Landing with Wings by Trace Balla
It’s been four long years since Trace Balla’s last graphic novel, Rockhopping, but it’s been utterly worth the wait. Landing with Wings is the story of a young girl, Mira, and her mum, who move to the goldfields to make an entirely new life. Mira communes with nature, befriending a tree and helping a frog in the garden, and meets her next-door neighbour, Wings. Slowly mother and daughter make friends, put down roots and find their place in the community. There are themes of starting again, finding yourself, and of reaching outwards to others. Every page is filled to the brim with tiny, fascinating details of nature, such as the life cycles of frogs, the growth of plants and the particular eccentricities of birds.
This story is set on Dja Dja Wurrung country to the west of Melbourne and Balla has worked closely with traditional elders of the area and named many places, flora and fauna in traditional language throughout the book. From the beginning endpapers to the author’s notes at the back, this is a culturally rich and absolutely delightful visual story of the joys of engaging with nature and community. Suitable for kids aged 7–12 years, it’s an absolute triumph and excellent example of the benefits of telling a story graphically!
