The spotty dotty lady by Josie Boyle

Ill. by Fern Martins. Magabala Books, 2014. ISBN 9781922142108.
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Loneliness, Aboriginal themes. A lady living alone has no friends beside her flowers and plants in the garden. One day she notices a different plant growing amongst those she knows and watches it as it grows. The spotty bud grows quickly, until one day it flowers with big, wonderful, spotty, dotty flowers. So taken with these that she decides to paint her kitchenware with spots, and she keeps on going until her whole kitchen is a maze of coloured dots and spots. And she does not stop there. She soon covers her whole house with spots and dots, causing a small sensation in the street.
The postie tells the neighbours and they tell their friends, so soon everyone in the street is outside her house. They soon begin to bring things for her to paint, and after that of course, they stay for a cup of tea. Soon the Spotty, Dotty Lady has many friends and when they hold a party at her place it becomes the happiest street in town.
A lovely tale of friendship developing out of the environment, reinforces the relationship between the natural world and people, an enduring theme amongst Aboriginal stories. But this modern tale has significance for us all.
Fran Knight