Indigenous brothers Rocky and Louie love to play
Footy together. The dream locked in Rocky’s heart is to play professionally.
He teaches Louie everything he knows. Not only
about footy, but all about their country. He explains respect for the land, how
to treat it and its creatures, to protect things that grow, and the importance
of fire to restoration and renewal.
Rocky makes sure that his brother can identify all the
markings in the earth and what they signal.
Louie is taught how to cook by his mum and extended
family and learns traditional songs and dancing.
He loves to jump like a kangaroo and run as fast as
an emu. When Louie is tired out, he lays on the ground until his heartbeat
steadies and matches the thrum of the earth beneath his head.
All this is happiness for Louie.
But change comes. It is time for Rocky to chase his
dream. Louie will miss him terribly but, like the boomerang that he sculpts for
his brother with all the love in him, he knows that Rocky will come back to his
home.
A powerful story of connection – between siblings,
with family, country and place, and about honouring your roots.
Stunning illustrations by Dub Leffler create moving
scenes. The emotions experienced by the characters, the importance of ties to
family, traditions and the Indigenous culture, are beautifully represented as is
the stunning front cover that depicts Rocky and Louie together.
Title:
Rocky and Louie
Author:
Raewyn Caisley and Phil Walleystack
Illustrator:
Dub Leffler
Publisher:
Penguin Random House, $24.99
Publication
Date: 28 April 2020
Format:
Hardcover
ISBN:
9780143786528
For
ages: 5+
Type: Picture Books