Afloat - by Kirli Saunders (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Against a backdrop of a changed environment, an Elder leads a child along the waterways, sharing her People's knowledge and gathering community along the way. Afloat is an uplifting and inspiring picture book that uses the practice of weaving as a powerful metaphor for the honouring and teaching of First Nations wisdom, and the coming together of all people to survive, thrive and create a more hopeful future."--

Book Synopsis

A powerful picture book story for our time of climate crisis interwoven with Indigenous wisdom.

From multi-award-winning Gunai author Kirli Saunders and Kate Greenaway Medal-winner Freya Blackwood comes Afloat. Against a backdrop of a changed environment, an Elder leads a child along the waterways, sharing her People's knowledge and gathering community along the way. This uplifting and inspiring picture book uses the practice of weaving as a powerful metaphor for the honoring and teaching of First Nations wisdom, and the coming together of all people to survive, thrive, and create a more hopeful future.

Review Quotes

"Delicate earth-tone watercolor illustrations capture the story's nods to Indigenous cultures, traditions, and wisdom... As the story's messaging widens with hope, so does the lens of the artwork, expanding to capture more and more of the community members and their surroundings, emphasizing the importance of community-building now and for the future."

"Richly textured... Blackwood's art underscores hope and opportunities to help cultivate the land... Reassurance for little ones facing an uncertain world."

"This is an affecting and beautiful fable of working together and creating something better... Readers will come away with a satisfying appreciation for the power of community. An intensely hopeful story of the capability of societies working together, this is clear enough for preschoolers but carries emotional depths that will be appreciated by older readers."

[STAR] "Delves into themes of creating a future of balance and community with the natural world, while a slow, rhythmic tone and loose-lined illustrations emphasize saving what's most important."

[STAR] "Saunders's understated prose alludes to traditional ecological knowledge passed down by women elders... Blackwood's illustrations combine warm, earthy tones with deep verdigris teals and sea-glass greens, saturated details with soft-edged blending. Luminous...magical."

About the Author

Kirli Saunders is a proud Gunai Woman who rarely stays in her lane. An award-winning, multidisciplinary artist, writer, singer-songwriter, and consultant, Kirli creates to connect, to make change. Her books have been celebrated by multiple literary awards, such as the Prime Minister's and the Queensland, Victorian, and Western Australian Premiers' Literary awards, the Children's Book Council Australia awards, and the Australian Book Industry awards. In 2022, she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her contribution to the arts.

Freya Blackwood is an award-winning illustrator of children's books, who draws with a distinct style that is warm, perceptive and immediately recognizable. Since publishing her first picture book in 2003, Freya has won multiple awards, including the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal.