Ontario artist Paul Morin has won major awards for his children’s picture book illustrations, including the Governor General’s Award for his pictures for Tololwa Mollel’s Orphan Boy, and the IBBY International award. The illustrations for Animal Dreaming are again outstanding – dramatic and fascinating in their use of texture, colour, and design. This story – the first Morin has written – is about a young Australian aboriginal taken by an elder on a walkabout to learn stories about the beginnings of his people. Pictures and text move from the realistic depiction of the man and boy on their journey, to highly stylized images that echo aboriginal rock art.

For readers unfamiliar with aboriginal traditions, Morin’s book might be somewhat confusing since the story is not a straightforward animal fable. Morin, who visited northern Australia to research the book, makes the point that his three animal heroes will not participate in fighting but want to bring peace to the Earth. How their mysterious dreams resolve the animals’ quarrel is not altogether clear – as indeed myths sometimes are not. However, the resolution, in which the various animals turn themselves into distinctive features of the landscape, is splendidly evoked through pictures and text. The outline of a human hand against the rock face movingly reinforces the role of human beings in passing on stories.

The real strength of Animal Dreaming lies in its strikingly beautiful art. Certain pictures, like the coiled snake transforming himself into a rocky outcrop, are outstanding in intensity and drama. Like the striking and rather scary cover picture of the young boy’s face, the paintings of Animal Dreaming evoke the power and mystery of myth.