Long ago and not so long ago, the children were taken away
Sorry Day is a very important picture book to share this Sorry day – or any future Sorry days.
Released on May 1st, Sorry Day by Coral Vass and Dub Leffler is a powerful story that highlights both the impact on the families who lost loved ones when they were taken away and the impact Kevin Rudd and the Australian community had when they formally said sorry in 2008.
The scene is set as we meet young Maggie who is excitedly waiting at the Sorry Day speech but amongst the excitement she loses her mother and frantically searches for her amongst the sea of legs and people.
But as we watch Maggie we also see the loss the Indigenous people experienced during the period of The Stolen Generation, we experience through word and illustration how it would have felt to be ripped apart from your family with no warning.
Dub Leffler’s illustrations are amazing and give so much more emotion to this meaningful story. We hear the story and we see the people.
We hear their cries and we feel the emotion as we watch their faces.
We read the history and we see how this has effected the current landscape.
Sorry Day by Coral Vass and Dub Leffler is picture book you will not forget.
I’m sure children will have many questions about this topic once this story has been read as the links between a child getting lost in a crowd and the story of children being taken away really pulls at the heartstrings and stirs so much emotion.
Delve deep into this topic with your young readers, explore the past and think about how we can make the future a better place.
What else can you talk about?
- Explore the quote: Long ago and not so long ago, the children were taken away.
- How did the story impact your emotions?
- Why did the author jump between the past and the present?
- How has the illustrator shown the difference between the past and the present?
Sorry Day
- When is Sorry Day and how long have we commemorated this day?
- Explore the impacts of The Stolen Generation.
- Why was there a Stolen Generation?
- What can we do now to ensure inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous people lessen?
- How can you share the story of Sorry Day with others?
Creative Arts
- List any songs that you know of that explore this theme.
- List any artwork that you know of that explores this theme.
There are some excellent teacher notes here: https://flickingonthebook.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/3fe4b-sorrydayteachers27notes.pdf
Buy this book now from Fishpond:
