Balharda the bobtail lizard feels beautiful but the bidi-bidi (butterflies) and every other creature she meets tells her otherwise. After falling into the Murchison River, she tries not to despair and manages to struggle ashore. The river she has escaped is swirling in danger captured in large sweeping paint strokes while the text offers ‘A Bigurda wallaroo family was grazing nearby. One wallaroo hopped over.’ The illustration of this meeting shows Rhonda Collard-Spratt’s joyful and naïve painting style in full play. Balharda is plainly a lizard, but her eyes are filled with real tears. Aunty Shirley, the wallaroo, has the bone-like markings but big curly eyelashes and a beanie with the Aboriginal flag pulled low over her head. She crouches close to Balharda to hear her grief, as the other wallaroos lie and stand in naturalistic poses on the riverbank. In addition to her words of comfort, Aunty Shirley gives the sad lizard a magic necklace made of mookaite. Balharda concludes her journey exploring the ocean with Dolphin, giving the young reader an idea of the huge area that is Wajarri country.
Rhonda Collard-Spratt identifies as a Yamatji-Noongar artist, storyteller and Stolen Generations survivor. She states her intention for this story in an introductory note spelling out its message. The integration of Nhanda language is demonstrated in the quote above, and the book is enriched by inclusion of an adaptation of the AIATSIS map showing Yamatji country with seven language areas, encouraging the reader and educator to learn more. Words from the Wajarri and Nhanda languages of Western Australia are embedded throughout the story.
The creators of the book are also known as composers Aunty Curlew and Dragonfly Girl, and their song ‘Words Can Hurt or Heal’ is appended. There is an audio book version available, and the book’s design includes a black-and-white didgeridoo at the bottom right of each double spread as a ‘turn the page’ signal. Collard-Spratt states that she ‘takes Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime stories from the past and creates new Dreamings for future generations. These stories honour our First Nations people and their kinship with our native animals and this sacred land.
Series: Spirit of the Dreaming Book 2
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
