‘We Look, We Find’ is the result of a collaborative story writing and art workshop held in the Napranum community in 2021. The impetus for the story came from reviewing old photographs of pre-school excursions showing the children’s experiences of being ‘on Country’ with family and elders. Prominent throughout are the Thaynakwith language words for the various animals, plants, foods, and landscape features mentioned in the story.
There is a glossary of the Thaynakwith words at the end to assist but it is a fun exercise to guess at the Thaynakwith word meaning from clues in the illustrations.
The artwork is fun and highly creative. Tissue paper, black ink, pastel and dye were used by the women and children of the Napranun Early Childhood Centre. All these elements were brought together using collage techniques to create the final artwork. The children’s black ink artwork flows over onto the endpapers.
The Napranum meaning ‘meeting place’ is on the western side of the Cape York Peninsula 819 kms north-west of Cairns in Far North Queensland. It is home to approximately 716 Indigenous people who are descended from as many as 40 different groups from around Cape York Peninsula.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
