Dreaming by Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing. Illus. by David Hardy
The fifth book in the series, Welcome to our country sees a young girl seeing back in time to the early Dreaming where the rainbow serpent is building the land on which we live.
The whole series is designed to inform children, parents and educators, to include them in the story, to help them appreciate the history and stories of Aboriginal people. Muda is the Adnyamathanha word for the cycle of life, the past, present and future. And Adam Goodes uses this word in his story.
The book explores Indigenous cultures using a child’s voice. The young girl tells us that at night when she is dreaming, she looks back over many generations to the time when the land is being moulded, rivers created, grassy plains made for the animals to graze. Forests were made for the birds and honey ants, and possums.
Muda is not just in the past, but is here and now, not just now but into the future, with stories shared between generations.
In her Muda law men came down to teach about the country. They showed people how to use the landscape, where to find water, giving rules for people to behave, and they are still there, watching that we know what is right and what is wrong.
In her Muda she sees her place in the family, she sees a future where her stories are passed on as a guide for those still to come.
The young girl sums up the story:
“In my Muda, the Ancestors are never far, and I can see how I fit and who I am”.
This is a joyful, inviting story, showing how dreaming fits into this girl’s life, and how it has been passed down to her, and how her stories will pass it on to the future. The past, present and future is not just for this child, however, but for everyone, Indigenous and non indigenous, old and young.
The bright inviting illustrations show a modern family, living in the suburbs, going to the beach surrounded by high rise apartments, but still solidly linked to the land, with wonderful full page illustrations of the desert landscape, and the night sky, the mountains and Wilpena Pound.
The publication's page has an explanation of the word, dreaming, and how it is used in this story. And the 17 pages of teacher’s notes on the website, offers lots of ideas for using this book in the classroom.
An inviting introduction and reading of the book can be seen here.
Themes: Aboriginal themes, Dreaming, Aboriginal culture.
Fran Knight