Greedy Frog by Gregg Dreise

From the back notes: "Although Tjidalih or Water Holding Frogs aren't found everywhere in Australia, several Aboriginal Indigenous Nations do share Dreaming with these beautiful creatures. Therefore, this story has been turned into a book several times. The frog is known as Tiddalik, yet we pronounce them Tjidalih. The "j" beside the "t" lets you know to put your tongue on the top of your mouth, rather than behind your teeth as is done with the letter "t". Try it."

Here is the opening sentence: "Way back before Once-upon-a-time time, there was the Dreamtime and the outback was in the middle of a drought. Yirray, the sun drank all the water."

Publisher blurb: A clever frog, Tjidalih, promised to take care of all the water. But he kept it in his pouch. The animals had to work out a way to trick Tjidalih, to make him laugh to spill the water. This is the famous story of Tjidalih the Frog retold by Greg Dreise according to the traditions of the Goomelroi/Kamilaroi and Euahlayi people of south-west Queensland and north-west New South Wales. It s a bold imaginative tale underpinned by a wry humour to reinforce the importance of sharing and supporting each other in hard times.

I enjoyed the way Gregg Dreise gives young readers several hints that Tjidalih is 'up to no good':

"Tjidalih had a big, not-so-honest grin on his face."
"Tjidalih had a huge, far-from-honourable smirk on his face."

It would be especially good to talk to your library group about the power of a word like 'smirk' and also when the animals finally get Tjidalih to laugh there is a touch of mockery about this which could be another good discussion point. Tjidalih is laughing at poor Burrung is caught in her own tangle. You could also research the way the final words in this book link with traditional practices of using water-holding frogs (they are real) as a way to obtain water.

It would be so interesting to share Greedy Frog alongside other books that feature this greedy water guzzling frog. With older students you could talk about traditional indigenous stories and the common themes found in stories told in different parts of Australia, by different indigenous storytellers and in different indigenous languages. 

There is also the issue of WHO should re-tell the story and the changes to our thinking about this over time. If you have a High School group you might look for one or two of the very old versions of this tale which did not have indigenous authors - Tiddalick the Frog by Susan Miho Nunes illustrated by Ju-Hong Chen (1989); What made Tiddalik Laugh by Joanna Troughton (from the UK 1986); and I found a Joy Cowley Story Box reading scheme version. (Trove list 67 book references that include the word Tiddalik and 33 with the word Tiddalick)

This version is from 1980

Wikipedia explains the story: In the creation myth, Tiddalik awoke one morning with an insatiable thirst and started to drink until he had gulped down all the available fresh water. Creatures and plant life everywhere began to die due to lack of moisture. Other animals conspired against Tiddalik and devised a plan for him to release all of the water he had consumed. This was successfully coordinated by a wise old owl, when Nabunum the eel made Tiddalik laugh when he tied himself in comical shapes. As Tiddalik laughed, the water rushed out of him to replenish the lakes, swamps and rivers.

Here are some versions that might be in your school library:

Further reading:

The Aussie Handbook

Museums Victoria

Aboriginal Creation Stories

You could also use Greedy Frog as a way to talk about other trickster tales. 

Gregg Dreise is a gifted artist, storyteller and musician, and he features the didgeridoo and guitar in his performances at schools, libraries and festivals. He is a descendant of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi people of south-west Queensland and north-west New South Wales. He is the author and illustrator of Cunning Crow; Silly Birds; Kookoo Kookaburra; Mad Magpie and My Culture and Me.

I previously talked about Turbo Turtle from this series - every school library needs this full series. 

Read more here on the Magabala web page.

Gregg Dreise also illustrated this version: