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Simon Brent is orphaned. Still shocked, he is taken to live with his only relatives, brother and sister Charlie and Edie Waters, who live on a farm. There, Simon meets the Aboriginal spirits who also live on the land. Together Simon, Charlie, Edie, and the spirits save the land from the ancient Nargun. The story is memorable in the portrayal of the Nargun and the spirits, as well as the characters of Charlie and Edie, and the depiction of Simon's change from a shocked and emotionally frozen individual to a normal boy.
Adaptations
-
form
y
The Nargun and the Stars
( dir. John Walker
)
Sydney
:
Australian Broadcasting Commission
,
1981
Z1849117
1981
series - publisher
film/TV
Based on the novel by Patricia Wrightson, The Nargun and the Stars follows Simon, a heartbroken and orphaned boy from the city, who goes to live with cousins on a remote country property. Hidden in the depths of the property, he discovers a variety of creatures from the distant Dreamtime. But not all are benevolent, as Simon discovers when the threat of development wakes the stone Nargun.
With an overt environmental message and a strong focus on Indigenous Australian mythologies, The Nargun and the Stars attracted positive interest from reviewers, though Greg Flynn noted in the Australian Women's Weekly that the Potkoorok's voice is 'the fruity vowel sounds of the regrettably late Noel Brophy', and adds 'Surely the Aboriginals never imagined their swamp-dwelling monster sounding like a music hall turn?' Ultimately, however, Flynn noted that 'As with fantastic children's stories, it's the creatures and the gimmicks which make the programme fascinating. But the plot does have its merits. Although the series takes a while to pick up speed, once the Dreamtimers appear most viewers should be captivated by this story of the bush defending itself against the crass hand of man.'
Source: Australian Women's Weekly, Wed. 23 September 1981, p.145.
- The Nargun and the Stars 2009 single work drama children's
Affiliation Notes
-
This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has a Japanese translation.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also braille and sound recording.
Works about this Work
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Books That Changed Me : Andrew McGahan
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 20 July 2014; (p. 16) -
Books That Changed Me : Catherine Jinks
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 24 February 2013; (p. 14) -
Time and the Darkness : 40 Years of The Nargun and the Stars
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Winter vol. 21 no. 2 2013; (p. 14) -
Crow Country : Treading Ambiguous Pathways
2011
single work
autobiography
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , September vol. 26 no. 4 2011; (p. 18-20) -
Bush at Play
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2 January 2009; (p. 12)
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Untitled
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 4 no. 1 1989; (p. 31)
— Review of The Nargun and the Stars 1973 single work children's fiction -
Untitled
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 43 no. 3 2008; (p. 94-95)
— Review of The Nargun and the Stars 1973 single work children's fiction -
Paperbacks Worth Checking Out
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: The Boston Globe , 21 August 1988;
— Review of The Nargun and the Stars 1973 single work children's fiction -
Off and Away
1974
single work
column
— Appears in: Reading Time : New Books for Boys and Girls , January no. 50 1974; (p. 23-28)
— Review of Wildfire 1973 single work children's fiction ; The Chinese Boy 1973 single work novel ; The Flame Takers 1973 single work children's fiction ; The Way Home 1973 single work children's fiction ; The Nargun and the Stars 1973 single work children's fiction -
Untitled
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 32 no. 4 1988; (p. 53)
— Review of The Nargun and the Stars 1973 single work children's fiction -
At Home in Australia : The Changing Scene Continued...
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 47 no. 4 2003; (p. 8-13) The author examines how the themes, genre and settings have changed in Australian children's literature throughout the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st century by examining works written in this period. -
Patricia Wrightson : A Dreaming - Lilith Norman Talks About an Old Friend
1994
single work
column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , November vol. 9 no. 5 1994; (p. 18-20) -
Sources of Resilience: Australian Books for Children and Adolescents
1990
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature Association Quarterly , vol. 15 no. 4 1990; (p. 166-167) Pemberton introduces six papers that critically engage with children's books in Australia and present a wide range of subjects and critical approaches. He briefly references the work of the aforementioned authors, quoting from Wrightson's Nargun and the Stars in recognition of the 'mythic potentialities' and 'immense challenge' of writing about what it means to be Australian (166). In this sense it is 'the image of the Australian child' and how this image is situated within and in relation to, the landscape that provides the focus for this issue of the periodical, drawing attention to how 'the dimensions of mythic distance in Australian children's literature are wide indeed' (167). For Pemberton, the authors and texts under discussion utilise 'the idiosyncrasies of Australian idiom, humour and candour' in ways that 'are testimony to a national resilience' and representative of 'the evolution of national identity' (166-67). - y The Responses of Early Adolescent, White Australian Readers to Selected Cross-Cultural Folklore-Based Fantasy Novels by Patricia Wrightson Ann Arbor : University Microfilms International , 1994 Z1524171 1994 single work thesis
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Bush at Play
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2 January 2009; (p. 12)
Awards
- Hunter Valley, Newcastle - Hunter Valley area, New South Wales,