In contrast to the books in the previous post, the following books were published first in Indonesia though not all were written in Indonesian. Despite its publisher having an English name (Great! Publisher) Petualangan Anak Indonesia is currently published only in Indonesian, though (just to confuse you) the author is Australian. Its English title is Indoventurers and there is an English version that the author Nicholas Mark has offered to email upon request. He has also developed a Teacher’s Guide and worksheets.

This book is much longer and is for more advanced readers of Indonesian. Along with plenty of action in the three separate stories and the vivid illustrations, the book has plenty of local content. The Monkey Forest in Ubud is featured in the Bali story and Borobodur is featured in the Yogyakarta story where the race is on to save the city from an eruption from Mount Merapi. There is also a story set in Sumatra.

All three are fantasy stories set somewhere in the realm, or fringe, of Indonesian myth, making them an interesting read. Apart from the fantasy elements, the stories are set in contemporary Indonesia and portray familiar characters and scenes. Another interesting note is that the author wrote it while on a university exchange in Yogyakarta when his story written for an assignment caught the interest of a local publisher.

Publishers website: galangpress.com Or contact Nicholas Mark on nicholaspetermark@gmail.com

The Sea Garden Series of books by Papa Ine is in two languages with the stated aim of helping Indonesian children learn English. Unfortunately, the translation from Indonesian has not been very successful and the poor English badly lets down the books.

The books have very bright and engaging illustrations and all the characters are animals that can be found in Indonesian waters. I was interested to see a sun fish character, not often seen in children’s stories. Some of the names are based on Indonesian words, such as Kepit being the name for the crab character (kepiting).

Published by PT Bumi Aksara Group bumiaksara.co.id

Murti Bunanta is an institution in the world of children’s books in Indonesia. She has written more than 30 books and has received many awards. Many of her books are Indonesian folk tales such as Princess Kemang (Putri Kemang), a folktale from Bengkulu. This is a lovely example of a bilingual book. It features beautiful illustrations from Hardiyono and a story of the adventures of a princess set in some mythical time in Indonesian history. It is quite long but I do like this story for several reasons, one of which is that the main character is a princess who is independent and very physically capable and ends up choosing her own husband. The English translation is also very good, thanks to Margaret Mead MacDonald, herself a well-known author and storyteller, who was the English language consultant on the book. Plus the illustrations make it a delight to read.

Published by Grasindo, part of PT Gramedia. www.grasindo.org

The Tiny Boy and other tales from Indonesia is not a bilingual book but I included it as another example of Murti Bunanta’s work. This has been published by Groundwood in the US and is a beautiful book, also with illustrations by Hardiyono.

Another book she published locally is My first dictionary – colour, published by the Murti Bunanta Foundation and illustrated by Aldriana A. Amir. With only nine colours, it’s not quite long enough to be a stand-alone book and may have been better sold with the others in the First Dictionary series. Another 21 titles by Murti Bunanta are listed in the back.

Cerita Monyet dari Bali – Monkey Tales from Bali is by Maggie Dunkle, an Australian children’s author who lived several years in Bali until she passed away in 2012. This is set in the Ubud Monkey Forest and I really like the story of the family of monkeys and the simple black and white illustrations by Asroel. It is aimed at beginner readers and the way the words are arranged on the page. The Indonesian translation below each phrase makes it easy to follow the translation.

Maggie Dunkle also wrote Penyu dan Lumba-Lumba, Turtle and Dolphin, a book in the Clean Bali Series (there is one other in the series). In this book the animals worry about the rubbish in their oceans and on their beaches and are then surprised when they witness a group of children cleaning up a beach. It is a book in three languages as it includes Balinese. The illustrations by Margiyono are colourful and the message is a good one, but it is not a book I read over and over.

Both are published by Saritaksu. Saritaksu.com

Our Jakarta Series is a set of 30 early readers written by Australian teacher Michelle Dudley while she was living in Jakarta. Originally only in English, they have been translated and published as bilingual books. The series consists of 10 books in each of the three levels. One of these was the very first book my five-year-old son read in Indonesian. Initially I wasn’t sure what to make of titles like My Driver and My Cook. But after thinking about it, it makes sense to have these books for expat children. Reading them with my children while we are living in Indonesia works fine. If we were reading them in Australia having never lived in Indonesia, some might feel a little out of place but the majority would be perfect for young children wherever they may live. Overall they give a good look at life in Jakarta through the eyes of a small expat child. The Car Trip is something Jakartan residents know all too well. What’s in my Lunchbook is cute and shows the variety of cultures at an international school through the contents of kids’ lunchboxes.

Available by emailing jakartaseries@gmail.com