Kids Own Publishing is a not-for-profit organisation that puts the creation of books into the hands of children, as authors and artists. They work with schools and organisations around the country and in their catalogue you can find two Kriol books, Du Matj Bets (Too Much Bats) and RibaBoi (RiverBoy), created by students of Beswick community themselves! The books are a collaboration with Beswick (Wugularr) School east of Katherine, the local art centre, Djilpin Arts and a puppeteer, Jenny Ellis

RibaBoi (RiverBoy) grew out of a 2013 theatre project in Beswick and the images of the shadow puppets and students then became part of the book. Kids Own Publishing produced three editions of the book – an English version, a Kriol version and one in the traditional language, Rembarrnga. The Kriol version is monolingual which makes it great for Kriol speakers who are learning to read Kriol independently. Here’s a link with more images of the book and a way to buy it for yourself.

Du Matj Bets (Too Much Bats) was made in 2016 after the school and community again worked with puppeteers and created a new story – this time about the bats that sometimes plague the community! Du Matj Bets is a bilingual book with Kriol and English featured throughout. An English-only version is also available. Check out (and buy!) the Kriol version here.

Both books are softcover picture books available from Kids Own Publishing for $16.50 each.