As many of you know, I recently became a grandmother – and if you know anything about becoming a grandparent you’ll know that THE critical question is “what are you going to be called?” Well, I would like to be called Gummie – the name given me here by one of my favourite bloggers Guy (His Futile Preoccupations.) However, the family is looking at me a bit askance, given other images conjured by the word, particularly in relation to, let us say, older people. I haven’t given up yet, though …
And my cause received a fillip last night when a friend gave me the gorgeous children’s picture book, The Gum Family finds home, written by local author Tania McCartney and illustrated by Christina Booth, because surely a Gum Family would think Gummie a perfectly good Grandma name, don’t you think?
Anyhow, I was intrigued by the book for other reasons too. For example, there’s the author, Tania McCartney. I hadn’t heard of her until the last couple of years when she started popping up in my social media feeds with another children’s author, Irma Gold, who has appeared several times on my blog. McCartney is currently an ambassador for our (ACT) Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge. She was also, back in 2012, an ambassador for the National Year of Reading. In other words she’s more than “just” an author-illustrator. She’s an active proponent of reading and literacy – and in my city – so well worth getting to know
But now, let’s get to the book. The cover provides a hint that it’s more than a story. It includes, it says, “fascinating facts” about “Australia’s unique geology” and this becomes immediately clear when you open the book and find, on the front (and back) endpapers, illustrations of places in Australia, each one with dot points. Pretty soon I was laughing because these dot points read like a house-hunter’s list of pros for a new home. So, for example, the points for Butterfly Gorge near Katherine include “on-site security (crocs!)”; for The Bungle Bungle Range there’s “decorative silica and lichen features” and “close to gorges, pools and walking tracks”; and for the Nullarbor Plain “lots of space” and “very private”. Haha, love it.
The endpapers, then, got me in before I even started the book. The narrative is straightforward, befitting the child audience it is geared to. It is about a family of koalas, the Gum Family, who decide that they need a safer, more “rock solid” home than their gum tree. So, they hitch up a caravan, pack some “gum leaf sandwiches and eucalyptus juice”, and set off around Australia to see what they can find. The story is told with lovely humour, as place after place doesn’t quite suit their needs, such as the Twelve Apostles:
Over the years, these limestone stacks will tumble into the sea. Mum is looking for something a bit more stable.
This trip, then, provides an excuse for McCartney and Booth to introduce their readers to, as McCartney’s website says, “the sheer variety and imposing grandeur of the Australian geological landscape, from Uluru to King’s Canyon, from gorges and limestone pillars to precariously placed boulders and sweeping plains.” There are two main themes – or ideas – here. One is this showcasing of Australia’s landscape, as McCartney explains on the National Library’s blog:
As a land of enormous geographical distance, enjoying these sites firsthand can be difficult for many children, so featuring them in children’s books is a wonderful way to encourage kids to learn about these sites and inspire them to visit.
The other is a more personal one about home, about the fact that home is where you feel most comfortable, where you can live with the people you love in the way that best suits you. For the koalas, this is, of course … but, no, I’m not going to spoil the ending!
The book ends with a lovely value-add – eight pages of basic facts about “Australia’s unique geology.” These facts comprise a photograph or two of the place, and a paragraph giving information about its formation and history. These are kept simple to suit an early primary-school-age audience, but they made the geology nicely comprehensible to me too. (I do find geologic time scales almost impossible to get my head around.) I can imagine a teacher suggesting students choose one of the places to research further, and do a project on or write their own story about … In other words, it’s a book that doesn’t really end when you finish reading it.
I do, however, have one little query. It concerns nomenclature. In some cases, the creators have used the now-agreed indigenous Australian names for the places, such as Uluru and Kata Tjuta, but in others, such as Kings Canyon (now Watarrka) and the Bungle Bungles (now Purnululu) they don’t. I’m assuming they are making some fine distinctions here between the landform and the name of the national park in which they sit, but it would have been good, at least, to include the indigenous name in the facts at the back, as they do for Katherine Gorge (or Nitmiluk.) This is a little quibble, and one, I’m sure, that they discussed thoroughly, but still …
The Gum Family finds home was, I understand, just published this month. I do hope it sells well as the story is delightfully told and the information engagingly presented. I look forward to reading it to Grandson Gums one day.
Meanwhile, though, what do you think about my grandma name?
