Little Bird’s Day
Illustrator: Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr
Publisher: Magabala Books
Genre: Children's
This is a beautiful production from Magabala Books, from the eye-catching red foil depicting flowering gum trees on the cover to the images of the star-filled night sky in the end papers. The story of a typical day in the life of little bird is simply yet effectively told through clean, distinctive line drawings depicting native birds, plants and animals that perfectly complement the sparse and minimal yet poetic text. A sense of the natural progression of time is reflected in the changing colour palette from red, yellow and ochre to brown and black, with each page presenting a new perspective on the scene. It is easy to see why Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr was the winner of the Kestin Indigenous Illustrator Award.