You have his mark Mia, between your shoulder blades. The dirrarn (black cockatoo) is your totem. Your jarriny (conception totem) totem
I adored this book so much so that I read it twice.
Mia, a young indigenous girl lives on the coast of Western Australia in a remote town surrounded by bush land, water holes and hot red dirt.
She lives with her family, which includes her grandparents, but feels lost between the culture and traditions of her past and the present world she lives in.
But Mia feels the past so much more than her brother does. She feels the pain of the he injured animals and smells danger and freedom on the wind.
The story revolves around Mia rescuing a black cockatoo who has been injured by her thoughtless brother.
We learn about the beauty of persistence, following your beliefs and believing in the power of positive actions.
We also learn the importance of listening to the past, embracing culture and tradition yet looking towards the future.
Black Cockatoo will not only entertain readers from ages 9-13, it will also teach them about owning their beliefs and standing up for what they know is best.
Black Cockatoo would be a great book if o study as a class group as the Jaru language is scattered throughout the story-in context-so readers can learn how to speak this indigenous language from The Kimberley.
As Australians we need to eEmbrace more of our indigenous languages and teach not only those with indigenous heritage but also those who don’t.
Black cockatoo by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler is a beautiful story and I hope that it can be shared with many more children!