Tania McCartney and Christina Booth
The Gum Family finds home
Canberra, National Library Publishing, 2018
ISBN: 9780642279255
Whispering Gums 
If you like ‘Gummie’, then by all means go with it! It’s close enough to ‘Grannie’ and ‘Grandma’ to work rather well, in my opinion! I have nine grandchildren, and when the first one came along I insisted on being called ‘Grandma’. I don’t like ‘Granny’ or ‘Grannie’, and I don’t like ‘Nana’ either. I think that’s just to do with family tradition – there were never any ‘Nanas’ or ‘Grannies’ on either side of my family. Could it be an Irish thing? I think ‘Granny’ is Scottish, perhaps? Anyway, I like ‘Gummie’ (not ‘Gummy’, though!).
Thanks Teresa. Yes, I thought it was close enough to those to fit in comfortably really. I take your point re Gummie not Gummy. I think that does make a bit of a difference.
My mother is Grandma. That’s largely because we had a Nan and a Gran and she didn’t want to take their names or replace them in our memories I think.
Gummie is lovely. It reminds me of Gumnut babies too 🙂
Woo hoo, Rose, another argument in favour. Thanks. Daughter aka new Aunt Gums will approve of that.
😊
What a wonderful book and so suited to you. I think that Gummie is perfectly fine and easily distinguishes you from the maternal grandmother who I assume wouldn’t use Gummie. However, words such as grandma and grandpa are not only names but the way for the child to easily relay this relationship to other people. “Gummie” would require some explanation from the child to non-family members. That’s not such a big deal really, so sure — Gummie is perfectly fine.
Thanks Carolyn. That’s a good point, but as you say it’s probably not a big deal. Mr Gums’ mum was known as Mick or Mickey or Mickstick to three of her grandchildren, though I admit that ours called her Grandma Mickey.
I think this will be ideal for the children of Geology daughter, next birthday, a sixth, on 4 Oct. so I’d better get cracking. They call me Poppy by the way.
I think it would be an ideal book for a 6-year-old Poppy. Particularly for one born to a geologist. If you do get it, do let me know what you think.
It sounds like a lovely book. Perhaps the author continued with the non-indigenous name for some places so as not to confuse older readers (ie. the mummies and gummies who haven’t caught up on the new place names). .
PS. I like gummie. But why not gummy? You know, short for grand-mummy.
Regards. Tracy.
Thanks Tracy. Yes I wondered if it were because Uluru is now well-known while the others aren’t. But they do use indigenous names for three sites, and I’d like to argue that the only way for these names to become well-known is for them to be used?
As for “gummy” I think the thought was that the “y” ending might look more like a traditional word-shortening and hence short for those gums in our mouths, but your suggestion of its being short for “grand-mummy” is logical too. Hadn’t thought of that! More food for thought!
Hi Sue, I am call ‘Muma’ because my son called my mother Muma, and my dad was Papa. He couldn’t say grandma and so called her Muma. Gummie is different. I googled ‘gummie’ and I didn’t like the definitions. What about ‘Gumma’ and ‘Gumpa’.
Thanks for all this Meg. I love hearing grandparent name ideas. Gumma and Gumpa are good ideas. I’ll think upon them, and run them past the powers that be!
Congratulations on being a Grandmother. The book sounds neat. I like educational stories and I like the cover.
I also think that Gummie is a great name.
Thanks Brian … for all of this.
I’m attracted to educational stories too, though of course kids need a diet of fun too, don’t they?
Must get this for my granddaughters too – and good luck with finding a ‘Grandma’ name. Love Tania Macartney’s work.
Thanks Ros. It is a delightful book, and of course is at the NLA bookshop.
Having looked at her website I can see that her work would be right up your historian alley!
When I recently read a review of this children’s book of course my first thought was you. I think “Gummie” (and Gumpa) absolutely apt – and once used will thenceforth only seem initially strange to those who hear it for the first time – but like knowing the meaning of given names those meanings too disappear into the background when used. I don’t think of the meaning of my own name when it is used by others – and they generally have no idea – mine is simply one of those eternally “popular” names – James (or short or diminutive forms – Jim/Jimmy) but it means “supplanter” (as in the story of Jacob & Esau) or more gently “the one who succeeds/comes after”… So congratulations and a big “thumbs up” for “Gummie” (and Gumpa)!
Thanks Jim … I love that your thought of me when you saw that book.
I do love names and naming though of course, as you say, the meaning does recede into the distance when the person just becomes that name. Still, it can be nice to reflect on down the track. Our new grandson has been given my father’s name as his middle name – which is really lovely to see.
This book looks so gorgeous. I saw it at the NLA bookshop the other day! Also congratulations on becoming a grandparent!
Thanks Angharad … and it is a gorgeous book.