On the same day we lost Maurice Saxby, we also lost Beth Green (pictured here on the right). The Qld members of CBCA will know who I am talking about. She is celebrated at Megan Daley’s blog – her work as a teacher librarian inevitably linked her to the Qld Branch, and subsequently to Book Links Qld. I could say much about Beth’s contribution to children’s books in Qld, but Megan’s blog already says it all – wicked, generous, genuine. We will miss you. Trisha Buckley | Long-time Qld Branch member
Author: Admin
The Children’s Book Council of Australia and all who are associated with the organisation are deeply saddened by the sudden death of Dr Maurice Saxby AM, only weeks before his 90th birthday (pictured here with me at the CBCA NSW Lady Cutler dinner. Image used with permission). Maurice was the first National President of the CBCA in 1958 and he continued being a teacher, a mentor, a critic, a lecturer, an author and most of all a friend to everyone in the children’s book world. He has served as a CBCA judge, twice served on the International Jury for the Hans…
HARRY, Pip Head of The River UQP, 2014 304pp $19.95 pbk ISBN 9780702253263 SCIS 1665395 Told in the alternating voices of 17 year old twins Leni and Cristian Popescu, the story is set in the elite world of private school rowing. Leni and Cristian have gained scholarship entry to the prestigious Harley Grammar and the story opens with the dramas of the school’s rowing team in the six month lead up to the famous Head of the River, a grueling 2000 metre race that demands dedication, focus and stamina. Off-spring of Olympian rowers the pressure is on for the twins,…
FARRER, Maria Broken Strings Scholastic, 2014 423pp $16.99 pbk ISBN 9781407138169 SCIS 1655162 Sixteen year old Jess is a brilliant young violinist from a struggling family in Manchester, auditioning for a scholarship that will allow her to go to music school. The pressure however is enormous and stage fright takes over. All seems lost until out of the blue her wealthy grandmother arrives on her doorstep; a grandmother she never knew she had and offers her an opportunity to come and live with her in London, all expenses paid for six months with daily tuition from highly regarded musicians. The…
de FOMBELLE, Timothee (text) Sarah Ardizzone (trans) Between Sky and Earth 2013 429pp ISBN 9781406354010 SCIS 1626738; A Prince Without a Kingdom 2014 457pp ISBN 9781406331509 SCIS 1667219 Walker (Vango Books 1 & 2) $24.95+e Although the story starts later in his life, the Mystery of Vango – who he is and where he came from, starts with the finding of a woman on a beach in on a Sicilian island and an hour or so later, a three year-old boy. They become part of the village but Vango, as he is called, always seems to be in danger. From…
Hello, my name is Leann Jean Edwards. I have been an artist for twenty years or more and have now produced my first children’s book Emus Under the Bed. The story comes from my childhood days on a small mission called Munnatunga, meaning place of the rising sun. It’s about me and my grandmother’s sister Beatrice Murray, whose nick name was Dollo. I spent time with her on weekends learning how to make feather flowers and learning about our family. My grandmother had passed by this time so her sister made up for the time that I did not get to spend…
Queensland author Samantha Wheeler shares the inspiration behind her unique horse story Spud & Charli, and talks the effects of rumours and misunderstandings, with Reading Time… I once owned a huge ex-racehorse, just like Spud in Spud & Charli. He was big, ugly, and he smelt terrible! But like Spud, he was surprisingly well behaved, and looked after me well over the years. I guess my Spud taught me not to judge a book by its cover! Talking about mis-judgments, it was this very reason that I was inspired to write Spud & Charli. A few years ago, when the…
Once again the Christmas season approaches with its special messages of love, family togetherness, joy and rejoicing in our many blessings. It is also the time to remember others less fortunate and to share ourselves, our time and, where possible, our gifts. Christmas books are surfacing from near and far with varied stories of both the past and present, beginning with the first Christmas and its message of love and hope. Other books are full of humour, memories, quirky tales and, in many cases, surprises. Walker Based on a traditional legend from the first Christmas is The Christmas Rose Wendy…
METZENTHEN, David Tigerfish Penguin, 2014 247pp $17.99 pbk ISBN 9780143568421 SCIS 1641860 The overly dark and depressing cover of this novel sets up reader expectations of something more apocalyptic than this fairly straightforward teenage tale set in a Melbourne working class suburb. Metaphors of football and the tigerfish from a reality TV show are employed to elaborate on life in this tough environment. Bullying, violence, crime, natural disaster, life choices, family relationships, surviving in a disadvantaged area: all these themes are touched on in a first-person, present tense style that owes much to writers such as Lee Childs, but somehow…
MacLEOD, Doug Tigers on the Beach Penguin, 2014 251pp $12.99 pbk ISBN 9781742537238 SCIS 1651557 Laughter is an important way friends bond: in this story the main character, 13 yr old Adam, tries to work out if a shared sense of the ridiculous is necessary in romance. The object of his affection, an intellectual red-haired flute player, Samantha, has a quite different sense of humour. Adam’s grandfather dies, and family members cope, each in their own way. Grandmother moves into Ponderosa, the family holiday cabin business, putting a strain on customers and Adam’s parents’ marriage. Autistic younger brother Xander upsets…