Review: Little Lunch: The School Gate

Guest Post: Louis White on Writing About The Environment For Children

Today we welcome Louis White and his take on why educating our young people on the world in which they live is important.

One of my favourite memories as a child was to sneak off to my bedroom and read a book. This was not an easy task, as I grew up in a big family – one of nine children – and shared a bedroom with two brothers (first two younger brothers and then two older brothers) until I was 17.

I then converted the second lounge room into a bedroom so I could study for my Tertiary Admissions Exam.

I was determined to pass on my love of reading to my daughter. When her mother was pregnant I read books to her most nights. As soon as Lily was born I began reading and by the time Lily was two years, she would want up to a dozen books read to her each night.

But I didn’t want to read any books, I wanted to educate Lily at the same time.

When she turned three, I thought I would expand upon an idea I had before she was born and teach Lily about the environment, ecology and the importance of both for humans.

I had an idea that Lily would meet five of the most important insects needed on the planet and in each book they would explain in a rhyming fashion what they do, how they breed and how they contribute to the survival of humanity.

The Adventures of Lily Series was born and it was harder to write than I initially imagined. Trying to maintain simplicity in style and context, while explaining the workings of an insect, all in rhyming fashion, takes a lot longer than you think.

Yes, the idea might come quickly to you, but ensuring children understand the messaging is not an easy task.

But I was determined to succeed and sought out help from children’s pre-school where I gained valuable feedback from teachers and students alike.

The whole point of the series is to educate, inform and entertain.

I want children to walk away after reading the books asking questions about why we need bees, the roles butterflies play in our world and be inquisitive to the surroundings of nature.

We should always try to pique a child’s curiosity. They want to learn and their brain is a sponge. By challenging them in reading, we will bring out the best in our children and they will have a better understanding of how everything fits together.

By concentrating on insects, it also allows children to be aware of creatures smaller than them. It is very easy in the playground to look up and around, but when children look down, it gives them a sense of perspective and to see an ant crawling along the pavement, instead of thinking ‘that ant might bite me’ they will now understand that the ant, and all its friends, are playing a crucial in the environmental growth of our planet.

Initially, Lily was uncomfortable with the books and kept on saying, ‘Dad, why did you write books about me?’ I explained it was out of love.

When I finally convinced Lily to take the books to school, her attitude changed completely because her friends thought she was ‘famous’. It was hard not to laugh.

The Adventures of Lily Series has expanded to include a book called, Lily and the Dragon to teach children not to judge anyone or anything without getting to know it first and doing some of their own research. It is very easy to be afraid and critical of something we don’t know but dig deeper and you will be surprised.

At the end of the day we all want to be accepted.

Teaching children about the world around them, their role, and the roles of insects, and how everything fits together, is vitally important if we want them to have a bigger and brighter future than us.

Louis White is an experienced journalist and corporate writer who has written for major daily newspapers in Australia. Inspired by his daughter Lily and her curiosity and passion for nature, he began writing the Adventures of Lily series with an aim to encourage children to get closer to nature and understand the world around them. His other books include, A Christmas Story and an adult fiction book titled One Season.

Learn more about this series and Louis White via: www.louiswhite.com
 

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Review: Go Home Cheeky Animals

Review: The Riddle of Tanglewood Manor

Mystery. Ghosts. Time travel. The Riddle of Tanglewood Manor really does have it all.

Sam and Harry move with their parents from the city to a remote, dilapidated manor during the COVID-19 pandemic. The boys explore the labyrinth-like house. They find spooky portraits of long-dead people and secret rooms. 

In the dust-coated library, they discover a book in which a riddle appears and transports them back in time to 1919.

With chapter names like ‘The Horror’, ‘The Manor Attack’ and ‘Disappearing Doors’, Tracey Hawkins has created intrigue. The writing propels readers into each new scene. 

Hawkins has created a realistic brother relationship layered with both camaraderie and power shifts. 

Hawkins has cleverly sparked children’s natural curiosity by using a series of riddles to test the characters and to direct them around the manor. Modern life conflicts with life in the past, creating some funny moments, like the boys finding out what a long drop toilet is. 

