When the World Was Soft

Did you know crows were not always black?

In the beginning when the world was soft they were white.

How they became black is one of the aboriginal creation stories in this delightful graphic novel put out by the Juluwarlu Group.

Other stand-out stories are ‘The Stoneman’ and ‘Pelican and Quail’.

There;s a glossary at the back for aboriginal terms which have a poetry of their own.

The writing too is limpid and poetic, and the illustrations by Alex Manlewicz are vibrant and evocative.

I’m no expert but I suggest this is equally a book for older children as well as adults.

Nice Shoes

Nice Shoes.

Nice shoes, she says. Good choice.

I’m not silly. I know what she’s doing.

She’s not praising their style, how eco-chic they are.

She’s praising their comfort, their roominess. Their frivolity

for fondling feet.

Good shoes, she says as though she is saying, good dog.

Well, they are Hush Puppies.

Philippa is a podiatrist and she’s about to trim my toe nails.