Helen Milroy is a storyteller and artist, and the author and illustrator of many books. She is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, but was born and educated in Perth. Helen has always had a passionate interest in health and wellbeing, especially for children. Today we’re thrilled to be talking to Helen about her book Dingo’s Dream, part of her Tales from the Bush Mob series.
From the publisher:
Dingo dreams that someone is in distress, but who? Dingo checks on everyone in his community, then searches all over the countryside until he stumbles across his homeland he hasn’t visited for many years and is now an empty landscape … There is a strange animal stranded at the bottom of a ravine.
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of this book.
In your Tales from the Bush Mob series, each book centres a particular animal. What gave you the idea for the storyline for Dingo’s Dream?
Our dingoes have had a tough time in history and are often cast in a bad light. But dingoes are beautiful animals and share this country with us. Dingoes also have their country just like us but are often pushed away into other areas. I am also fascinated by the mournful howl of the dingoes at sunset and wondered what this was about. This became the stimulus for the story. What happens to country when our dingoes are not there to sing at sunset?
I do think our country calls to us, we are the children of mother earth and we need to hear her call.
This is the sixth book in the series. How do you go about creating your illustrations? Now that you’re up to Book Six, has anything changed about the way you approach the illustrating process?
Because this is a series, I can reuse some of the habitats such as Dingo’s den and other parts of country so it does make it a bit easier. But I also want to include other aspects and different landscapes for kids to see as well as introduce new creatures such as the Tasmanian Devil, so kids get to see the vast array of native animals that live here. I hope I have got a bit better at illustrating but I also don’t want to lose the naivety of the first book.
The colourful illustrations are rich and striking and give a real sense of place. Are your illustrations inspired by a particular place/landscape?
I really try to draw the colours of the landscape, particularly the north-west of WA which is beautiful. If I am flying over country I love to look out the window and see the patterns in the earth. When i am walking in country, I try to capture the experience and richness in the illustrations.
The Bush Mob friends all work together on a rescue and they each have their own strengths they bring to the group. Do you have a favourite animal in the Bush Mob series?
To be fair, I love them all but yes my favourites are dingo and willy wagtail. Dingo is kind, gentle and strong. He looks out for everyone. He reminds me of a big dog I had as a child who was always by my side and I felt like he was a companion but also a guardian. Willy wagtail is a feisty little bird with great courage and I always love watching the willy wagtails in my garden. They really do talk a lot so hence they play such an important role in bringing bush mob together in the first book.
Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?
I still have another nine bush mob stories I have written which feature different animals so I really hope I can bring them all to life. I also have a sequel for Lofty the Emu as I think he was a great character to work with. In this story he doesn’t need his paraglider anymore but he does learn some really important game skills from some other members of bush mob, so stay tuned!
Dingo’s Dream is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
AWESOME EXTRAS:
Check out all of the titles in the Tales from the Bush Mob series
Download the Teachers’ Notes for Dingo’s Dream
alphabetsoup.net.au 