Description
Mia could hear the squarks of her Jarriny before she saw them. Her eye’s had flicked to the sky in search of the passing dirrarn but soon realized the noise was from the bird just beyond the gate.
We first met Mia in Black Cockatoo, as she navigated her way through culture, Country and familial ties.
Dirrarn follows Mia as she finds herself at boarding school and the challenges of living thousands of kilometres away from home, family, and the big sky country she loves. Mia along with her best friend, Naya, negotiate new friends, new ways of thinking and new ways of being in a different world. As Mia wrestles with all that is unfamilar, she soon must learn to stand in her truth when confronted with unending challenges.
The dirrarn (black cockatoo) is Mia’s totem animal. It provides her with the strength and freedom to stay connected to her world, even when she is a long way from home. It is this totem she draws upon.
Dirrarn is a sensitive story on the power of place, personality and the honour of standing up for the truth.
Review
Mia is off to boarding school and she is nervous about leaving her people. But she has her best friend Naya and new friend Tilly to help her adjust to this new life.
But with the school bully Charlotte constantly causing her trouble, Mia realises that she must take a stand and show everyone the bully that Charlotte really is.
When Mia finally returns home to her family, culture and country she realises that she has missed home terribly, and she must face the question of whether to return to boarding school when the holiday is over, or stay on country with all that she knows?
This is a wonderful First Nations’ story, with a strong lead character, about the importance of culture and place, the challenges of being away, and the importance of standing up for yourself.
With teacher notes linked to the Australian curriculum available, this is a tremendously important and easy to read story suitable for upper primary and lower secondary students.
Reviewed by Rob
