As Vanuatu’s history of independence began with a single idea, so too did the widely acclaimed children’s non-fiction, bilingual storybook Taf Tumas! Different journeys, one people / Différents parcours, un peuple. Forty stories were produced through the solidarity of a community of writers and artists who became protagonists in their national historical narrative. This paper will explore the parallels between Vanuatu’s pursuit of indigenous self-determination, the evolution of community-based self-determination and a community-based solution to producing a historical children’s literature project. It will explore three common themes – more than four decades apart – of building unity through making history; the value of self-determination; and the role of story-telling and public narrative in mobilising public support. It suggests that the (comm)unity-building approach to documenting history produces greater engagement, and therefore greater consensus about the historical record.