Students aged 5-12 write early-learning book about counting crocodiles!

Bulla Camp Primary School is located in a small and very remote town, west of Katherine, on the East Baines River in the Northern Territory. The students who illustrated this book were aged from 5 to 12, and they are very excited to see their art in a published book!

Last year, Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) Ambassadors Ann James and Lee Burgemeestre, as well as ILF’s Regional Coordinator, Josie Lardy, and workshop leader Ann Haddon ran workshops with students from Bulla Camp Primary School to write and illustrate their very own book.   

It was decided that the book would be a counting book, to link with what the students were learning in class at the time. The ILF also made a poster version of the book, specially for the school, to be hung up and used in classrooms.

The ILF published this book and it is now available for readers around Australia to enjoy! 

“From the clever minds of the children at Bulla Camp School came a new book called Counting Crocodiles,” says Ann James & Ann Haddon.

In this board book, 10 cute baby crocs hatch, one by one, on the banks of the East Baines River. The reader is invited to count along as they hatch, and then count down as they leave the nest in charmingly creative ways.

The ILF is honoured to have published this book with the Community, that engages early learners in practicing their counting skills.

In creating these books through our Community Publishing program, children have the opportunity to take part in making books that reflect their lives, lived experiences, and their Communities.

It has become increasingly clear that this is a key part of engaging children in literacy.

Feeling seen by the stories you read increases interest and enjoyment, so stories written by Community for Community have a deeper impact as children recognise the landscapes, lifestyles, plants, animals, people, buildings and cultures in them.

This is also the first time that an ILF book will be sold at Big W. This is a special achievement for the ILF because it means the work of Bulla Camp Primary School will be easily accessible to children and families across Australia. So get in quick before they’re all snapped up!