The inspiring true story of one man's reconciliation
journey. All through his growing-up years, John Danalis's family had an
Aboriginal skull on the mantelpiece; yet only as an adult did he ask
where it came from and whether it should be restored to its rightful
owners.
This is the compelling story of how the skull of an Aboriginal man,
found on the banks of the Murray River over 40 years ago, came to be
returned to his Wamba Wamba descendants. It is a story of awakening,
atonement, forgiveness and friendship. 'It is as if a whole window into
Indigenous culture has blown open, not just the window, but every door
in the house,' says John Danalis. Part history, part detective story,
part cultural discovery and emotional journey, this is a book for young
and old, showing the transformative and healing power of true
reconciliation.
About The Author
John Danalis is a writer, illustrator and designer. He is the author
and illustrator of three children's titles, Dog 37 being the
most recent. Bath Monster and Uncle Lou's Tattoos are
his earlier works. He has illustrated numerous other titles including Licking
Lizards, Girl in the Cave and Loku and the Shark Attack. He
has also illustrated textbooks.
John began his art practice as a graphic designer and now runs a studio
called Peripheral Vision with his partner, acclaimed illustrator Stella
Danalis (http://peripheralvision.com.au). In the last 15 years the
studio has won over 100 design and illustration awards. Today, John and
Stella specialise in book cover design and their own creative projects.
Danalis's quietly thoughtful but spellbinding account, which I read compulsively in less than 24 hours, is full of these neat, unexpected twists... Most books are full of echoes of other books, but the deliciously fresh Riding the Black Cockatoo is not remotely like anything else I have ever read. Even the imagery sparkles... Despite its newness, Riding the Black Cockatoo is a GCSE English set text with effect from this autumn, having been chosen, very unusually, before it was even published in the UK. I suspect a lot of teachers and teenagers will be blown away by it. Independent on Sunday
ISBN: 9781741753776
ISBN-10: 1741753775
Audience:
Teenager / Young Adult
For Ages: 11 - 14 years old
For Grades: 7 - 10
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 276
Published: 1st June 2009
Dimensions (cm): 19.8 x 12.9
x 2.3
Weight (kg): 0.26