Requiem for a Beast is described as a graphic novel for young adult readers and combines images with a complex story line and music, including a CD of original songs by the author and traditional aboriginal songs. (Hachette Children's Books)

A book hailed by Australia's Children's Book Council as "one of the great books of this century" has become a magnet for controversy because of its use of strong language.

Requiem for a Beast, by Perth-based author Matt Ottley, is described by the publisher as a graphic novel aimed at young adult readers.

The book, combining illustration, music and storylines about an Australian stockman taming a wild bull and the dark secrets of the "stolen generation" of aboriginal children, won the book council's award for picture book of the year earlier this month.

Critics have pointed out the foul language, including the F-word, used by the stockman, as well as the very dark themes of racial violence. The book has been termed "ugly" because of the storyline involving racism against aboriginal people.

The Melbourne Herald Sun called the book award "a bungle." An award for best picture book creates the illusion that this is a suitable book for young readers, the paper said, urging the book council to rework its criteria for awards.

Ottley said he was "nonplussed" by the criticism.

"We have a romanticized view of what a stockman's life is like, a Man From Snowy Riverview, and I wanted to present life in a stock camp as it really is, in all its grittiness," Ottley told the Australian newspaper.

"The main complaint about the book relates to the occasional use of strong language," he said in a defence of his work on his website. "There is, in fact, only a minimal amount of strong language in Requiem For A Beast, and this is intended to reflect the language often used by Australian stockmen."

He adds: "One only has to flick through the young adult books in bookstores to realize that the use of language in Requiem For A Beast is mild by comparison with many other works for older teens and adults."

On Tuesday, the head of the Queensland Writers Centre came to the defence the book in an opinion column printed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website.

"Detractors ask if we really want to read profanity and racist dialogue in our children's books," wrote Kate Eltham of the QWC.

"But this is an insidious question. What can the reasonable answer be except 'no'? … But this of course masks the real issue. That ugliness exists. That racism, violence and ignorance are real. And books, especially fiction, are still the best vehicles for exploring … ideas."

Eltham said children have plenty of access to violence and foul language on TV and YouTube, without the uplifting story line or realistic characterization shown in Requiem for a Beast.

The young stockman in the book eventually comes to realize that the errors of the past, including forcing aboriginal children into residential schools, must be confronted.

Eltham questioned why parents would give young children this book without reviewing its contents.

"I am disdainful of any parent's apathy in not taking 10 minutes to review a picture book's appropriateness for their own children," she said.

"Like other ways children access creative media — movies, television, music, games, internet — the onus is on parents to be engaged in what their children consume."

With files from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation