The Giant Devil Dingo
| Author | Dick Roughsey |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Dick Roughsey |
| Cover artist | Dick Roughsey |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Aboriginal Australians - Folklore. Legends - Queensland - Cape York Peninsula. Dingo - Folklore. |
| Genre | children, legends |
| Publisher | Collins, Sydney |
Publication date | 1973 |
| Pages | 34 (Hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-17-006470-0 |
The Giant Devil Dingo (1973) is a picture book for children by Dick Roughsey. It describes how the dreamtime devil-dingo, Gaiya, of lower Cape York Peninsula mythology was domesticated to become man's friend and helper.
Artwork from the book is held by the National Museum of Australia.[1]
Reception
Kirkus Reviews wrote "The appendix might better have been a preface ... But the chase and basic situation (in Europe the hungry pursuers would be a witch and her familiar) are as easy to grasp as the peculiarly Australian flavor is authentic. And despite the sameness of the scenes--repetitive in scale, perspective and color--Roughsey's flat, clay colored paintings (with dabs of green for foliage) are the more effective for their amateur look--especially where that huge-tongued, red-eyed dingo opposes the small, faceless, dimly differentiated humans."[2] while The Aboriginal Child at School called it "a highly successful book."[3]The Giant Devil Dingo has also been reviewed by The Sydney Morning Herald and Reading Time.[4] It has been selected for the 2010 NSW Premier's Reading Challenge,[5] and was commended in the 1974 Children's Book Council of Australia awards for Children's Picture Book of the Year.[6]
Notes
- ^ "Painting no. 12, Giant Devil-Dingo Series by Dick Roughsey - The people cutting up Gaiya". www.nma.gov.au. National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ "The Giant Devil-Dingo". www.kirkusreviews.com. Kirkus Media LLC. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ "Book Reviews". The Aboriginal Child at School. 2 (2). Cambridge University Press: 58–59. April 1974. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ "The Giant Devil Dingo". www.austlit.edu.au. AustLit. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ "NSW Premier's Reading Challenge 2010". Retrieved 30 November 2009.
- ^ "The Children's Book Council of Australia, Winners and Commended Books, 1974". Retrieved 30 November 2009.