An Aboriginal Family

School Library Journal

K-Gr 4Acknowledging that there are over 500 Aboriginal tribes living throughout Australia and that life in the isolated Northern Territory affords some unique problems and situations, Browne capably presents a great deal of information on a ``representative'' con temporary Aboriginal family. In a straightforward manner, the author de scribes the housing, food, education, recreation and ceremonial life for the 80 people who live in Minyerri, a former cattle station 372 miles from Darwin. Thirty-one color photographs and two maps highlight the text, although some of the pictures are rather mundane and meaningless. Two supplemental pages provide additional clarification of Ab original religion and population distri bution. New words are well defined within context, but no pronunciation guidance is provided. Poignant's Bush Walkabout (Addison-Wesley, 1974; o.p.), originally published in 1957, is dated and focuses on a narrower seg ment of Aboriginal life. The Land and People of Australia (Lippincott, 1972) by Blunden has a short section on Ab origines but is for older children and presents mainly historical information. This one will be especially useful for school libraries.Jeanette Larson, Mesquite Public Library, Tex.