I sleep across dreams of generations past, woven with journeys for the future.
Drawing on the connection we have to the land, Bronwyn Bancroft awakens the senses as she draws us in through vivid description of how the land, in its natural state makes us feel.
The art in this picture book brings more depth to the story not only echoing the words but also showing us the land and telling us the stories of the flora, fauna and landscape within.
Bronwyn asks us to listen to the orchestra of birds, to feel the crystal clear water, to see the poetry of clouds and watch the rain pour.
Dreams of people past tell us the stories and help us into our future. They teach us to know our country and how to care for it – something we need to know for the future to be maintained.
Bronwyn Bancroft describes her coming home to Country and the feelings it brings – perhaps a timely message for us all of the importance of getting back to nature, understanding it and just being.
This book can be used in classrooms for it’s visual literacy, the poetic devices and descriptive language. It also links into discussions about Country and the importance of listening to those who have cared for it for centuries, the importance of us all to pay attention before it’s too late.
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What can you do with this book?
Visual art
How do the pictures add more depth to this story? What is being told in the illustrations and not in the words?
How do the colours add feeling and emotion to the story?
Indigenous Australians
What is Country? How are people connected to Country?
How can you be connected to Country in your local area?
Literacy
How have places in the environment been personified?
Gather the different adjectives used to describe objects in the story and add your own.
Write sentences that describe how you get into water – different bodies, different temperatures and different places. Look at how the language changes. Use the quote ‘ Run to the creek, perch on a rock, slip into clear crystal water.’
How can you feast on the poetry of each intricate image? Draw on this to write poems about natural places.
