Newts, Lutes and Bandicoots

by Mark Carthew, illustrated by Mike Spoor

Interactive Publications (IP Kidz). Australian, Picture Book, Young Reader. Hardback rrp $24.95

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

With ‘rhymes and riddles to make you giggle’, this interactive book with fully illustrated pages, will keep children entertained while learning new words and rhymes, solving riddles, and trying to find the hidden word and animals secreted somewhere on the page. There is a riddle on every page with a one word answer. The answer has to be guessed then found to confirm if it is right or wrong.

The themes are varied with a double page allocated to most themes. They cover a restaurant, circus, castle, a colonial scene, a snow scene with animals and children, entertainment with magic tricks, camping, trolls and moles, a campfire and picnic in the outback, flying animals, shearing, and pirates. Each scene is extremely detailed with animated versions of the characters and places. Australian animals are depicted throughout the book. This serves to encourage children to learn the names of each animal and where they are to be found. There are endless discoveries to be found and observation skills are definitely needed.

There’s an element of fantasy in every scene and Mark Spoor has thought very carefully about how to give the most to every illustration. The riddle answers can be found on the second last page and on the whole of the last page there is, under a listing of sub-headings of page numbers, all the words used in the book and the question, ‘Did you find these things?’ This highly educational picture book is suited to the 6+ age group, and can be helped along by an adult presence to support and answer any queries, and encourage the use of a dictionary.

http://www.markcarthew.com.au/

International Book Launch

at (PRIS) Pasir Ridge, International School, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Plato, the Platypus Plumber (part-time)

written by Hazel Edwards & illustrated by John Petropolous
ISBN 978-1-921479-37-3

This international picture book launch was a ‘First’ in many ways.

Not only was the book launch held at Pasir Ridge International School (PRIS) in the Early Learning Centre of the Chevron Oil compound in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, it was a most imaginative scenario.

Meg Baxter, the Early Childhood teacher and her enthusiastic staff had organised a special ‘mud’ cake iced with a replica of the cover as well as ‘muddy’ chocolate milk. SFX of water noises. Charts of platypus facts, and even a story house, surrounded by recycled branches (in the spirit of the story) with an author chair for the ‘first’ reading. To the side was a ‘creek’ with platypus shapes.

The children had all created their own plumber tool kits in mini cases. Teachers had prepared the children well. Invitations. Craft work.

And…

the platypus prints led into the room and up to the pile of Plato the Platypus Plumber (part-time) books.

For an author, a launch is like a first birthday party for the book-child. And this concept of a platypus-plumber had a long journey. So I was especially delighted with the artwork by John P and the design of the hardback book, and the fact that it could be launched during my author visit to Indonesia. It was also illustrator John’s first book!

This book was a first in ‘Cassandra’ font, written as if in the illustrator’s daughter’s hand. Ironically one of the Pasir Ridge children was also called Cassandra and she was thrilled to have a special link to the book.

‘My name is Cassandra too!’

International school children have names from many cultures. And that can be a challenge when you are autographing. A first edition book should be dated as well as signed by the author and illustrator (but he was back in Melbourne).

So Indonesian teachers helped with typed slips of children’s names for autographing. Many are KTCs, Kids of the Third Culture, where parents may be nationals of different countries and the child born or schooled in a third. But stories cross all cultures.

Locally, orangutans, rather than platypus, are the local Kalimantan wildlife.

So we talked about where names came from and why Plato was called that: after a Greek wise man who had a few answers or could ask the right questions. Just like the fixer platypus who could solve watery problems or grumpy people.

‘Readers help make a book too.’

For me the special pleasure was that once I’d talked about how a book was also created by the reader from the clues given by the illustrator and the author, the children sprawled on the rug and all read the book for themselves.

‘Mine is the first Plato book signed in the whole world,’ said one little boy as he sat down to read.

So what’s the book about?

Creative problem-solving.

Plato is a platypus and a part-time plumber with a tool kit.

On call, Plato fixes watery problems like leaking taps, but he also fixes grumpy people. From his tool kit, he uses smile spray, a feather or a joke.

At Pasir Ridge, there were plenty of smiles. Even at 8 am in the morning. School starts early there. And a creative launch was no problem.

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Publisher: Interactive Publications (Dr David Reiter)
www.ipoz.biz/IP_Kidz/Kidz.htm for free teachers’ notes, classroom play script and book trailer.
To buy copies: http://ipoz.biz/Store/orders.htm
Check Hazel’s website for book trailer, extra notes and photos http://www.hazeledwards.com/

2010 Astrid Lindgren nominee Hazel Edwards has written across media and her works have been performed and translated into Chinese, Korean, Tamil, Auslan and Braille. Platypus are her favourites, and after her Antarctic expedition, Hazel has great respect for Antarctic ‘tradies’ who can fix any problems.

