Rainbow Serpent

by Dick Roughsey

Recounts the aborigine story of creation featuring Goorialla, the great Rainbow Serpent.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Australia, Indigenous, Mythology, Animals, Classics

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Sally Edsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a winner of the Australian Picture Book of the Year award in 1976 and has probably founs a place in many school and public libraries. deservedly so.

It is a Dreaming story - an Aboriginal Creation story. It should be as available, particularly in Australia, as stories of Noah's Ark, and The Garden of Eden might be.

The illustrations are magnificent, and capture the ochres and reds of the internal landscape, the green of the gum trees. The text is accessible for young children (about 4 and up).

[Leilani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Aboriginal artwork.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd totally forgotten this one, until I was browsing through the Children's Book Council website in order to jog my memory about what else I'd read as a child! Talk about a favourite! After reading it we too wrote our own dreamtime stories and painted pictures Aboriginal style... such fun :)

[Todd Roboltou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember poring over this book at the school library when I was 8 or 9, always went back to it every time I entered the library.

The art is beautiful and evocative, the story strange and tragic. But like all dreamtime stories wonderfully told and full of magic.

[BlakeWinter · Rating 4 out of 5]

(read to me by mum)
It was good but it was a bit scary at the part where he was throwing the rocks.

[Candii · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Redraeho · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice presentation of the dreamtime story of the rainbow serpent.
The artwork is superb and has lived in the minds of Australian children for generations.

"Now the remaining people have to look after all the animals..."

[Nik McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this for YA lit, as this was one of my fav picture books as a child. I loved the illustrations and story by Dick Roughsey, indigenous artist and writer. I had such a sense of wonder about the magic of how the rainbow serpent created the Australian landscape and colourful native animals.

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember ordering this via the Australian version of the Scholastic Books program at my school; I think I was attracted by the cover. Sadly it vanished long ago, like the rest of my books from childhood. It has remained in my memory and I was delighted to see it in a bookshop again, thankfully unchanged. The paintings are gorgeous, done in a sort of folk art or naïve style along with elements of traditional Aboriginal art. The colors are of the Australian outback (ochre land, turquoise sky) along with stark black stylized trees and Aboriginal people. The story myth is short but still compelling. The serpent himself is black, overlain with an iridescent rainbow pattern.

[Saman Samani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of this book is fascinating even for today's children.
I bought the story book The Rainbow Serpent and other stories for Baby Day for my niece.
I read the story to him in about a week, and Kelly was fascinated by it

[Brittany Schulz | Fiction & Friction · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve recently bought a bunch of Aboriginal books for my daughter as she is part Aboriginal and I felt like her books were lacking her culture. I read them before I give them to her so if she has any questions I can answer them. As an adult I’d forgotten about this story but I actually enjoyed reading it again more than I thought.

[Serrah Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the traditional story about the rainbow serpent with awesome illustrations. It is a lot more wordy than I expected, so would be better for older readers.

[Ginger Beer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful.

[Samantha Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great aboriginal kids picture book. Wish there was more of these around. Shame you don't see many

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr 5 loves this book. Loves the giant snake and the story. I’d like a version with updated illustrations and a pronunciation guide 😬

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember liking this as a child, so I was quite happy to buy a copy for my son. He was fascinated. Full of excellent illustrations and a good way to introduce children to the concept of songlines.

[The Laughing Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing little story, came across in Shaun Tan's Creature, decided to give it a quick read.

[Fatima Seraj Alam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an Aboriginal Dreaming narrative that explains how the mountains, animals and plants came to be. I enjoy such stories as it reminds me of the cultural stories of India.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 Decolonize Reading Challenge: Book by Australian First Nations Author

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to Preps, better suited for older students .

[September · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mainly here because of Shaun Tan.

[Nicola Of Arkham · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

A beautiful cultural picture book that describes the belief of how Australia came to look how it does today.

[Jack Kirby and the X-man · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to point you to the review by Nicholas Tait - essentially his point is that an traditional oral stories when written down and taken out of context loose much of their meaning.

[bluetyson]

isbn,original

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This must be compulsory reading for every young child in Australian schools. It certainly seemed that way back when I was at school.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An creation myth written by an Aboriginal from Cape York, Australia with a helpful introduction, map and glossary.

[Brian Cham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic of Australian Aboriginal mythology, tying history to nature. The illustrations in this edition are rich and evoke all the unique flora and fauna of Australia.