Aunty's Wedding

Description

Everyone on the island is getting ready for Aunty's wedding. Maningawu puts on her best hat and I can wear a wurrijinga in my hair. Lucky! We all dress up, but I still don't understand. Why do people have a wedding? A warm family story that celebrates love and culture from actor, activist, writer and Australian sweetheart, Miranda Tapsell, and Joshua Tyler, co-writer of Top End Wedding, lushly illustrated by Samantha Fry.

Miranda Tapsell was born in Darwin and her people are the Larrakia and the Tiwi. She grew up in Kakadu National Park and shot to fame after her role in the film The Sapphires. Miranda is also known for her work on the TV shows Love Child, Cleverman and Wolf Creek, among others. She co-wrote, produced and starred in the box office hit Top End Wedding. Joshua Tyler grew up in the Barossa Valley, on Peramangk country. He is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright and actor. Joshua co-wrote Top End Wedding with Miranda Tapsell and has written for a number of children's TV shows including Tashi and 100% Wolf. He currently lives on a hobby farm in rural Victoria with his wife, two kids and lots of native animals. Samantha Fry grew up in the Northern Territory and lives in Darwin. She is descended from the Dagoman people from Katherine and as a child lived in remote communities across the Top End. Her first book, Alfred's War, written by Rachel Bin Salleh, was short-listed for the Premier's Literary Awards and the Speech Pathology Awards.

'The team behind Aunty's Wedding, headlined by Larrakia and Tiwi actress and writer Miranda Tapsell, has created a delightfully simple depiction of just some of the wedding customs from the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin. A number of words are written in Tiwi language with a handy glossary at the back, but the text and images clearly indicate what each word means throughout the story. The illustrations by talented Dagoman artist Samantha Fry are beautiful, with strikingly vivid colours. Tapsell and Joshua Tyler are co-writers of the hugely successful movie Top End Wedding and, hot on the heels of Tapsell's autobiography Top End Girl, this delightful picture book will surely find a ready audience of readers all around Australia keen to learn more about what happens in the Top End. Aunty's Wedding is also a wonderful introduction to just some of the rituals that might be encountered at a joyful wedding celebration. It's ideal to read to children aged 2-5.' Books+Publishing