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No one wants to be an old maid especially if you’re a teenager. It’s a fun hysterical game where everyone is trying to put on a straight face not to let on they have the dreaded joker. Loads of family fun. Requirements Pack of cards (play with one joker only) 4 players (otherwise you will need two decks) Aim Is to get rid of all your cards and not be left with the joker otherwise you’ll be…

Reading is my Secret Power

What a delicious way to celebrate Book Week 2019 ‘Reading is my Secret Power’ with a High Tea, particularly with reading being such a high priority for Teacher Librarians and Teachers alike. Thank you to the Reading Centre Team for the morning program and for being such gracious hosts.

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) introduced the theme ‘Reading is my Secret Power’.The CBCA…

‘Library for All’ Accessible New App

Some of BookLinks’ members participated in the ‘Library for All’ (LFA) workshops which created stories for children in developing countries. Stories were age appropriate and culturally diverse, and were made accessible via their new ‘groundbreaking’ LFA app.

LFA Senior Research Librarian, Dr Lara Cain Gray, said with 617 million children not reaching minimum proficiency levels in…

At The End of Holyrood Lane

I’d like to acknowledge I reviewed this for StoryLinks. Below is separate book chat with 7-year-old girl.

At The End of Holyrood Lane is more than a picture book about a young girl being frightened of storms. It’s a book about the frightening stormy reality of domestic violence. The inside page affirms this with the logos Act for kids, Paradise Kids, Think Equal – Empowering Change Through…

Reviewed by Sophia Parenti, 12 years old.

Sweet Adversity was one of the rare books that I have actually been able to sit down and enjoy without losing interest within the first couple of pages. When I picked up this book it was different. It’s very hard for me to find a book that I enjoy. But after I started reading I was hooked. I often found myself reading it every spare moment I had — after school, before school whenever there was time.

Adversity is portrayed as sweet, selfless and adventurous character who cares for the orphans that were under the rules of Matron Maddock. Addie made it enjoyable for the orphans performing Shakespeare Plays out in the paddock out of Matron’s sight.

One of the main events that I enjoyed most was when Scrimshaw, the child dealer, was chasing Addie and Jack Roo. I was happy they escaped from being controlled by him after he fell off the jetty with his money belt and drowned.

Another heart-warming part was when Addie went to a Play with Sam’s real family hoping that her parents would be performing there. Macbeth, her bird, spotted something on stage that gave her hope.

I’m generally not the person you find sitting on the couch enjoying a book, but Sweet Adversity was a very enjoyable book and an excellent read.

  Lisa Berryman and Sheryl Gwyther

Riverbend Books owner Suzy Wilson knows her authors well. She had a personal love for Sofie Laguna’s style of writing. ‘It’s beautiful even and flowing…’ with its single narrative voice and character driven themes. 

Sofie said in whatever genre she has written – picture book, middle grade or adult fiction, she is ‘one and the same’ storyteller. As the ‘one storyteller’, she considers the concerns of the character, playing with language, listening to sound of story flow, and economical dialogue to further the story. No matter what, she still stays true to the story. In moving the story forward, ‘there always has to be consistency. I feel for the music in language, rhythm of the story and structure.’

Sofie hadn’t considered it ‘a leap’ when she kept her own name in writing between genres. From picture books (eg., My Yellow Blanky), to middle grade (eg., Saving Grace – Australian girls series), adult fiction (eg., The Eye of Sheep and The Choke) Sofie never saw it as a leap, rather as a natural progression.

Sofie Laguna’s novel, ‘The Choke’ has sped up the charts after her second novel for adults, ‘The Eye of the Sheep’ – shortlisted for the Stella Prize – won the 2015 Miles Franklin Award. ‘The Eye of the Sheep’ was optioned for film and theatre. Sofie’s first adult novel, ‘One Foot Wrong’ was published throughout Europe, US and UK. It was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award and shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. Screen rights have been optioned and Sofie has completed the screenplay.

  Sofie Laguna’s numerous books for young people have been published in the US, the UK and in translation throughout Europe and Asia. She has been shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Award, and her books have been named Honour Books and Notable Books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia.

To familiarise yourself with your genre, Sam advised to read everything and analyse what writers had done in successful books. Pay attention to how many characters and plot lines in the book? What were they saying – dialogue? Was there too much back story boring the reader? What point of view (POV) or voice – first, second or third person, or what tense worked best for your story? There was a lot to consider before your pencil touched the page.

