Publisher's synopsis
The story of an Aboriginal boy whose house is invaded by a Hairyman – a spirit the old people call a Quinkin. When a little green tree frog lands on his windowsill, he knows she has been sent by the ancestors to help him face his fears.
‘I wake with a start. The doorknob turns. It’s him. The Hairyman . . . ‘
There’s a bad spirit in our house. He’s as ugly as ugly gets and he stinks. You touch this kind of Hairyman and you lose your voice, or choke to death.
It’s hard to sleep when a hairy wrinkly old hand might grab you in the night. And in the day you’ve got to watch yourself. It can be rough. Words come yelling at you that hurt.
Alive with humour, My Girragundji is the vivid story of a boy growing up between two worlds. With the little green tree frog as a friend, the bullies at school don’t seem so big anymore. And Girragundji gives him the courage to face his fears.
Awards
- Winner 1999 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year for Younger Readers
- Shortlisted 1999 QLD Premier’s Literary Awards for Best Children’s Book
Meme McDonald is a graduate of Victoria College of the Arts Drama School. She began her career as a theatre and festival director, specialising in the creation of large-scale outdoor performance events. Since then she has worked as a writer, photographer and, most recently, on film projects.
Boori Monty Pryor is an indigenous Australian born in Townsville, North Queensland in 1950. His father is from the Birri-gubba Nation of the Bowen region and his mother’s tribal group from Yarrabah, near Cairns, is the Kunggandji. Boori has worked in film, television, modelling, sport, music and theatre-in-education. He has written several award-winning books with Meme McDonald including Maybe Tomorrow, My Girragundji, The Binna Binna Man and Njunjul the Sun. His stories are about finding strength within to deal with the challenges without, and his skill is to create positive visions of the future for both Indigenous and white people. Boori travels extensively as a performer and public speaker for school students and adult groups throughout Australia and overseas. Boori was Australia’s first Children’s Laureate for 2012 and 2013.
Boori was one of the inaugural Australian Children’s Laureates 2012–2013.