Collaborating on Picture Book

Plato, the Platypus Plumber (part-time)


by Hazel Edwards

http://www.hazeledwards.com/

Apart from, ‘How do you work with an illustrator?’, ‘Where do you get your ideas?’ would be the most common question creators are asked.

I had the toolkit idea, but illustrator John Petropolous designed it.

Kids love tool kits. Why shouldn’t a platypus who is a watery creature, be an on-call plumber who fixes pipes but also fixes grumpy people. What would this tradie platypus keep in his underwater toolkit? Would it be a backpack or a carrybag? Apart from spanners, would he need a joke book, smile spray, feather for tickling or a smilasorus? Would the toolkit fall off when he swam? Would the mobile work underwater?

I trialled an early version called Platypussyfooting Around, with various school groups. They LOVED designing and working out what went into the toolkit.

A platypus has always seemed to be an all-purpose creature to me. Amphibious. Occasionally endangered. And with a wonderful ‘proper’ name of ornithoryncus…

I saw the platypus as an imaginary friend for a child whose fractured family was under stress. They’d live in old housing so there was need for plumbing help, with leaking pipes, dripping taps, tanks and holey gutters.

I live in Melbourne and along the upper Yarra River bike trail, there are rambling old houses made into run-down apartments. This seemed a believable setting for ferals, water access for the platypus and a money-short family doing renovations.

I talked to plumbers. I visited up river where platypus were reappearing and did some inside storm drains research with the council engineer. I found out everything that might go wrong.

The platypus plumber idea has been swimming around for thirteen years in my sub-conscious, which is ironic, because originally I called the character Thirteen. That’s how many years platypus survive in the wild if they’re lucky. If ferals or six pack plastic rings don’t get them.

From the beginning, the story was so active; I had a TV series or maybe animation in mind. So I created a family cast, with a mother with travel poster dreams, a muso father and Gran with her TV soapies in 13 possible episodes. Now it’s possible that this story may go into some very new electronic formats like Kindle or iPod.

At our local pool, where I swim laps, I heard a mother yell out ‘Zanzibar’ to her swimming child. A really blond kid appeared, which was a shock because Zanzibar (the island off Africa) seems such an exotic name. So I had my boy character’s name.

John P did original platypus sketches, but the concept was rejected by several publishers and producers who thought I already had a classic imaginary friend hippo story and didn’t need another.

I continued to workshop it with kids who loved making their own toolkits and saw him as more of an eco-warrior. So I added more recycling and water-saving issues. Tank pipes in convoluted shapes running off the roof.

Then I experimented with viewpoints. First person Zanzibar. Could he have dialogue with the platypus? Did his parents know he communicated with a platypus? Was it by mobile phone? Underwater? Mental telepathy? These are all problems of the logic of fiction which must be believable within the story.

Plato was a name which came later, when we were fiddling with the title. It’s no surprise that my illustrator John Petropolous has Greek heritage, but a friend suggested the short and philosophical Greek name. Finding the right name for a fictional character is harder than naming a baby. Especially when we have so many P’s on the cover words.

Ten years on, art director John had a young family and was still delighted to illustrate his first picture book. From my experience parents of young children make the best picture book illustrators because they get the kid shapes right. John also has a sense of humour and love of word play. He even created a business card for our plumber platypus. We met in a café in Carnegie and sketched concepts on their outside table.

I wanted ‘blokey’ artwork that would appeal to young boys too. John suggested using the lettering of his daughter and created a new Cassandra font.

John did a number of drafts before we got Plato the character right. Plato is now joyous, resourceful, affectionate and appropriate for the age group.

Who was the major character? Zanzibar? The platypus? Water? The river? The editor made some constructive suggestions about sequencing, starting and ending with the river.

Later the eco-issues of drought became more important when I visited outback communities like Condobolin. And I realised how stories could be therapy for those in extreme climactic conditions.

IPKidz publisher David Reiter was interested in eco issues too.

Some books are favourites. Plato is an endearing character and authors, like parents, shouldn’t have favourites, but…

Now I’ve written a classroom playscript, where students actors are the tools… who ‘fall in’, when Plato the Platypus Plumber gets a call. That’s going to be a fun performance, with a spanner, hard hat, joke and a feather to tickle grumpy people.

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Plato, the Platypus Plumber (part-time)

ISBN 978-1-921479-37-3

written by Hazel Edwards& illustrated by John Petropolous

www.ipoz.biz/IP_Kidz/Kidz.htm  

March 2010 release.

