Over a series of workshops sponsored by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, indigenous students from Nhulunbuy Primary School wrote the story with the help of Ann James and Ann Haddon. The students also worked on a story with some elders of their community, a story that is written entirely in Dhangu, a Yolngu Matha language. Ann James is an ILF ambassador and award-winning illustrator of many books, including The Midnight Feast, The Way I Love You, Shutting the Chooks In and Lucy Goosey. Ann Haddon is a former teacher librarian and is actively involved in children's literature. Ann James and Ann Haddon established Books Illustrated in 1988 to showcase and promote the work of Australian illustrators.