James Vance Marshall and Francis Firebrace have once again collaborated to bring us a companion piece to Stories from the Billabong.

How did turtle get his shell? Why do young koalas cling to their mothers’ backs? How was the mighty Murray River created? Ten witty retellings of legends, some of them from the Yorta Yorta people, to delight readers of all ages.

Creators

James Vance Marshall is also published under the names Ian Cameron and Donald Payne. His most famous book, Walkabout, was first published as The Children, and was later made into a movie by the director Nicholas Roeg. His other books include A River Ran Out of Eden, The Lost Ones (dramatised by Disney as The Island at the Top of the World) and White-Out. He lives in Dorking, Surrey.

Francis Firebrace grew up in the Australian bush where he would travel by horse and cart and follow the banks of the Murray-Darling Basin. He began his school education at the age of 7, but left seven years later and started work as a sheep and cattle stockman. At the age of 29 he moved to Canberra to begin a new chapter in his life – to become a film maker. Francis has had some success within the film industry as 5 of his films are in the national film archives in Canberra and won in 1976 the International Moomba top 10 award, which was awarded to his film “Give my regards to the Devil”. While living in the Whitsundays Islands from 1984 to the 90’s he began telling his own stories to tourist. These stories took him on a new journey that saw him travelling from country to country. He currently lives in England.

Reviews

A gorgeously presented book … A great collection to spark conversations about culture and mythology.

Books+Publishing

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