Stolen Girl by Trina Saffioti and Norma MacDonald

Magabala Books, 2011. ISBN 9781921248252
(Ages: Lower primary) Although this is an older picture book from Magabala's catalogue, the fact that it has now had two reprints testifies to its value in any library collection or indeed home bookshelf.
A fictionalised telling of one girl's experience as part of the Stolen Generation, it is based on what might have happened to the author's own grandmother who was stolen away from her family. The illustrator's grandmother was also a stolen child so both Trina and Norma are able to bring personal family stories and emotions to this work.
The story begins in children's home and the reader finds out how the girl arrived there through her recollections of her life before being taken. The reader is taken into the home with its harshness and lack of compassion but rather than dwell on the grimness of the situation, we become part of the girl's dreaming hopes and her determination to return home.
In the spirit of Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence this little girl plans her route and at the right moment makes her escape homeward. As she sets off our hearts go with her, willing her safety and success in her journey.
A beautiful book which tells an important story, beautifully illustrated by highly successful Indigenous artist Norma MacDonald.
Find teaching notes for this book here.
Sue Warren