Coral Vass is the author of many popular books for young children including Grandma’s Treasured Shoes, Jorn’s Magnificent Imagination, The Kelly Gang Kids and Amanda Commander: The Blues-day Tuesday.
Dub Leffler is an illustrator, writer, animator and mixed media artist, working in the arts through books, film, television, muralism and art education. He is a prominent children’s book illustrator and author, collaborating with Sally Morgan, Banksy, Coral Vass and others, and is known for his soft realistic portraits and emotional landscapes. Recently he teamed up with Coral to illustrate Sorry Day (2018), which won the 2019 Eve Pownall Award for Information Books from the Children’s Book Council of Australia.
Here in Walking Together these two creatives have again produced a powerful picture book inspired by The Uluru Statement From the Heart, advocating for everyone in Australia to work together for a better future. ‘United we are stronger and walking together we can learn and and we will grow’.
Written in verse the text, hinting at past Aboriginal history, is given a shocking immediacy by Leffler’s striking images which he created using watercolour paint and pencils, coffee and salt. So much is left unsaid in the text but expressed eloquently in the illustrations. Two pairs of feet confronting one another, one pair barefoot with decorated calves, the other in leather shoes and trousers. This is followed by all kinds of feet, their shoes (or lack thereof) giving clues to Australia’s past and present.
As the call to walk together becomes stronger more and more people join, shown by many walking feet, each pair hinting at occupation, circumstances, lifestyle. You never see any faces but you don’t need to. The striking cover image of many children all walking together in the same direction is a wonderfully touching positive statement of hope for the future.
Another recurring image is that symbol of rebirth and resurrection, good luck and fortune, the dung beetle. It is toiling away on every page rolling its ball of dung to finally come to a stop when a little green shoot appears. There is much for adults to explore and unpack here when sharing with children. The book comes with extensive teaching notes which enrich and extend the experience of reading and there is a lot of support material available on the internet. Here is a starting point for children to begin their challenging journey and let’s hope they are all inspired by that dung beetle to not give up until they have reached their goal!
Coral Vass is the author of many popular books for young children including Grandma’s Treasured Shoes, Jorn’s Magnificent Imagination, The Kelly Gang Kids and Amanda Commander: The Blues-day Tuesday.
