Tom Tom

An honour book and shortlisted title in the CBC Early Childhood book of the Year Awards 2009. Tom Tom is an engaging contemporary story that traces a day in the life of a small boy living in a typical Aboriginal community in the Top End of the Northern Territory. It follows the adventures of Tom Tom as he goes to preschool, eats lunch with Granny Annie in the bottom camp, swims in the Lemonade Springs in the afternoon and spends the night with Granny May and grandfather Jo in the top camp. Rosemary Sullivan's simple text and Dee Huxley's vivid illustrations captures the warmth and security of Tom Tom's world as he moves freely within his community from relative to another. As a pre-school teacher working in remote Aboriginal communities for more than 17 years, Rosemary Sullivan says: 'Tom Tom was inspired by the lives of many indigenous children in the Top End and the importance of family and interconnectedness in Aboriginal life.'