I'm Angry

Because I have a daughter: a beautiful, strong, talented, funny daughter who makes me so proud with her determination to always stand up for what she believes in, even when it means taking the unpopular line (or disagreeing with her mother). Not only does she stand up for things, but she educates herself to the issues so that her decisions are ethical and informed.

Because I have sons. Strong individuals, each in their own way, who are growing into young men I will always be proud of and who need to see me standing up for what I believe in so that they continue to know it’s okay for them to do so, too.

Because I am a woman who has many times heard the term ‘rampant feminist’ and other derisive terms directed towards women who stand up for stuff – and who has often thought ‘thank goodness I’m not one of them’. And because I've gradually come to realise that I’d been conned into thinking that fighting for women’s rights has somehow gone too far.

Because I’m the mother of those six children  who finished breastfeeding them more than ten years ago – and still hear that women should cover up or find somewhere more appropriate.

Because I cheered the day our Prime Minister was voted in (that’s right, she was endorsed by her fellow Labor government members of parliament), glad that finally a woman could take the top job in our country. And because I just couldn’t have imagined the misogynistic rubbish that she would endure as PM.

Because restaurants publish menus (which they do or don’t use) attacking her very femininity, because radio announcers question the sexuality of her life partner, and because her cleavage is somehow a hot topic – or even a topic at all.

Because other women – and men, too – still tell me that her rise to power was somehow different than many man male politicians (apparently the Prime Minister invented back room manoeuvrings because she’s a woman – no man had ever done similar).

And because today a female radio announcer, in complete defiance of logic, suggested we boycott a woman author’s books because she was apparently a victim of domestic violence and must set an example to us all. *

I must stand up and say it: I AM AN ANGRY WOMAN.

Enough Australia! 

(PS: As  children’s book author I’ve often been scared of talking about such issues on this blog. And yet, in a lightbulb moment I realised this morning that it is also because I’m a children’s book author that I MUST say something. I write for those children because I want to make their world a better place. How can it be better if I don’t stand up for what I see is wrong?)

* Update: Because I blogged in anger I confess to having made an error here and so have edited this line . The broadcaster made the comments on a blog, here.

Another Lovely Review

Really pleased to spot this little review of Meet Mary MacKillop on the YARR-A blog. 

Have a great day. I know I will.

Picturing History: 5 Tips for Writing Historical Picture Books

 Here's an article I wrote for this week's Pass It On Newsletter . Sharing it here for anyone who doesn't subscribe.

 

Thinking about writing a historical picture book? Here are five quick tips to get you started.

1.        Choose an event (or an angle) which kids will be interested in. Children do love hearing about history, but not every famous event will have kid-appeal.  You may be fascinated by the election of 1914 or the invention of a special liniment for the treatment of cold sores but will children be?  When researching the life of Mary MacKillop, I was fascinated about her struggles with Bishop Shiels and other church clergy, but I wasn’t sure how much of that story would interest children.

2.       Don’t try to cover every aspect of an event or a person’s life. A picture book text is short, and whilst historical picture books do vary in length depending on the target age group, you don’t have the word length to cover the entire story of the Vietnam War, or a famous person’s entire life story. Choose a key event, or key period of their life. For Mary MacKillop’s story I decided to focus on her establishing her first school, because I felt that was a wonderful introduction to her life’s work.  The presence of her mother, sisters and brother in the story hint at her past, and a back of book timeline expands on this, but the story itself only covers less than a year of her life.

3.       Do your research – lots of it. Yes, a historical picture book is short, which means a lot of your research won’t be used for the final story. But reading about the event or the person in detail, referring to original documents and getting an understanding of the time and place your story is set all shape the final story. Understanding Mary’s childhood and the economic and social conditions of her time helped me better grasp the obstacles she had to overcome to establish her first school.

4.       Create characters. Even though you might be writing about real people and events you need to make the characters come to life, because young readers need to care about the people they are reading about. Just as in any other story, dialogue, gestures and action all build a sense of the person. When I learnt that Mary MacKillop would often have boiled sweets in her pocket to offer the children, I knew this had to happen in my story. It is a simple gesture that shows her caring side.

5.       Be true to the times in which your story is set. This can be quite challenging. It is important to find a balance between historical accuracy and being child friendly. In a picture book, illustrations help to show the time period, but the text too can show how things are, rather than telling. The text of Meet Mary MacKillop doesn’t name the year the story is set (1866) but the text on the opening page has Mary lean out a stagecoach window, setting it firmly in the past. The dialogue is a little more formal than might be expected in a contemporary story, though I tried hard not to make it too stilted.

Writing historical picture books can be challenging. But if there’s an event or a story you are passionate about, the effort can be rewarding. 

Sally Murphy is the author of verse novels, poetry and fiction for children including, not surprisingly, two historical picture books. Do Not Forget Australia (illustrated by Sonia Kretschmar) was published by  Walker Books in 2012 and  Meet Mary MacKillop (illustrated by Sonia Martinez) has just been released by Random House Australia.

