Spirit of the Crocodile

By Aaron Fa’Aoso & Michelle Scott Tucker with Lyn White

Reviewed by Helen Gearing

Co-writers Aaron Fa’Aoso (producer, actor and screenwriter) and Michelle Scott Tucker (biographer and author) have teamed with children’s publishing consultant Lyn White (editor of the middle-grade series Through My Eyes: Natural Disaster Zones) to create a stunning middle-grade novel set on Saibai Island in the Torres Strait.

‘The crocodile’s eyes were slimy yellow, slit by a vertical pupil. The creature remained perfectly still, but it throbbed with life. No one could think it was made of stone now.’

Twelve-year-old best friends Ezra and Mason are confident in their close-knit community, where kinship ties, cultural feast days, and long afternoons fishing from the pier provide a solid foundation to knowing their place in the world.

But change is coming – Saibai doesn’t have a high school and soon the boys will need to live with extended family while they continue their education on Thursday Island. Ezra is dreading leaving Saibai, and finds a breach developing in his easy camaraderie with Mason, who can’t wait for a new adventure.

As the boys negotiate the impending change, they are also faced with the effects of ever-increasing climate disasters and the unsettling knowledge that their community is being thrust into unprecedented danger.

Spirit of the Crocodile is, in many ways, an extremely relatable, age-old story exploring the pain and excitement of growing up. However, its evocative descriptions of island life, kinship systems, trilingual code-switching, cross-cultural negotiation, and community resilience also offer a generous and original insight into Torres Strait culture.

Readers ten years and older who enjoyed Allen & Unwin’s series Through My Eyes and Gary Lonesborough’s We Didn’t Think it Through will savour this lyrical, setting-rich story about friendship, culture, and growing up. The exquisite cover design by Joanna Hunt (and linocut pattern by Paul Sedan) reflect the care which has gone into this book’s creation, enticing readers to lean into the beauty and mystery of the story world.

Teaching Resources

A & U Children’s 2025