  Also knowing your characters inside out was underestimated. Originally, ‘I thought it was a silly idea, so I didn’t do it.’ When Sam realised the value of knowing her characters’ favourite colours, favourite foods, what they looked like, clothing worn, personal flaws, resourcefulness, what they desperately wanted, what was at stake etc., then her characters became 3-dimensional – instead of flat, and more relatable to readers. In her books she has 4-5 really good characters, plus ‘crowd’ characters. Those characters who popped in and out of the story were never named. You could say, ‘the girl who always runs late said, ‘… .’

Also names had to be pronounceable otherwise readers would not connect to your characters. Similar names confused the reader eg. all three characters starting with A, A, A. Consider using diverse characters and ethnic names. Google the top ten for a particular culture eg. Indian. And think about one syllable, two syllable and three syllable names.

The value of the hands-on writing exercises allowed participants to receive direct feedback from Samantha Wheeler. She also shared writing craft books which had helped her, books to read in your genre for analysis, manuscript cue cards for each scene, the value of advice from her editor and how it had helped her grow as a writer. This was a one third snippet of the middle grade workshop. Participants agreed they wanted more from Samantha Wheeler, but such was the calibre of her knowledge they wanted about two topic at each three hour masterclass. Bring on 2019.

Seven years was a long time ago since Samantha Wheeler and Michelle Worthington, co-ordinator of the Share Your Story workshops had their first coffee. Now some five books later Samantha is supporting and inspiring others to achieve their writing goals.

A manuscript with tags in it.

Sam’s first stories as a child.

This early readers book can be likened to ‘Where’s Wally’. ‘Just Like Maisie’ is about a beagle whose disguises will have children laughing and pointing where to find Maisie. It’s a fun-loving story of a beagle who is not staying in a dog kennel while Mr and Mrs Harris enjoy the sites of London, Rome and Paris. Maisie is incognito at different locations. But the Harris’s think they are seeing Maisie everywhere they go — in the airport as a sniffer dog, as a beagle bag on the plane, as a bus driver on London’s red double decker bus etc.,

Author and teacher Lyn Lysaught, has created a comical travel story. The antics of Maisie in disguise shows an ingenious beagle — wearing a dark coat and dark sunglasses at the park – like an undercover agent, on stage as a can-can girl in a pink frilly dress – as a dancer. The scenes are joyous and will have young readers from 3 years thinking up other disguises, situations and locations for Maisie. This delightful book is a great way to introduce narratives to children so they can write their own imaginative stories.

Illustrator Daniela Frongia’s photographic-style, digitally-drawn buildings show young readers what these world landmarks really look like. The architectural buildings are washed in realistic creams and light browns. The illustrator has created light and shade on the building facades and stone arches to emphasise a time of day. Also the hot bright oranges, hot pink and yellows of the closeness of the show girls scene engages children to dance. Maisie’s facial expressions and disguises will have children shouting out, ‘There’s Maisie!’ or ‘There she is!’

The co-creators collaboration is seamless. Children will learn about real places in the world and about the people  — London’s Buckingham Palace, Paris’s The Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge, and Rome’s Trevi Fountain, St Peter’s Basilica and the Colosseum. The Maisie books are a series of exciting learning experiences through vivid, engaging characters in realistic situations. The Maisie series has another fun book, ‘Play It Again’ about her unbelievable talents as a pianist.

Congratulations to Lyn Lysaught for the power of words which has inspired Daniela Frongia empowering illustrations.

  Lyn Lysaught

Daniela Frongia

Just Like Maisie book series is available from Lyn Lysaught’s website at www.lindyloubooks.com or Books of Buderim, Annie’s Books on Peregian, Berkelouw Book Barn Eumundi, Collin’s Booksellers Caloundra and Mary Ryans Noosa.

*co-authors – creators of word and picture narratives

Images courtesy of Lyn Lysaught and Daniela Frongia.

    Life’s too short, to take on the world, without good books. MPB

Maria Parenti-Baldey, primary school teacher, writer, amateur photographer and blogger –  www.mariaparentibaldey.com

Her four week creative-time residency was to research and draft a new YA novel set in Brisbane during World War II. Many were amazed with Catherine’s findings during her talk. (No historical facts can be disclosed at this time.) Listening to her discussion some 2-3 years prior to her YA book release was valuable to under this prior-process. Catherine was appreciative and grateful for the support of the May Gibbs committee.

State co-ordinator Judith Russell said all went according to plan, with access to research facilities and Catherine’s excitement at what she discovered. Also the high tea was with cucumber sandwiches, fresh baked scones and banana muffins were well received, as well as the gluten free option. 

