6 (More) Books to Read For Harmony Week

Around this time last year I invited a guest blog writer -my daughter Ashleigh-  to share some of the texts she has read to her students to celebrate Harmony Week. (You can read that post, which includes a bit of interesting history on Harmony Week, by clicking here.) 

This year, I’m providing you with 6 more fabulous books that you can share with your students to celebrate this important week.

Tayta's Secret Ingredient

By Amal Aboul-Eid and Cara King 

This book is perfect to read for Harmony Day because that is exactly what the book is about! 

In Tayta’s Secret Ingredient, schoolboy Billy wants to take some of his Tayta’s delicious Lebanese kaak to school to share with his classmates for their Harmony Day celebrations. He watches her make the yummy cakes and tries to uncover the details of the ‘secret ingredient’ that she puts in every batch. *Spoiler alert*: The secret ingredient is LOVE. 

Small Town 

By Phillip Gwynne and Tony Flowers 

What can happen when we open our arms and welcome new and different people and cultures into our lives? That’s exactly what this text explores. 

Small Town is based on the true story of a small Victorian town (Pyramid Hill) that devised a novel and kind-hearted solution to its declining population issue. The story outlines how members of the town came up with the idea of opening their homes and communities to refugees and immigrants. This is all beautifully told through the eyes of a primary school-aged child. 

The Library Bus 

By Bahram Bahram and Gabrielle Grimard 

The Library Bus, tells the story of a young girl’s first day helping her mother drive a library bus to small villages and refugee camps in Afghanistan. The story highlights the struggles Afghani females have had (and continue to have) in accessing education. It also highlights the creativity and bravery of the teachers who continue to teach despite the country’s ongoing challenges. 

Luli and the Language of Tea 

By Andrea Wang and Hyewon Yum 

Although we’re all diverse, we all have many commonalities as well. This book explores one of the binding ties that exist between many different cultures- tea. 

Luli and the Language of Tea tells the story of a young immigrant girl’s idea for breaking down language barriers with her peers. She uses the common element of tea to bring all the children in her childcare room together around a table. This is a sweet book about kindness, sharing and the commonalities between us all.   

Colouroos 

By Anna McGregor 

I was reminded of this text recently when a group of teachers I was working with selected it as the mentor text for their interactive reading sessions.  

Colouroos is a marvellously simplex (simple AND complex) book. At face value, it’s about three different mobs of kangaroos coming together to find water. At a deeper level, though, it’s about the formation and importance of diverse communities and populations. In addition to this message, it also shares background-building information on different parts of Australia and includes a clever lesson about primary and secondary colours. This book looks simple at first glance, but it really has it all!  

Tell ‘em! 

By Katrina Germein and Rosemary Sullivan with the children of the Manallaluk School 

This book shares the life of school children from Manyallaluk School- a school in a remote Indigenous community in the Northern Territory. Authors Katrina Germein (read my interview with her here) and Rosemary Sullivan worked alongside the students of the school to create the story. The students asked the authors to tell the reader about all the things they do in their everyday lives. When sharing this book with students, you could investigate how the lives of your students are similar and different to the lives of the children in this book. 

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