My Place’s importance in introducing Australian history to children has already been firmly established in the 27 years since its publication during the bicentenary, including its adaptation for television and inclusion in countless school curriculums. There is real joy though to be found in returning to the book itself.

Narrated by the children who inhabit a particular house in what is now inner city Sydney, My Place moves backwards in 10-year increments starting with Laura in 1988 and finishing in 1788 with Barangaroo. Each double page brings a new decade, a new child, and, the most fun, a new map. Each map represents the narrators view of their place and the differences from map to map are startling and exciting. As the original back cover blurb proclaimed, My Place is a time machine, a way back to the pleasures to be found in a shared picture book.

Marie Matteson is a bookseller at Readings Carlton.