The Barrumbi Kids by Leonie Norrington

This novel captures the paradoxes of a life lived in rural northern Australia with a wonderful amount of honesty and humour. It is written very well and uses a lot of Aboriginal language which gives it an authentic feel and makes it enjoyable to read and discover some of the culture of the Aboriginal peoples.

The story takes place in a small rural community called Long Hole community and follows the lives of two young boys Dale and Tomias. These two boys are best friends and do everything together. Just as every other kid of a pre-teen age they are struggling with school and the expectations their parents have bestowed upon them. Dale is more interested in wagging school and going bush, learning about the country he lives in,  rather than sitting in a hot stuffy classroom all day and even though Tomias’s mother thinks that he can learn more from the bush than he can from the class, he always gets in trouble when Dale convinces him to wag, only because Dale’s mum gets upset and she and Tomias’s mum have been friends for many years. The story becomes interesting as the boys take part in school activities and surprise even themselves at their ability, sneak onto a farm and set all of the caged hens free and go camping for possibly the last time together. Dale must also come to terms with the fact that because Tomias is Aboriginal he will be a man his next birthday and they will be going off to different high schools.

This book is a great read for students in years 4 to 12 as it is humorous, honest and gives a true depiction of life in a small community in rural Australia.