I am me by Mitch Tambo. Illus. by Carla Hoffenberg

This vivacious picture book about being true to yourself, is full of colour and lively movements as Mitch encourages children to follow his lead.

A subtitle motivates children to sing and dance to their own beat, and opening the book, children will be part of a presentation by Mitch. They will be readily involved in the unveiling of his ideas, watching his movements cross the pages, joining in themselves, marvelling at the different qualities he shares with us, learning some language as he retells his view of life in modern Australia. He questions the reader, one of the first encouraging the children to be aware that First Nations lived where they now live, many generations ago. He wears feathers from an emu, and he tells us that the emu can only walk forwards, encouraging us to be resilient, as we walk forward, never giving up. He ask them about the Milky Way and seeing the Dark Emu in the sky. He shows the readers his headdress and asks how it might be glued together, telling them about the honey bee. He points to the paint on his face and talks about how this is made, telling the reader about ochre and where it is used. Mitch takes us into his wardrobe, explaining why he wears particular outfits. He wraps up his presentation, with further information available on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.

This wonderful journey with Mitch will enthral younger readers, who may have asked the questions but not received an answer. Here he predicts the questions and make his responses part of the story of his life, giving the information in a way that is illuminating, told within illustrations that are involving.

A Gamilaraay man, Mitch leads a multi faceted life: a qualified social worker who encourages diversity, he writes and performs songs, gives corporate and school presentations encouraging resilience and involvement, and has seen his language presentation of Farnham’s 'The Voice', gain him and his message, instant recognition.

More about Mitch can be found on his website.

Themes: Aboriginal themes, Resilience, Dark Emu, Involvement, Diversity.

Fran Knight