Publisher details

Authors: Sandra Steffensen, Victor Steffensen
Publisher: Hardie Grant
Genre: Children’s Non-Fiction
Released: 19 January, 2022
ISBN: 9781741177824

Looking After Country with Fire

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Synopsis

Recommended for ages 5+.

Looking After Country with Fire is a picture book for 5- to 10-year-olds that demonstrates respect for Indigenous knowledge, following the success of Victor Steffensen's bestselling adult book Fire Country. Mother Nature has a language. If we listen, and read the signs in the land, we can understand it.

For thousands of years, First Nations people have listened and responded to the land and made friends with fire, using this knowledge to encourage plants and seeds to flourish, and creating beautiful places for both animals and people to live.

Join Uncle Kuu as he takes us out on Country and explains cultural burning. Featuring stunning artwork by Sandra Steffensen, this is a powerful and timely story of understanding Australia's ecosystems through Indigenous fire management, and a respectful way forward for future generations to help manage our landscapes.

At the back of the book, you will also find lyrics to a song written by author Victor Steffensen with the same title, 'Looking After Country with Fire'.

About the author

Sandra Steffensen

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Looking After Country with Fire

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About the author

Victor Steffensen

Victor Steffensen is an Indigenous writer, filmmaker, musician and consultant applying traditional knowledge values in a contemporary context, through workshops and artistic projects. He is a descendant of the Tagalaka people through his mother’s connections from the Gulf Country of north Queensland. Much of Victor's work over the past 27 years has been based on the arts and reviving traditional knowledge values – particularly traditional burning – through mentoring and leadership, as well as on-ground training with Aboriginal communities and many non-Indigenous Australians. He is also the co-founder of the National Indigenous Fire Workshops, which have so far been hosted in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Victor has also connected with First Nations communities in California, Canada, and the Sámi people of Scandinavia, sharing cultural knowledge practices related to caring for country.