My Outback Childhood (younger readers)

There was something interesting around every corner, be it brumbies and wild donkeys disappearing through the bush, or a little waterhole where the snakes and kangaroos came to drink.

Toni's childhood isn't like other kids'. She is only five years old when her mum packs a small suitcase and takes the family over 300 kilometres on a scratchy dirt track to live at Killarney, a remote cattle station in the Northern Territory. Toni grows up among the cattle and horses, with the wild Territory climate and even wilder native animals around her. She has adventures with Old Dora and Daisy, the Aboriginal women who help raise her and her brothers and sisters. They teach her about bush tucker and tell her stories of debil debils.

My Outback Childhood is the story of Toni's unconventional upbringing on Killarney - stalking goannas, helping in the cattle yards, riding horses and sleeping under the stars. Young readers will be captivated by this true story of a childhood filled with Outback adventures. Fascinating for city kids and country children alike, this is a unique story that educates as well as entertains.

Born and raised in the Northern Territory, Toni Tapp Coutts has had a varied career, from living on cattle stations, riding in campdrafts and barrel racing, to owning a variety store in outback Borroloola and a dress boutique in Katherine. Her first memoir, A Sunburnt Childhood, was published in 2016 and quickly became an Australian bestseller.

Toni is a leader in her community in Katherine. A board member of the Northern Territory Writers Centre and coordinator of the Katherine Region of Writers group, she has been an elected member of the Katherine Town Council for more than ten years. Toni is currently producing a book of collected stories about women of the Katherine region, to be published by the Katherine Museum in 2017. A mother of three, she lives in Katherine with her husband, Shaun.

There was something interesting around every corner, be it brumbies and wild donkeys disappearing through the bush, or a little waterhole where the snakes and kangaroos came to drink. Toni's childhood isn't like other kids'. She is only five years old when her mum packs a small suitcase and takes the family over 300 kilometres on a scratchy dirt track to live at Killarney, a remote cattle station in the Northern Territory. Toni grows up among the cattle and horses, with the wild Territory climate and even wilder native animals around her. She has adventures with Old Dora and Daisy, the Aboriginal women who help raise her and her brothers and sisters. They teach her about bush tucker and tell her stories of debil debils. My Outback Childhood is the story of Toni's unconventional upbringing on Killarney - stalking goannas, helping in the cattle yards, riding horses and sleeping under the stars. Young readers will be captivated by this true story of a childhood filled with Outback adventures. Fascinating for city kids and country children alike, this is a unique story that educates as well as entertains.

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