Cunning Crow

Way back, before once-upon-a-time, there was the Dreamtime when all the birds were white. One of those white birds was a crow called Waan. One day a big storm came through and a magnificent rainbow appeared. When the birds passed through the rainbow, one by one, their feathers took on its beautiful colours. Waan flew through the rainbow too and his feathers became a beautiful red and orange. But Waan was jealous of the other birds. He wanted to be more beautifully coloured than anyone. So Waan hatched a cunning plan. But things did not go the way Waan wanted...

"Cunning Crow is inspired by a very old story about the opal on my Grandmother’s Country. It reminds us about beauty, about embracing differences, about not judging others’ appearances and being content with who we are." Gregg Dreise

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. All these stories are about teaching morals. They address self-image, friendship, kindness, bullying and Indigenous culture.

Gregg is also the illustrator of the classic story Tiddalik the Frog (Pearson Publishing) and has poetry with his illustrations in the anthology A Boat of Stars; and illustrations in High 5 to the Boys and contributions towards Why I Love Australia. He has a Children’s Music CD titled Sing. Dance. Walk Together.