The next May Gibbs Fellow will be Julie Hunt, a fantasy writer. The completion of her four-week fellowship residency will culminate in a high-tea on Sunday 24 June, 2018 at the State Library of Queensland, 1B at 2pm.

When James was younger, he tried ‘flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants’ (pantser) but found it difficult. Each time he started a book he couldn’t move past the first couple of chapters. It was after continued attempts, he finally tried planning (plotting). In about a page and a half he could write what his book was about, which became his blueprint for his first draft.

It was easier for him to plan (plot) a book with an actual ending. It gave him direction and resource to work towards. While the ending may change he knew where his story was heading. However, even when he planned, if a plot collapsed he would put the manuscript aside and do something completely different eg., write an Aussie Nibble, a Chomp.

As a storyteller it gave him an innate sense of pacing which worked well with his planning process. After the first draft he’d continue to flesh out his story in subsequent redrafts. He said being prepared to rewrite work, re-rest it, re-edit with honesty and critique led to stronger manuscript drafts. Patience was essential in writing a book because of the nature of the craft and its process.

Good characters were crucial but James found his stories were more plot driven. ‘You need a good strong story to tell… yes readers are interested in character, but it’s what the characters do,’ that keep readers. ‘The plot drives along when the characters do things, fail, do more things, fail.’ Your characters needed to be challenged to keep readers hooked.

Those who attended Jame Moloney’s official launch of ‘The Love That I Have’ were chaffed to find out about ‘the seed to inception’.

Seed to Inception  ‘The Love That I Love’

James Moloney discussed the process of his latest book, an adult fiction, of how a scene in a movie stayed with him some 40 years. It was a short section of a scene, in this little known movie ‘The 25th Hour’, which was the catalyst for his latest book. That single seed of an idea lead to research, photos of settings, characters, costumes, character names appropriate to the time and problems faced during that period, which officially led to the production and celebration of his 50th book.

‘The 25th Hour’ with Anthony Quinn and Virna Lisi.

‘The 25th Hour‘ is a 1967 anti-war drama film, starring Anthony Quinn and Virna Lisi. It was produced by Italian producer Carlo Ponti and directed by French director Henri Verneuil.

Photographs of Margot Frank with her well-known sister Anne Frank infused his protagonist’s character traits, behaviours, experiences and difficulties faced.

Photos of the buildings at the Camps. And transposing some similarities and characteristics from Margot Frank to his book’s character Margot in ‘The Love That I Have.’

The letters full of longing and love which were saved and a crucial artefact set in his story.

Sheryl Gwyther and James Moloney

Signing books.

The launch of James Moloney‘s latest novel ‘The Love That I Have’ from Harper Collins was at Brisbane Square Library, Friday, 25 May, 2018, 6:00pm – 7:00pm.

‘It’s like a baton relay.’ Author’s words are passed onto the illustrator who then brings a level of richness to the text… – Anouska Jones EK.

11:30 – 12:30 Panel — The Perfect Picture Book Partnership

Anouska Jones (EK Books), Miriam Rosenbloom (Scribble), Sarah Mumme (Lake Press)

Vision for Book

Communication is key. Author has a vision for book. Publisher will have a vision too. Their aim is to pair the best illustrator for the book. They have numerous illustrators who will bring a measure of uniqueness to the book.

When working with publishers, do not be shy to communicate. Do it early-on to avoid miscommunication. Any concerns discuss them.

Enjoy the picture book partnership process. It takes time from contract to illustrations to publication. Approximate timeline is from 2-3 years. Some illustrators are booked three years ahead. Patience is understanding the process.

Pinterest board can be helpful for publisher to look at author’s vision early on to know their thoughts — characters, tone, setting etc.,

They will listen but they have other considerations to consider — viability of project, success of project etc., Know everyone involved love your book. They have a commercial responsibility, copious departments involved eg., accountable to sales, marketing and publicity etc.,. They have a team of people who are professionals in the publishing industry who will consider longevity of book.

Illustrations

Hold your illustration ideas loosely. The publisher usually engages the illustrator. A less known author could be paired with a high profile illustrator or vice versa. This is to give your book the best chance possible in the crowded marketplace. Well-known authors have established long-term, good working relationships with illustrators.

No need to add illustrations or illustration notes (unless critical). The paired Illustrator needs the space to create their own visual interpretation of the story.

The co-creators’ 50/50 process is where author creates the text story and illustrator creates the visual story.

Illustrations are imperative for early picture-book non-readers because their focus is on pictures – not words.

