For generations Aboriginal languages were silenced, suppressed, and pushed out of everyday life.

However nowadays, Aboriginal communities are reclaiming those languages, strengthening them and creating new pathways for the next generation to learn, speak and carry them forward.

That work has received international recognition, with Wingaru Education's Dharug language children's book, Mii Marri Gaban?: A Dharug Dhalang Counting Book, selected for the IBBY-UNESCO Collection of Remarkable Books for Young Readers in Indigenous and Endangered Languages.

The award was announced at the 40th IBBY World Congress in Ottawa, Canada, on August 6 and comes as the world marked the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples on August 9.

The international collection brings together outstanding children's books from around the world which celebrate, strengthen and promote Indigenous and endangered languages. Developed by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) and UNESCO, the initiative forms part of the global movement supporting the International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032.

Selected books will become part of a permanent collection hosted at the UNESCO Library in Paris, while the collection will also be showcased through international exhibitions and major book fairs.

For Wingaru Education Founder and CEO, Lesley Woodhouse, a proud Dharug woman from the Boorooberongal clan, the recognition carries a significance which reaches well beyond the pages of a children's book.

"For generations, Aboriginal people were prevented or discouraged from speaking and passing on our languages," she said.

"Today, our communities are doing incredible work to reclaim, strengthen and share them. To see Dharug language recognised alongside Indigenous languages from around the world is something we are incredibly proud of."

Mii Marri Gaban? introduces young readers to numbers one to ten in Dharug dhalang, while introducing ten egg-laying animals which call Dharug Ngurra home.

Through simple, repetitive language, illustrations and connections to Country, the book has been created to help children, families and educators build confidence using Dharug language in everyday learning.

However the text is about more than teaching children how to count.

For Aboriginal peoples, language is deeply connected to culture, identity, knowledge, story and Country. When language is taken away, so too can be pathways to knowledge, belonging and cultural continuity. Reclaiming language is therefore an act of cultural strength and survival.

"Language is about much more than learning words," Ms Woodhouse said.

"Language carries culture, knowledge, identity, story and connection to Country. Every time a child learns and uses a Dharug word, they are helping that language live in another generation."

That intergenerational connection sits at the heart of the book and the broader work of Wingaru Education, a 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned education organisation creating culturally safe Aboriginal education resources, professional learning and educational programs for schools, early learning services, workplaces and communities.

The IBBY-UNESCO recognition also highlights the important role children's literature can play in keeping Indigenous and endangered languages visible, valued and accessible to future generations.

"For a small Aboriginal-owned Australian education organisation to have a Dharug language book represented in a global collection is both an honour and an important recognition of the community knowledge and language revitalisation work that made the book possible," Ms Woodhouse said.

"This recognition belongs to the many Dharug people who have carried language, shared knowledge and worked tirelessly to ensure it continues.

"We are proud that 'Mii Marri Gaban?' can play a small part in that journey and that Dharug dhalang will now sit alongside remarkable Indigenous languages and stories from around the world."

The 28-page hardcover book includes English translations and pronunciation support and is designed for families, early learning services and primary classrooms.

Its international recognition is a reminder that Aboriginal languages are not relics of the past. They are living languages, held by communities, carried through generations and strengthened every time they are spoken, taught, heard and shared.

Mii Marri Gaban?: A Dharug Dhalang Counting Book is available through Wingaru Education and local book stores.