This picture book tells the story of Jet the corroboree frog, who has woken up from his winter hibernation and hopped down to the riverbank to find his friends. There they hop and swim and play and eat. Jet and his mate Bindi make a mossy nest at the edge of a pond where Bindi lays her eggs. There they wait patiently for the winter rains to flood the ponds so that the eggs can hatch. However, the rains do not come.
Summers are getting hotter and drier, and the river is being filled up with rubbish. When a 4WD arrives and a boy and his father start splashing through the nesting ponds, Jet leapt onto the boy's shoulder to try and distract him. Luckily for Jet, the boy knew what kind of frog he was, and realised that he had been tramping through frogs eggs. He and his father cleaned up the rubbish and carefully left. The illustrations are bright and bold, not unlike the frogs themselves. There is a palette of greens and browns reflecting the natural environment, though good use is made of white space.
This book has a strong conservation message, both about protecting the fragile alpine environment in which this endangered species lives; and the challenges it faces with the changing climate. There is more information about the corroboree frog at the beginning and end of the book. This would be an appropriate story to share with children when discussing endangered species and the importance of cleaning up rubbish. The author and illustrator are sisters, descended from the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