Personally, I’m enchanted with what happened in the past, and The Riddle of Tanglewood Manor effectively vivifies Australian family life in 1919. The book explores how World War 1 and the Spanish Flu affected families. This makes for very interesting discussion when comparing those events with the COVID-19 pandemic. There are comprehensive Teaching notes that touch on these ideas and many more, and I will definitely be using them in my classroom.

As for my kids’ opinions of the book, my nine-year-old son and ten-year-old daughter loved The Riddle of Tanglewood Manor. My daughter wasn’t drawn to the cover but once she was reading, quickly became engrossed in the story.

The Riddle of Tanglewood Manor is book one in an anticipated three book series. I can’t wait to be transported again. 

Other books by the award-winning author include, ‘Nancy Bentley’, ‘Max Meets a Monster’ and ‘Leaping Lola’.

Title: The Riddle of Tanglewood Manor
Author: Tracey Hawkins
Publisher: Storytorch Press, $16.95
Publication Date: 1 February 2022
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780645191523
For ages: 7+
Type: Middle Grade Fiction

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12 Curly Questions with author Chanelle Gosper

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I can whistle using four different techniques – can you?

2. What is your nickname?
Good friends call me Chan, but my very closest people have special names for me that are like passwords between us. I can’t share them! Strangers misread my name as Chantelle so much that I almost accept it as another nickname (almost).

3. What is your greatest fear?
Something terrible happening to someone I love. Also, giant moths like rain moths and gum moths. I know it’s irrational, but I can’t deal with their furry bulk flapping erratically near me!

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Evocative arrangements of my mind’s vivid visuals in lyrical lines.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Honest, emotive, independent, inventive, enthusiastic.

6. What book character would you be, and why?
As a kid I loved Monica Dicken’s ‘The Messenger’ series and I think the character Rose from these books would be a great choice. She feels ordinary and clumsy but she’s chosen to stop darkness and evil by travelling through time and experiencing the world through other people’s eyes. She also gets to fly on the back of a magical heroic stallion from hundreds of years in the past. What’s not to love about that?

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
This one is very hard to answer – I love history! In fact, I really wanted to be an archaeologist when I was younger. If I absolutely have to choose, I’d pick the year 48 BCE. I’d love to see Rome right before the fall of the Republic, when Julius Caesar and the Roman army seemed unstoppable, when the crumbled ruins I’ve travelled to were new or yet to be built. I’d love to see what Cleopatra was like as a fearless young woman praised for her intellect and ingenuity, before her image was tarnished by her enemies. I’d love to see how people lived in those times all through Europe, the Mediterranean and Egypt – and I believe the pyramids of Giza still had most of their limestone casing at that time, which would have been a sight to see!

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Did you really write a book? Choice, I always wanted to do that! But what are you doing living in Australia?!

9. Who is your greatest influence?
My grandmother, for showing me how beloved stories can be made up on the spot. My dad, for instilling in me a lifelong love of books and reading. My mum, for inspiring me to follow creative passions and move forward with independence. My Year 12 English teacher, for showing me all the layers that can lie beneath the simplest of words. Those discoveries were like finding buried treasure. And every great author I’ve ever read; there’s a little piece of every one of them in my work.

10. What/who made you start writing?
For as long as I can remember, writing has been a tool I use to unravel the jumble of thoughts and feelings inside me, drawing them out one line at a time and then knitting them together in a way that makes sense. As for writing stories, as a child there were whole worlds squeezing out of me that I found much too big to keep in my mind. I had to find a place to contain them, but that I could still get back into any time I wanted! That’s where it began, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

11. What is your favourite word and why?
Shenanigans, because it’s super fun to say and it also conjures up amusing adventures (or misadventures). I’m always up for those!

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Well, that hurt to imagine! But OK, for this question I’ll go with Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I’ve already read this one three times and each time I discover new things throughout, not just in the plot but through Mitchell’s incredible use of language. It has six separate stories written in different styles that nest within each other, so you have the fun of reading through what feels like completely different novellas, while looking for the hidden connections that make it one larger, rather mind-blowing epic. It covers as many human experiences as I can imagine, and then some. It shines a light of hope through the dark parts of human nature. And without fail, it always leaves me feeling like I’ve been on a stunning journey that’s left me changed in some way. Can’t imagine ever tiring of that!

