Tag: aussie heroes

Edith Cowan: A Quiet Woman of Note by Hazel Edwards ill Angela Grzegrzolka

Imagine having your face on every Australian fifty-dollar banknote. It doesn’t mean that you own all that money, but it does mean that you have done something important. There’s even a saying: a person of note or a notable person.

Have a close look at the fifty-dollar note. Most people don’t notice anything except the fact that it will buy fifty dollars’ worth of something. But the design includes a picture of Western Australia’s original Parliament House, and an illustration of a mother and children. And a picture of a woman standing up and speaking in public. These are notable clues.

Imagine having your face on every Australian fifty-dollar banknote. It doesn’t mean that you own all that money, but it does mean that you have done something important. There’s even a saying: a person of note or a notable person.

Have a close look at the fifty-dollar note. Most people don’t notice anything except the fact that it will buy fifty dollars’ worth of something. But the design includes a picture of Western Australia’s original Parliament House, and an illustration of a mother and children. And a picture of a woman standing up and speaking in public. These are notable clues.

Edith Cowan was born on a pastoral property in Western Australia before moving to Perth to boarding school. Her mother died when she was seven and when she was a teenager her father was convicted of murder and hanged. But rather than let tragedy define her, Edith developed a quiet determination to live well and to help others, particularly women and children to live well too. She married and raised her own family, but realised that many other women and children were suffering because of poverty, mischance and lack of education. She was active in fighting for the vote for women and became Australia’s first female parliamentarian. Text is interspersed with colour illustrations and there is a timeline in the final pages.

Edith Cowan: A Quiet Woman of Note explores the life of one of Australia’s quiet achievers. Although her achievements are recorded in books and biographies, there are few books that are designed to introduce this pioneering woman to young readers. The ‘Aussie Heroes’ series aims to rectify that by presenting the stories of notable Australians in a format that is accessible to young readers. Readers can discover not just why Edith is remembered, but about the childhood and early life that helped to shape her. Information is presented in a conversational style, with history of the time providing context to her decisions and endeavours. Recommended for mid-primary readers.

Edith Cowan: A Quiet Woman of Note;, Hazel Edwards ill Angela Grzegrzolka New Frontier Publishing 2014 ISBN: 9781925059021

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Mary MacKillop: Australia’s First Saint by Gabiann Marin ill Angela Grzegrzolka

The woman who would one day become Australia’s first saint was born in Melbourne’s inner city suburb of Fitzroy on 15 January 1842. There was nothing about Mary Helen MacKillop that hinted at how important she would become. She was a sweet, but ordinary baby.

She caused her mother very little trouble as a child, which was fortunate because Mary’s father, Alexander MacKillop, caused more than enough trouble for the whole family. It was not that Alexander was a bad man, or a bad father. In fact, he was loved dearly by little Mary. It was just that he wasn’t a very good businessman.

The woman who would one day become Australia’s first saint was born in Melbourne’s inner city suburb of Fitzroy on 15 January 1842. There was nothing about Mary Helen MacKillop that hinted at how important she would become. She was a sweet, but ordinary baby.

She caused her mother very little trouble as a child, which was fortunate because Mary’s father, Alexander MacKillop, caused more than enough trouble for the whole family. It was not that Alexander was a bad man, or a bad father. In fact, he was loved dearly by little Mary. It was just that he wasn’t a very good businessman.

Mary MacKillop was born in Australia to Scottish parents, the eldest child in a large family. Her father was very intelligent and had at one stage studied for the priesthood. But he changed his mind and married instead. He was a loving father but an erratic businessman who lost all the family money in failed business schemes. Mary realised early on that she would have to help support the family. This pathway led her to Portland in south-western Victoria and Penola in South Australia where she met Fr Woods. With his help and encouragement she founded an order of nuns with the aim of offering an education to all children. Mary and other sisters worked hard in often challenging conditions to offer free schooling to poor children. There were times where this brought her into conflict with church hierarchy and for a time meant that she was ostracised from her own church. But she endured and leaves a legacy of kindness and persistence. Colour illustrations appear on most openings.

