Kylie Gatjawarrawuy Mununggurr, Raymangirrbuy dhäwu |When I was a little girl, Magabala Books, July 2024, 31 pp., RRP $27.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922142306
This story of growing up in Raymangirr, a Yolngu homeland in north-east Arnhem Land, is written in two languages, English and Djambarrpuyngu. Kylie Gatjawarrawuy Mununggurr tells of expeditions into the bush with her grandmother to find wild honey, to go mangrove fishing, and night fishing under a full moon.
She describes the feasts of the community after a successful catch. Her full-page colour illustrations in acrylics mix European modernist approaches with the local indigenous style learned from her grandmother’s bark painting. Each image of her community is joyous and expressive.
Magabala Books are to be congratulated again on producing a work that enriches understanding of the many cultures and languages that grace the far north of Australia.
There is useful map of the many communities in this Top End region. Recommended for readers from five to twelve and beyond. A pronunciation guide is available on the publisher’s website.
Reviewed by Kevin Brophy
