She began collating and illustrating stories for use in booklets for teacher trainees and schools. The Kabuna books were published by Rosalie and Madang Teachers College. These were simple, small books, stapled together. After leaving Papua New Guinea in 1979 she continued to work on her illustrations completing over 200 traditional story drawings.

Many of the stories have universal themes expressed by cultures throughout the world, past and present.

At one point publication of a substantial collection of the stories and her illustrations was being put together in conjunction with the Melanesian Archives at UCSD in San Diego, California but owing to illness and exhaustion Rosalie withdrew her work from the project, deciding to xerox and bind a handful of copies herself, sending a copy to Madang Teachers College in Papua New Guinea, old colleagues and her children.

She called the book "Bekim" which means to give back and dedicated it to Anne Willock, the librarian who worked with her at Madang Teachers College who had died of breast cancer.

Eventually Rosalie lost her ability to draw and write with her left hand owing to radiation treatments for breast cancer in the mid 1970's and possible complications from lupus. The radiation damaged nerves which led to a gradual paralysis and lack of dexterity in her arm and hand over the years.She continued to find creative ways to work despite her obstacles.

    Ialibu, Southern Highlands.
    Story source Karunda Nanape

There once lived a very poor man in the Ialibu area. One day he decided to go hunting. He took his dog, bow and arrows and some food to his hunting grounds in the bush. There he built a small hut to sleep in while he was away hunting. He slept in the hut that night.

The next morning the man went deep into the bush and hunted until evening. When he came back to the hut with his dog and the animals he had killed he saw smoke coming out of the hut. Carefully and quietly the man moved close to the hut. He saw a beautiful woman inside who was cooking over a fire. The woman looked at him and welcomed him. She gave the man and his dog some food to eat. The man was filled with wonder because the woman was so beautiful and kind to him.

The next morning the man went hunting in the bush again. While he was gone the strange woman built a very big and handsome house. The man was very surprised when he returned in the evening and saw the house.

When the man went out hunting the next day the woman built more houses. Each day while he was gone she changed things until there was a big settlement full of fine houses where his small hut had once been. The man began living with the woman in the settlement. They lived together happily for many years. They had several pigs and other kinds of valuable property. Other people came to the settlement to live. The man became their leader. The place became a real village full of people.

One day the people in the village decided to kill pigs for a big feast. The man told the woman about it. She said he could kill any of the pigs except for one special one. He must not kill that one pig.

But the man didn't listen to her. He disobeyed the woman and killed all their pigs for the feast. She became angry.

The woman gathered up some of her belongings and left the village. She flew up into the sky which was the place she had come from.

When the woman returned to her home in the sky the man became very sad. He went alone to a small house in the bush and stayed there for many years crying for her. She remained up in the sky and sometimes would cry for the man.

Her tears can be seen falling to the earth as rain.