This vividly illustrated tale tells of a family hunting trip on Country. The author’s youngest son spies a ‘big fat goanna’ and wants to kill the goanna for food but his mother had noticed the goanna’s fat stomach and knew that the goanna was about to lay eggs.
The family left the goanna in peace to lay her eggs in a hole beside a large boab tree where she carefully buried them to keep them warm. The family declared that when the baby goannas grow up they will be able to hunt for them and maybe even catch the mother goanna.
The pastel style illustrations are striking, colourful and particularly noteworthy in their accurate depiction of the boab trees, a prominent feature of the Kimberley region landscape.
Emma Bear (Emma Bearwu) is a Walmajarri woman living in Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The book was created in a workshop facilitated by ILF Ambassadors Alison Lester and Jane Godwin.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