Plato is a platypus and a part-time plumber with a tool kit.

On call, Plato fixes watery problems like leaking taps, but he also fixes grumpy people. From his tool kit, he uses smile spray, a feather or a joke.

Sometimes Zanzibar’s family need a little help. Plato always comes, despite the ferals along the creek bank.

Water carries secrets, stories and (yucky) stuff! An eco-warrior, Plato knows how to fix things.

John Petropolous is Art Director at Advertising Australia. As a graphic artist he has worked freelance for various groups, including Cracker Comedy (Sydney Comedy Festival) and Antipodes Lonsdale Street Festival. Reason for living... my beautiful girls. This is his first picture book.

Zahara’s Rose

by Libby Hathorn, illustrated by Doris Unger

Interactive Publications. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover rrp $26.95

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

The setting for this beautifully illustrated book is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon that overlook the Euphrates River, created by King Nebuchadnezzar for his new bride, Queen Amyritis, to alleviate any longing for her homeland, Persia. This delicate story on the birth of beauty is illustrated in both soft and vibrant watercolour, with pages and cover framed in attractive borders.

Zahara’s father, a gifted gardener, has been trying to grow a special rose from a scrappy cutting; a plant that he’d brought home with him from his travels. But with all his nurturing, the result is a single tight bud on a scraggly stem. He refuses to give up on it and hopes to propagate the plant and grow many more. Grandmother has her doubts.

The Queen has requested to see their renowned plants and herbs. The family set out on their ox cart with the scraggly plant amongst their collection towards the Ishtar Gates, named after the Goddess of Love and War, and to the most beautiful gardens in the world that hang in the sky.

The guard initially does not allow Zahara to go past the first terrace because of her walking stick which he fears will prod and poke the fragile ground that breathes life into the delicate flowers. But Grandmother creeps back disguised, and brings the girl into the garden while her mother talks to the Queen on another terrace. Zahara is fascinated by the waterfalls, ponds, and exotic flowers growing in the moist atmosphere. Grandmother has hidden the weak-looking flower amongst the other plants, ashamed to show it to the Queen.

But to her amazement, within the perfect environment for growth, the blood red bud opens to release a beguiling fragrance. They set out in haste to present it to the Queen.

Queen Amyritis, bewitched by the fragrance and beauty of the rose, invites Zahara to be her Official Petal Counter. But to distance herself from her family is unthinkable to Zahara. She settles on a promise to help grow more of the roses, now known as the Flower of Heaven.

http://www.libbyhathorn.com/

Hedgeburners: an A-Z PI mystery

by Goldie Alexander and illustrated by Marjory Gardner

Interactive Publications, Young Reader, Paperback, rrp $16.95

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

This is another title from IP Kidz, the newest imprint of Interactive Publications dedicated to themes that guide and teach young readers. This is the first of a series featuring the characters, Anna and Zach, Private Eyes, with Zach as narrator. It is based on actual crimes committed by youngsters.

Being a PI demands a lot of time as the youngsters soon discover. Anna is smart and conscientious, disciplined and organised. Zach is the opposite. He juggles caring for his numerous pets with homework and running around looking for clues with Anna. He also has a habit of associating everyone he meets with the animal they resemble, and that’s how he views them after the first meeting.

After someone sets fire to an aged but thriving hedge next door to Anna’s house, the A-Z PIs begin searching for clues. Anna’s list of suspects in her computer file grows but they have no solid proof. The third burnt hedge which also threatens human lives brings the two closer to the culprits after a long investigation and a few lucky breaks.

Zach’s friend Brett who works for the newspaper somehow becomes a suspect. When Brett goes missing, the two PIs have more on their hands than they expected. Zach is losing sleep following suspects at night. His homework is suffering. His father is stressed about his failing business.

But the PIs are getting closer. There is more involved here than just hedge burning. Some of their school mates are shop-lifting, coercing or bullying their peers into take part in illegal, careless and dangerous acts.

The theme of firebugs is just the springboard for the many issues covered here. The book teaches awareness and responsible behaviour and includes the effect adult actions and problems have on children and vice-versa. It also teaches that one should never assume anything, for sometimes things appear to be one way, but turn out to be something entirely different.

The Giggle Gum Tree

by Juliet Williams. Illustrated by Elizabeth Botté

IP Kidz (Interactive Publications). Australian, Picture, Junior, Young Reader. Hardcover rrp $24.95.