You can visit Sally online at www.sallymurphy.net

April Reads

Another new month means that it's time to look back over what I read last month. I got through nineteen books and, as with the previous month, lots of poetry collections, which has been fun. I also read several Anzac and war-themed books, with Anzac Day falling in April. Here's the list with, as always, links to those I've reviewed. Have a great month.

Monsieur Albert Rides to Glory	Peter Smith & Bob Graham	Allen & Unwin	Picture Book
Dinosauritis	Jeannette Rowe	Allen & Unwin	Picture Book
All the Small Poems	Valerie Worth	Farrar Strauss Giroux	Children's Poetry
Chasing the Light	Jesse Blackadder	Fourth Estate	Adult
Chinese Whispers	Christine Harris	Omnibus	Young Adult
About Auntie Rose	Jenny Boult	Omnibus/Puffin	Children's Poetry
I Rhyme My Time	David Martin	Jacaranda	Children's Poetry
For me, me, me	Dorothy Butler	Hodder	Children's Poetry
Poetry to the Rescue	Steven Herriick	UQP	Children's Poetry
The Mimosa Tree	Antonella Preto	Fremantle Press	Young Adult
Guinea Pig Town	Lorraine Marwood	Walker Books	Children's Poetry
Tom Jones Saves the World	Steven Herrick	UQP	Children's
Amber Road	Boyd Anderson	Bantam	Adult
Gallipoli	Alan Tucker	Scholastic	Children's
Light Horse Boy	Dianne Wolfer	Fremantle Press	Picture Book
For Valour	Nicolas Brasch	Black Dog	Children's NF
Anzac Biscuits	Phil Cummings	Scholastic	Picture Book
During the War I Rode a Horse	Lyle Murphy	Author House	Adult
Portraits of Celina	Sue Whiting	Walker Books	Young Adult

Want to hear more about my new book, Meet Mary MacKillop? Pop over to my other blog, at the Aussiereviews site, where I answer ten questions about the book's origins and release. Look forward to seeing you there.

Dear Book-baby

Today is a special day. My latest book, Meet Mary MacKillop, is finally available in stores. I always regard my books as a bit like my children (though, rest assured, I do love my Murphlets best), so I thought to celebrate this special day I might write a letter to my new book. Maybe a little corny, but then I’m a corny kind of person. Anyway, here it is:

Dear Book-baby

Welcome to the world!

On the day of birth of each of my real-life babies, I gazed at them in wonder, grateful that the nine months of pregnancy and the toil of labour were over and I could meet this miraculous new being. And I wondered what life had in store for them, what they would grow to be, what we would weather together.

Your arrival is, admittedly, a little different. Firstly you took much longer than nine months to gestate, but just like a pregnancy that process had its highs and lows. The excitement of the initial idea, the bumps and nudges of my muse who doesn’t’ always know when she should be awake and when she should sleep and the agonies of self-doubt as I wondered if I was actually clever enough, and brave enough, to do it. Then the waiting, for feedback from the editor, for a contract, for the illustrator, designer, copyeditor, printer… Just like waiting for a baby to arrive, it felt like it might never happen. 

Secondly I did get glimpses at what you’d be like. First there were roughs, then proofs for me to admire and, of course, well before release day I was able to hold you in my hands when the postie delivered my advance copies. I was even able to show you off to friends and family, without having to wait till today, your release day.

But still, despite the differences, here on your official birthday, the day of your release, I sit and look at you and wonder what’s in store for you, for us. Will you be sit lonely on a bookstore shelf, or will you be picked up, read, loved by young readers?  Will readers young and old marvel at your tale, your gorgeous illustrations, your design? Will strangers stop me in the street to peer into the pram – oh, now that’s just a bit too far with the analogy. But I do hope critics, booksellers, teachers and parents will admire you enough to recommend and share you with youngsters.

I hope you and a long and successful life and that I will glimpse you not just around my own home but in stores, and schools and libraries. Like any proud mum I will tell the world about you, because I think your story is worth sharing. I’ll stroke your cover tenderly when no one is looking – and may even find myself sneaking you to the front of the shelf in bookshops so that you’ll get noticed. 

So, my book-baby, once again welcome to the world.  

Sally

Meet Mary MacKillop, illustrated by to amazing Sonia Martinez and published by Random HouseAustralia is the story of the woman who would become Australia’s first saint and her struggles to start a school for rural children. It is available now in good bookstores or online. You can see preview pages here.

The Graves of Gallipoli

This be their epitaph. "Traveller, south or west,
Go, say at home we heard the trumpet call,
And answered. Now beside the sea we rest.
Our end was happy if our country thrives:
Much was demanded. Lo! our store was small -
That which we had we gave - it was our lives."

L.L.

(Written by  an Anzac soldier, and published in the Anzac Book, 1916)

Lest we forget.