Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo

When Ernie goes to live in an Aboriginal community in northern Australia, the people, climate, plants and animals are all new to him. Here are his letters to Clive, Nicky, Rosie, Frank, Tessa and Celeste, describing the life he discovers with his new friends in their wild and beautiful land. Alison Lester visited Arnhem Land in 1996 and 1997 as a guest of the Gunbalanya Community School with her friend and fellow author Liz Honey. Together they worked with staff and students of the school to produce poems, plays, puppets and paintings. This book is based on a story the upper Primary students made about their lives, called We Love Gunbalanya . Arnhem Land is owned by the Aboriginal people who have lived there for more than 50,000 years. There are many different tribes and language groups throughout Arnhem Land, but at Gunbalanya, where this book is set, the main language spoken is Kunwinjku.

Author Biography

Alison Lester is one of Australia s most popular children s authors and illustrators. She began illustrating children s books after she had her first child, and today has illustrated more than 25 books for children. Alison has won several awards for her writing and illustrating, including the 1989 CBC Honour Book Award for The Journey Home, and Best Designed Children s Book for Rosie Sips Spiders. When Frank Was Four reached number one in the bestseller list and was also a CBC Notable Book. Alison lives on a farmlet in rural Victoria with her husband and their three children.