Sorry Day is told in alternating timelines. In the modern day, Maggie is in a busy crowd with her mother watching a man apologise for the actions of a country and government. In the past, several Indigenous children play and then hide from the white men who have come to remove them from their families.

The stories begin in parallel: Maggie is happy and safe with her mother; the children are playing in the dust, safe in the knowledge that their mothers are at a nearby fire. But their stories diverge when Maggie is briefly separated from her mum only to be quickly reunited and given reassuring cuddles. The children are not so lucky. The story does not delve into what happens to the children next and it doesn’t need to.

Sorry Day ends with hope, though I got goosebumps reading the last page. This is a gentle and important book, and a great way to start conversations with kids aged 5+ about our nation’s past.

Dani Solomon is the assistant manager at Readings Kids.