Our Dance by Jacinta Daniher and Taylor Hampton, illustrated by Janelle Burger

Title: Our Dance

Author: Jacinta Daniher and Taylor Hampton, illustrated by Janelle Burger

Genre: Indigenous Culture

Publisher: Hachette/Lothian

Published: 30^th April 2025

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $24.99

Synopsis: Under the moon, by the big gum tree,
let’s dance and sing in the corroboree.

With ochre on our bodies, Our dance awaits,
Our mob, Our culture, let’s celebrate.

Join in the fun as we come together and dance in the corroboree! Learn how to slither like a snake, jump like a kangaroo, crawl like a goanna, run like an emu and fly like an eagle.

A joyful celebration of First Nations culture and Australia’s unique animals through dance and music, with rhyming actions to get young readers moving and vibrant illustrations from Noongar illustrator Janelle Burger.

~*~

Our Dance is another fantastic Indigenous picture book that shares, showcases and celebrates Indigenous culture, and the unique animals that live in Australia. A corroboree, a dance meeting, is taking place throughout this story. The people in the story are dancing like animals – learning to slither like a snake, jump like a kangaroo, crawl like a goanna, run like an emu, and fly like an eagle. It joyous and open, showing that there is so much to learn.

This simple book has layers of knowledge that readers of all ages can access. It explains things well and encourages readers to learn more about the world around them, and more about Indigenous culture – both generally, and about specific places, countries and languages because each of these elements can help bridge gaps in our knowledge and bring new knowledge to life. It also shows what aspects of culture can be shared, what people want others to know about and how they are able to share knowledge and culture to keep it alive for future generations. There is power in knowledge for everyone – and understanding cultures, languages, identities and societies that we are not from allows people to know what is going on in the world and where everyone fits into it.  

The world is vibrant and bright with its array of cultures and traditions, and the books that celebrate these, and celebrate the diversity of nations like Australia are brilliant. They’re written in ways that anyone of any age can access, because there are times when we need to start with the basics or the things we don’t know. Presenting these in ways that are inclusive, informative, inviting and that are not condescending work very well. It is the understanding that not everyone has the same knowledge that I have found makes these books work for me as a reader. Especially as someone for whom much of this is new, or stuff that I tangentially knew or knew in generic terms. But it never went deeper than that for me whilst I was at school or in what I was taught. So now, I am working to fill in these gaps whenever I can.

As a reader, I think this is where children’s books are powerful. They’re aimed at certain age groups, depending on genre, style, length and content, but they can be read and appreciated by anyone. They teach reader so much about the world, and make it accessible in many ways. These books are about inclusion, as they show the spectrum of Indigenous people in the illustrations and everything pops off the page, from the prose to the lovely illustrations that sing and dance – just as the story suggests. It is a fantastic book, and one I hope will be read and shared widely.