Illustrator creates initial roughs for publisher and author to view and feedback. When authors see illustrations they are usually exquisitely impressed. Publishers are familiar with numerous illustrators’ works from portfolios, at conferences, instagram, who their authors and illustrators follow, plus illustration challenges etc.,

Themed Books

If you’re considering a special picture book theme book eg., Christmas, Mother’s Day, anniversary of events – 100 year celebration, turtle day – work 2-3+ years out.

Left: Michael Wagner – interviewer, Anouska Jones, Miriam Rosenbloom, Sarah Mumme.

Some Illustrator Portfolio Displays

Nicky Johnston

Katrin Dreiling

Heidi Cooper Smith

Christina Booth

Kym Langfield

Creating An Appetite For Series

At KidLitVic 2018, three publishers shared their expertise and insight into the world of book series. Series were a long term investment for publisher and author. A good series (eg., the Narnia series by CS Lewis etc.,) will have readers read, follow and love the characters, their world and plot line. Michael Wagner, interviewer, lead the panel discussion. A snapshot follows.

1:30 – 2:30 Panel —…

KidLitVic 2018 First Timer

What I learned from KidLitVic 2018 as a first-timer. The whole day was much more than I anticipated and made less daunting with a familiar face or three. My aim was to look, listen and learn during KidLitVic – free from the nervousness of assessments. Prior to the big day was the logistics of negotiating ones’ way to airport in one city, from airport in another city, to hotel, round Melbourne and…

Brotherband #7 The Caldera

Brotherband #7 The Caldera

Brotherband, The Caldera, 7, starts with the annual Maktig contest. Stig’s father, Olaf, arrives to ask Hal and his Heron brotherband fighters to save a 14-year-old emperor kidnapped by the pirate Myrgos. The action, tension and adventure begin when the Heron brotherband set off on their quest.

However, if you didn’t read the blurb, the opening paragraph was a basic fight scene. At the end of the…

Happily, Ever After, The Little Mermaid is a retold story. It’s about Ariel, the little mermaid, who longed to see the world above. In this story Ariel is 14 going on 15, which makes it an excellent resource for children as they progress through the year levels. It segues well to open-up discussion about stereotypes and relationships.

Author Alex Field, has the familiar love story tropes: she meets prince, she bargains with Sea Witch, she’s still unable to communicate with prince, her father the Sea King persuades Sea Witch to return Ariel’s voice, they live happily ever after. This appears simplistic for younger readers and perhaps unrealistic for older readers. Field has created the value of this book when it’s compared with contemporary stories. This guides students to make informed decisions about peer pressure and adolescence.

The story starts with the reader meeting Ariel and her sisters in their peaceful ocean home as would be expected, but then it infers that Ariel’s 15-year-old sisters, sitting on the rocks, could be beguiling *sirens, ‘…sang to ships. Humans had never heard such sweet voices.’ In the ensuing scenes, Ariel explores the world above. Illustrator Owen Swan, lures Ariel towards a mesmerising blue night sky with cascading fireworks reflected on the ocean surface. As she gazes up, she can’t take her eyes off the prince on-board The Tall Ship, signalling her blossoming of age and first encounter with the outside world. Her maturing is revealed in the following single page layouts with stark white backgrounds, far from the first three double-page spread of tranquil subdued sea greens.

Swan’s interpretation of Ariel’s safe solitary world below is breathtaking with its coral towers tinged red-pinks from the sun setting above. After this, Ariel’s human encounter is celebrated with an iridescent-blue ocean scene. Then the story changes to excessive use of white space and sharper close-up images of characters, and like the text, its tone becomes direct and to the point.

Children will enjoy this mermaid’s tale, and more so its merit is as a compare and contrast for students.

* in Greek Mythology, Sirens sang, on the rocks, luring men to their death.

  Congratulations to Alex Field  for the power of words which inspired Owen Swan’s  illustrations.

Owen Swan, illustrator

Alex Field, author

Happily, Ever After, The Little Mermaid is available from publisher New Frontier Publishing and good bookstores.

Happily Ever After: The Little Mermaid by Alex Field (pen name for Sophia Whitfield) illustrated by Owen Swan.

The Very Noisy Baby

(2018 CBCA Notable)

Written and Illustrated by Alison Lester

‘The Very Noisy Baby’ is a sweet early childhood picture book about a baby who mimics animals sounds. One by one, a community of people are drawn together in their quest to find their missing owl, horse, cow etc., As each person knocks on the door, of the little pink house, a different family member says eg., ‘No. You did hear a “moo”,…