Last week, Penguin Random House withdrew celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s children’s book, Billy and the Epic Escape, after facing criticism for harmful stereotypes of First Nations Australians. The publishing company and author apologised whole-heartedly for the mistake and admitted that a sensitivity reader had not been employed in the book’s editing process.
Billy and the Epic Escape is a sequel to Oliver’s best-selling children’s debut, Billy and the Giant Adventure. A subplot of the book features a First Nations girl living in foster care. She is kidnapped by the book’s villain, who says, “First Nations children seem to be more connected with nature.” The character is apparently from Alice Springs, but uses the language of the Gamilaraay people of New South Wales and Queensland.