I just had to read The Giggle Gum Tree. The illustrations from the front cover right through to the back, took my imagination back to when I was a young child hiding under our local willow tree. And the story was just so wonderful I had to read it aloud to my three children – from kindergarten to teenager!

Sisters Lily and Amanda walk through a park to get to school each day. They are always happy because to and from school the path takes them under a very special tree.

It had long swishy branches and its feathery leaves hung over the path.
When the girls walked under the tree, its swirly branches would tickle their necks and ears and faces.
And it turned them into giggling gerties.

But where the girls could see a sense of playfulness and fun, older community members had other ideas about the tree. Mr Glumper tripped over the roots and Mrs Pritchet would lose her glasses and her balance.

When the decision was made to chop the tree down, the girls grew sad, sulky and naughty. Then they had an idea. Maybe they can save the tree.

The story teaches children about compromise, that solving a problem involves taking into account the needs and opinions of many people, not just themselves. A good book to keep for an uplifting read or just to look at the great illustrations.

http://www.julietwilliams.com.au/

Aussie Kid Heroes

by Dianne Bates. Illustrated by Marjory Gardner.

Interactive Publications. Australian, Children's non-Fiction. Paperback, rrp $24.95

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Dianne Bates has compiled a well-researched and excellent mix of entries for her excellent Aussie Kid Heroes. As the name suggests, the book is all about true, amazing and astonishing feats of heroism, courage, strength, abilities and other admirable traits, of children. They come under twelve different headings with a rich bibliography for anyone interested in further reading or research.

It opens with an heroic story from Brave Kids, about sixteen-year-old Grace Bussell and Aboriginal stockman Sam Isaacs who in 1876, saved 40 people that were shipwrecked on the West Australian coast.

Inventors and Designers includes, along with lots of other true tales, the story of a 14 year-old flag designer who was joint winner in a competition in 1901, in which over 30,000 people entered. An 11 year-old invented a Pool Alarm System, and a 12 year-old devised an electronically operated watering system to protect trees from frost bite. To make cooking easier for disabled people, a nine-year-old created a three-geared, Super Turbo Mixer – an automatic pot stirrer that stirs cooking pots of liquid.

Included are the modern success stories of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Kate Richie and Claudia Karvan. There is the tale of a one-handed pianist, sport stories, and tales of enterprising kids that made great wealth from ideas they’d thought up. There is the moving and inspirational story of disabled champion athlete, Anne Curie, born without legs and a deformed right hand, who till four years-old was a State ward in a children’s home.

Then there are Caring Kids, a series of moving entries about heroic children who became the caregivers either to large families, and/or sick or disabled parents or siblings.

This is a rich, informative collection of modern and older stories that will interest, inspire and move readers deeply about children, known and unknown, who left their mark in some extraordinary and individual way on the world. Full of interesting facts, not a word is wasted within the 118 pages. This is a priceless addition to any bookshelf.

http://www.enterprisingwords.com/

Lame Duck Protest

by Goldie Alexander

Illustrated by Michele Gaudion

Interactive Publications. Junior/Environmental, Australian. Hardcover rrp $24.95.

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis, Freelance Writer and Reviewer

Goldie Alexander has written over sixty books for readers of all ages. Michele Gaudion’s focus now, is as Concept Visualiser. This role is evident in her exceptional interpretation of the text. The pictures are balanced between black and white charcoal and full colour glossy illustrations with exquisite borders. The story progresses frame by frame, adding visual beauty to the significant yet simple text.

Sisters Hannah and Zoe live close to a Reserve that is home to wild things, bushland, and nature in general. They find a wounded duck by the lake’s edge. They have been taught to respect and never interfere with living things in that area. But this is an exception. The duck needs medical attention.

The Vet tells them that Antonia the duck will recover but will always limp. The girls release it into the wild again after it has recovered enough to look after itself, despite that it has attached itself to Zoe, whom she believes is its mother. Zoe has been taught that wild things need to be free.

A new concern is born for the community. A Shopping Centre is planned for the area that houses the Reserve. Where will the children play? Where will the elderly stroll and sit and enjoy the environment if all this goes ahead? The whole community unites to protest against the destruction of their natural surroundings. Photographs are taken and published beside articles in the paper. This draws attention to the imminent disaster. Everyone joins the protest. They come dressed as birds and animals. They have a new way to express their concerns.

This beautifully presented book serves to bring into focus strong environmental issues directed at educating children about the need to fight to protect our natural world. Youth awareness is the key to the survival of wild birds, animals and countless other species that are under constant threat of being decimated by the destruction of their natural habitats. This book has succeeded in passing on this message.

http://www.goldiealexander.com/
http://mgaudionart.blogspot.com/