Mary MacKillop: Australia’s First Saint is a new offering in the Aussie Heroes series from New Frontier Publishing. Like other titles in this non-fiction series, Mary MacKillop: Australia’s First Saint looks at the life of a prominent Australian. Mary’s work was important in establishing free education for all in Australia. Her story also illuminates some of the history of the time. Readers will discover the different opportunities (or lack of them) available to earlier Australians. Mary MacKillop’s story offers a window on history and there is plenty of material for classroom discussion. It’s also an example of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Recommended for mid- to upper-primary readers.

Mary MacKillop: Australia's First Saint (Aussie Heroes)

Mary MacKillop: Australia’s First Saint, Gabiann Marin ill Angela Grzegrzolka New Frontier Publishing 2012 ISBN: 9781921928192

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available in good bookstores or online.

Aussie Heroes: Fred Hollows by Hazel Edwards Ill Pat Reynolds

Dr Fred Hollows is well known in Australia and in many other countries for his work in eye health, particularly with remote and disadvantaged communities. ‘Aussie Heroes: Fred Hollows’ introduces the man as a child and follows his education and life from birth to death.

Fred Hollows was born in 1929 on the South Island of New Zealand. He had three brothers: Colin, John and Maurice (Monty).

For the first seven years of his life, Fred lived with his family in Dunedin, where his father worked as a train driver for the railways and grew chrysanthemums in his garden for a hobby.

When the family later moved to Palmerston North, still on the South Island, he was enrolled in the North East Valley Primary School. At the age of thirteen, he graduated from primary school and attended Palmerston North Boys’ High School.

 

Dr Fred Hollows is well known in Australia and in many other countries for his work in eye health, particularly with remote and disadvantaged communities. ‘Aussie Heroes: Fred Hollows’ introduces the man as a child and follows his education and life from birth to death. But Fred Hollows, like so many others, was only able to do the work he did because of other passionate and caring people around him. So it is that the reader also meets Fred’s family and others he inspired. He was a practical man as well as a skilled one and developed programs that would provide services and products in many countries. His second wife continues the work of the foundation that bears his name.

‘Aussie Heroes: Fred Hollows’ is a new offering in the non fiction series from New Frontier Publishing. Other titles include ‘Weary Dunlop’ and ‘Dame Nellie Melba’. Each title looks at the life of a well known Australian, and their legacy. The series is pitched at primary-aged readers and includes a timeline and a list of contents. Chapters are short and colour illustrations are included throughout. ‘Aussie Heroes: Fred Hollows’ introduces the child, then the man who became a hero. By presenting the childhood that precedes the ‘heroism’, there’s a suggestion that anyone can become a hero. Recommended for mid-primary readers.

Professor Fred Hollows (Aussie Heroes)

Aussie Heroes: Professor Fred Hollows , Hazel Edwards Pat Reynolds
New Frontier Publishing 2012
ISBN: 9781921042751

 

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Professor Fred Hollows, by Hazel Edwards

foundation, to ensure that his work continued long after his death.

In Professor Fred Hollows, part of the Aussie Heroes series, author Hazel Edwards recounts the key events in Hollows’ life and work in a simple, accessible form. Coloured illustrations scattered throughout the book bring the story to life.

Three out of four people who are blind don’t have to be. They are blinded by poverty alone.

Frederick (Fred) Cossom Hollows was born and grew up in New Zealand, knowing from a young age that he wanted to make a change for the better. He studied medicine and then decided to become an eye doctor. Moving to Australi,a he recognised the need to take eye care to the people who most needed it, and so set up mobile eye clinics, working in remote and Aboriginal communities providing low cost and free medical aid, and saving the sight of thousands of people. Later, he took his programs to other countries. Before his death in 1992 he established a foundation, to ensure that his work continued long after his death.

In Professor Fred Hollows, part of the Aussie Heroes series, author Hazel Edwards recounts the key events in Hollows’ life and work in a simple, accessible form. Coloured illustrations scattered throughout the book bring the story to life.

Hollows is an inspirational character and an excellent role model to be presented to children as an example of humanitarian action, and the power of self-belief and the difference an individual can make. Professor Fred Hollows would make an excellent addition to school libraries and is suitable for classroom use.

Professor Fred Hollows (Aussie Heroes)

Professor Fred Hollows (Aussie Heroes), by Hazel Edwards, illustrated by Pat Reynolds
New Frontier, 2012
ISBN 978192104275

This book can be purchased in good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.