Three Aboriginal Children's Stories

[emma-in-oz.livejournal.com]

2.25 Arone Raymond Meeks, Sisi and the Cassowary (2002)

This is the second book produced and illustrated by Arone Raymond Meeks. I've already reviewed *Enora and the Black Crane*, but my daughter preferred this one. It has less violence - no spearings this time - and she liked the illustrations better. Her comment: 'That one has a fat bottom'.

This is a version of a traditional tale from northern Queensland, a story about a little girl who gets lost and makes her way home with the help of a cassowary.

2.26 Debbie Austin, At the Billabong (2009)

Another book aimed at introducing babies and toddlers to Aboriginal art. I like this one better than the other two I've reviewed (*Animals*, and *People and Places*) as it has a bit of a plot.

There's a mirror set in the middle, which acts as the billabong, and we see the tracks of various animals as they come up to the billabong. You can see more about these books at: http://discoverypress.com.au

2.27 Eustan Williams and Lucy Daley, Dirrangun, collected by Roland Robinson, illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft (1994)

These two stories were originally collected for a colleciton by Roland Robinson called *The Nearest the White Man Gets* (1989). They are reissued in this format of an illustrated book suitable for children.

Bronwyn Bancroft is, of course, an extremely well known Aboriginal artist and the illustrations are some of the finest of hers that I've seen. They have a real sense of place, as the stories tell how Dirrangun moved water around along the north coast of New South Wales.