Jalygurr: Aussie Animal Rhymes, is a great start to introducing young children to Indigenous culture. It brings alive a Yawuru lifestyle that has existed for many thousands of years. It is easy to imagine mothers chanting to their children the Gumbun, Mangrove Man poem from the book, 'Gumbun Gumbun, Look out, look out It's the Gumbun man Run, run as fast as you can.'
These poems have their origins in the oral stories handed down, generation after generation as a way of teaching children about history and their relationship to the land. The book has parallel text in both English and Yawuru, a language spoken in Broome in the Kimberly region of WA. The book is dedicated to all children in the Kimberley.
Pat Torres belongs to three Indigenous groups - the Jabirr Jabirr from the north of Broome, the Nyul Nyul from the Beagle Bay area and the Yawuru people from south of Broome.
Each year, as a gesture of goodwill from one non-profit to another, Magabala Books provides one local Indigenous non-profit organisation with a collection of books. Magabala Books selected Jalygurr-Guwan for its commitment in providing quality early childhood services to the Indigenous community in and around Broome.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
