda Curtin, Rafeif Ismail, Kathryn Lefroy, Caitlin Maling, Meg McKinlay, Helen Milroy, Holden Sheppard and Ellen van Neerven. We are so proud of you all.

When you want to find books by and about Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Peoples for your classroom or library, which resources do you turn to? The NCACL has just launched a new database, which they hope will be invaluable to teachers in their search for the most appropriate materials to share with their […]

Congratulations to Helen Milroy, author of Backyard Birds and Katie Stewart, author of What Colour is the Sea? for being shortlisted for this year’s Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards.

The US edition of I Love Me, published by Andrews McMeel and written and illustrated by Sally Morgan and Ambelin Kwaymullina, has won a 2019 Silver Nautilus Book Award.

Expand your knowledge with kids and grandkids by learning some fun facts about Australia’s native birds. 

Helen Milroy, and her friend Honey the brush tail possum, have a special message for everyone spending extra time at home this week. They say that the best way to enjoy your time is to read some books about native Australian animals.

A huge congratulations to Helen Milroy, author of Wombat, Mudlark and Other Stories, for being among the six books shortlisted for the Readings Children’s Book Prize worth $3,000.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this blog post contains images and the name of a person who has died. Please take care.

Pages from Sally Morgan and Ezekiel Kwaymullina’s vibrant picture book We All Sleep have been chosen to be displayed as part of a new walking trail in the City of Hume, Victoria.

Helen Milroy isn’t your average children’s author. Not only was she the first Aboriginal person in Australia to become a doctor, she’s also an illustrator, psychiatrist and university professor.

NAIDOC Week takes place in the first week of July each year, which this year is Sunday 7 to Sunday 14 July 2019, and recognises the culture, history and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It’s a great opportunity to show support for your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.