Chanelle Gosper is a writer based in South Australia, where she lives with her husband, daughters and a whole lot of story ideas. A lifelong love of learning and adventure has seen her live in three different countries, travel the world and enjoy a colourful career that includes primary school teaching, recruitment, healthcare support and marketing.


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Winner: Emma's Freckles

Our lucky winner is... Kirsty Polujan, NSW

Congratulations!

You have won a signed copy of the newly released, Emma's Freckles by our very own former KBR reviewer, Sarah Wallace. 

Thank you to ALL who entered.

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Review: The Wolves of Greycoat Hall: Boris in Switzerland

Boris in Switzerland, the second book in the Wolves of Greycoat Hall series, is full of imagination, humour, action, and clever language and visual elements. 

Boris is a wolf who lives with his mum, Leonora and dad, Randall in Greycoat Hall. There's also his horse, Vlad.

Boris is looking forward to seeing his friends, who have been away for the holidays, but is disappointed, and a little bit nervous, when he discovers he will have to live in Switzerland for a term.

Boris' great aunt has injured herself and needs help for a while, so Leonora and Randall will be looking after her while Boris attends a swanky boarding school called the Institute of International Excellence.

On the journey to Switzerland, Boris starts reading The Art of the Wolf, a book his dad is writing about a wolf artist. Though he doesn't know it yet, this will provide valuable information in solving a mystery that will soon start to unfold.

Boris juggles being himself, a linguistically talented wolf (he can speak English, French, Prussian and Morovian), with learning new subjects like heli-boarding (seriously) and digital media (wolf paws are not great with keyboards), and making new friends.

He also notices strange things happening. Eventually, and with help from his new friends, Boris (and readers) will uncover what's going on. 

As the mystery and its resolution unfold, readers also learn a bit about Morovian wolf culture. Did you know they like knitting and ghost stories? And they make cheese, but most are terrible bakers? These and other facts are shared in extracts from 'A Guide to Morovia' which are sprinkled throughout the book.

There are a generous number of illustrations included by author and illustrator Lucinda Gifford which help make this a fantastic book for newly independent readers, or for reading aloud to younger children. Adults will enjoy Boris in Switzerland as much as kids. Top marks!

Title: The Wolves of Greycoat Hall: Boris in Switzerland
Author/Illustrator: Lucinda Gifford
Publisher: Walker Books Australia, $16.99
Publication Date: February 2023
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760655327
For ages: 6--9 year olds
Type: Junior Fiction

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Review: Satin

Satin is one of those powerful, impactful, magical picture books that demands a re-read as soon as you reach the end. It calls you to go back and dive deeper into the story — to try to understand all its secrets.

It’s one of those stories I believe readers can find their own truth in — pull out meanings and ideas that others won’t necessarily find.

And the magic associated with this sends tingles down my spine.

Satin is the name of the main character in this whimsical tale. 

Every morning early when no-one is about, Satin slips out of the forest and walks along the silent sleepy sunrise streets, looking for blue…

Satin collects blue things, slipping them into his pockets and retreating to the safety of the forest. He's shy and keeps to himself, but when he hears a voice talking about blue, and he realises someone is in need, he takes the best blue thing he has and gives it away. 

Soon blue things connect Satin to the world in ways he didn't expect. He finds a purpose for all his blue things and it changes him forever. 

Award-winning author Sophie Masson delivers something truly special in this book. For me, this story is about loneliness, sadness, connection and hope (in that order). It’s about sacrifice and building bridges and reaching out even when you don't understand why someone is feeling how they feel. 

It’s about magic in the forest and the what ifs and what could bes.

For you, it might be about something completely different. That's the beauty of it. There might be something between the covers you see that I don’t. A spine-tingling thought indeed.

