Jasmine Seymour, Open Your Heart to Country, Magabala Books, June 2022, 32 pp., RRP 424.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922613769
Jasmine Seymour is an award-winning artist, author, and teacher. She is a Dharug woman who can trace her heritage back to the time before white settlement. Written in Dharug and English, the book celebrates the joys of returning to Country – and to any place we call Home.
Focusing on the natural and spiritual worlds, the story describes the welcome sounds of the bush, the comfort of reacquainting ourselves with the familiar, and the beauty of the stars. The text, which is set in large type, is illustrated with brilliantly coloured collages set against a background of black or dark blue. Each page is a magical combination of birds, butterflies, bush, and the Milky Way, together with some children.
Older readers will find it interesting to compare the differences in sentence structure between Dharug and English, the former using fewer words. There is also a guide to the pronunciation of Dharug.
Ages 4-8.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Douglas
