Summary

Learn how the little platypus, with the help of a fire spirit, became the curious creature we know today, that is found diving, swimming and floating in the billabongs and rivers of the bush.

The duck-billed, web-footed, paddle-tailed, fur-covered platypus didn’t used to look so peculiar. It used to play in the bush, chasing bugs and butterflies, nipping the emus’ long, skinny legs, and running up and down the tails of the kangaroos.

One day the little platypus watched a yellow duck playing at a billabong. The little platypus longed to be a little duck with yellow feathers, bobbing and paddling around in circles on the water.

A picture book for new and young readers.

Reviews and endorsements

This book is a real treat! The first thing you will notice are the eye-catching illustrations — a rare yet skillful mix of painting and computer manipulation, which is an apt medium for Mundara Koorang to use, as the  tale is what the author calls a contemporary Dreamtime story, told through a mix of traditional and contemporary mediums, that of storytelling and computer imaging.

— Message Stick, 2005

A contemporary Dreaming story about how the platypus came to have its distinctive features and how it moved from land to water is related in this visually appealing picture book. Suitable for independent readers or reading aloud to younger students, the story traces the journey of the platypus and the changes it undertakes, with the assistance of the fire spirit, to enable it to swim. This resource could be used as part of a study of Aboriginal culture and would encourage discussion on the importance of traditional and contemporary Dreaming stories. It could also make an interesting stimulus for discussions about personal identity, and changes in identity. Richly illustrated, using painting and digital imaging, this is a story that students and teachers can enjoy in a range of learning contexts.

— A Byron, Aboriginal Education K–12 Resource Guide — NSW Department of Education & Training, Scan, 25 March 2006