The illustrations by acclaimed artist Lorena Carrington are as special as the text. Mixed media in deep shades of blue and purple create a mystical feel. Shadows and darkness create mystery and beg readers to explore the details in hopes of finding treasure on the pages. Just stunning! 

For a very special picture book read, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of Satin.

Title: Satin
Author: Sophie Masson 
Illustrator: Lorena Carrington
Publisher: MidnightSun Publishing, $29.99
Publication Date: March 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922858016
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Books

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Review: Little Lunch: The Monkey Bars

Meet The Illustrator: Dalia Awad

Name: Dalia Awad

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
It’s colourful, whimsical, funny and I like to draw emotional illustrations.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
My Wacom Cintiq is essential at my home studio, and my iPad for mobility as it gives me the ability to work anywhere.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
If you asked me this question 4 years ago I would have said it was gouache and watercolour because they have been my favourite mediums for years but now I prefer to draw digitally-free hand using Wacom tablet and my favourite program is clip studio paint.

Name three artists whose work inspires you.
There are many great artists I admire their work but for children’s book illustrators I can choose Richard Scarry, Dan Santat and Benji Davies.

 
Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
I’d like to go back to the early 18th century when the Rococo painting originated, I always get mesmerized by the beauty of rococo art it’s so colourful and dynamic.

    
Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?
I can’t remember who inspired my to be an illustrator but I do remember that it was my dream since I was a little kid, I used to draw characters from the children’s books I was reading and I found myself doing the same after I grew up. However I can’t deny that animation movies have a great impact on me and they give me huge motivation for drawing.

Can you share a photo of your creative work space or part of the area where you work most often? Talk us through it.
I set up my studio to be simple and cosy and it gives a feel of warmth, it’s comfortable place to work in. And I made it accessible for my cats to get in, they are good companions in long lonely workdays.

What is your favourite part of the illustration process?

Every single part has it’s own magic, I like the whole process of making art from gathering references to adding the final touches.

 
What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
Be consistent and make art every single day even if it will be only rough sketches, don’t sell yourself short and don’t underestimate your ability of success.

 

Dalia is a children’s book illustrator from Egypt, she is a self-taught artist who believes that the learning process never ends. She has a degree in a media and communication but her passion for art led her to seek a career in illustration.

When she is not working she goes for hiking, swimming or just playing with her cats.

For more information, please visit Dalia's website or follow her on instagram.

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Guest Post: Sarah Wallace on Writing Emma's Freckles

12 Curly Questions with author Barbie Robinson

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I hate walking into a room full of people.

2. What is your nickname?
I’m just always called Barbie or Barb (or Mum or Grandma).

3. What is your greatest fear?
I have bundles of them but probably loss of loved ones is the greatest.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Accessible but with a deep respect for rich English vocabulary.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Persistent, meticulous, bibliophilic, prolific, reflective.

6. What book character would you be, and why?
Gosh that’s hard but probably Phryne Fisher because of her courage, sense of fun and her wardrobe.

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
1920-something. I’ve always liked periods of transition and change; revolution in social thought. I also like the frocks and hats.

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Has all that tree climbing paid off? Do you still like dolls?

9. Who is your greatest influence?
My parents and my husband.

10. What/who made you start writing?
I grew up in a reading household and both my brother and I wrote as a matter of course from a very young age. Separately and together, we created and wrote stories and drew pictures in exercise books. It was something to do with an English childhood and then being migrants, I suspect, and then moving around quite a lot as children.

11. What is your favourite word and why?
Who can have a favourite word when English is such a beautiful and complex language? When I was an Indonesian teacher, I loved the word cenderawasih because of its lilting sound. It means Bird of Paradise.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Delia Falconer – The Service of Clouds. Exquisite. But please don’t make me choose just one.

Barbie Robinson is co-Principal of arts media not-for-profit website, podcast platform and internet radio station Living Arts Canberra. She is a Canberra-based arts journalist, arts advocate, photographer and designer. She is the author of eight books and contributor/designer to a group publication entitled between the lines. For more information, see www.livingartscanberra.com.au.

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Review: It's Time All Possums Went To Bed

Giveaway: Emma's Freckles

Review: Little Lunch: The Bubblers