history – Page 3 – Aussie Reviews

Dark Emu Black Seeds: Agriculture of Accident? by Bruce Pascoe

If we look at the evidence presented to us by the explorers and explain to our children that Aboriginal people did build houses, did build dams, did sow, irrigate and till the land, did alter the course of rivers, did sew their clothes and did construct a system of pan-continental government that generated peace and prosperity, then it is likely we will admire and love our land all the more.

For too long Australian children and adults have been told that Aboriginal people were hunter-gatherers who collected food by chance and lived nomadic lifestyles. If this is the case, then why is there so much evidence of organised agriculture, dams, houses, towns? And what can we learn from this past that will help modern Australia with challenges including those faced in contemporary food production?

Dark Emu: Black Seeds provides an in-depth insight into the agricultural and social practices of Aboriginal people prior to European settlement, and the impact which that settlement had on those practices. With evidence including historical documents, photographs and anecdote, as well as discussion of its implication, this is an intriguing read, which uses accessible language which the lay person can understand, though will also be of interest to scholars.

Dark Emu – Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident?, by Bruce Pascoe
Magabala Books, 2014
ISBN 978192214243

Available from good bookstores or online.

Midnight: The Story of a Light Horse, by Mark Greenwood & Frane Lessac

…in the winter of 1914,
the drums of a distant war are beating.
Guy and Midnight heed the nation’s call.
The wind blows in Midnight’s mane.
And they ride to join the Light Horse.

Guy Haydon has loved his horse, Midnight, since she was born on the family farm. Now he and Midnight are joining up – heading off to fight together in a war on the other side of the world. Together they travel to Cairo and, in spite of being separated when Guy is sent alone to Gallipoli, they later ride together on one of the last great cavalry charges in history, the ride on Beersheba in August 1917.

Midnight: The Story of a Light Horse is a stunning new picture book from one of Australia’s leading creative pairings in the form. The text is a wonderful blend of poetic, emotive prose and historical basis, and the illustrations capture the colours of the desert and bush settings and the starkness of he war scenes with a deceptive simplicity.

Back of book notes give context to the true story on which the book is based, including details of the charge on Beersheba.

With ANZAC Day approaching, Midnight: The Story of a Light Horse is ideal for school use as well as private reading.

Midnight: The Story of a Light Horse, by Mark Greenwood and Frane Lessac
Walker Books, 2014
ISBN 9781921977718

Available from good bookstores and online.

From the Trenches: The Best Anzac Writing of World War One, edited by Mark Dapin

Under a grey October sky
The little squads that drill
Click arms and legs mechanically,
Emptied of ragged will!

Of ragged will that frets the sky
From crags just ragged Pines,
a wayward immortality,
That flies from Death’s trim lines. (Walter J Turner)

Many books have been written about the experiences of Australians and New Zealanders at war, but From the Trenches offers a book now just about those who served, but also written by them, in the form of a collection of writings from World War One. Including poetry, letters, diary entries and recounts, the books serves as a reminder of the very human face of the war, its toll on those who fought and served, and its impact on all Australians and New Zealanders.

Grouped chronologically and geographically from the time of joining up, to Gallipoli, the Middle East and Western Front and beyond, to epitaphs and the time beyond returning home, the writings range from the intensely personal, to the reportage of the facts and even to humour. Readers could choose to read the book cover to cover, but equally could dip into readings.

Suitable for history buffs, lovers of literature and more, From the Trenches offers a touching, accessible insight into the times.

Book Cover: From the Trenches: the best ANZAC writing of World War One

From the Trenches: The Best ANZAC Writing of World War One, edited by Mark Dapin
Penguin, 2013
ISBN 9780670077816

Available from good bookstores and online.

The Jade Widow by Deborah O’Brien

All afternoon the fierce February heat had kept the two young women indoors, sipping lemonade and wafting silk fans in a vain attempt to cool themselves. Even the children had abandoned their outdoor pursuits and disappeared into the depths of the cellar where they were busy building a fort from fruit boxes.

‘I fear I will succumb to the vapours if this heat continues,’ sighed Eliza Miller, waving her fan theatrically.

‘I didn’t know ou could catch the vapours from the heat,’ said Amy Chen, her voice full of anxiety.

Eliza began to laugh. ‘Of course you can’t. I was speaking in jest. There is no such thing as the vapours.’

‘I fear I will succumb to the vapours if this heat continues,’ sighed Eliza Miller, waving her fan theatrically.

‘I didn’t know ou could catch the vapours from the heat,’ said Amy Chen, her voice full of anxiety.

Eliza began to laugh. ‘Of course you can’t. I was speaking in jest. There is no such thing as the vapours.’

‘The Jade Widow’ is the sequel to ‘Mr Chen’s Emporium’ and picks up the story of Amy and Eliza in a hot summer in Millbrooke. Amy is widowed and has a young son, Charles. Eliza has been studying at the Sorbonne in Paris because no Australian university will accept females into their medical faculties. Eliza would be finished now except that she has delayed and then interrupted her studies to support her family. Both are single: Amy because she continues to grieve her husband; and Eliza because she is sure it’s not possible to completely dedicate herself to a family AND a career. But it is the late 1880s and there are signs that things are changing for women in general and these two women in particular. Amy wants to build a fine hotel, and Eliza wants to be part of the women’s movement. But of course life is seldom straightforward and there are many hurdles if these determined pair are to achieve their goals. Sections are headed with quotes from the work of Lewis Carroll.

‘Mr Chen’s Emporium’ introduced the reader to Amy and to Eliza and their family, as well as to a contemporary character, Angie. The women were linked via the town they lived in – Millbrooke – and their stories alternated. In ‘The Jade Widow’ the action stays firmly in the 1880s and alternates viewpoint between the two main characters, Amy and Eliza. Amy, while holding fast to the past, has plans for the future. These competing emotions are embodied in her struggle to keep her child close, but do the best for him, while establishing her credentials as an influential businesswoman. For Eliza, the frustrations are with a world that won’t let her do what she knows she is meant to do. Themes in ‘The Jade Widow’ include racism and women’s rights. Millbrooke, a small country town west of Sydney, struggles to adapt to life after a gold rush, changing rights for women, and to seeing their sons go off to war. Rich material, lightly handled. Recommended for readers who prefer their history woven into an engaging narrative.

The Jade Widow, Deborah O’Brien Random House 2013 ISBN: 978174275571

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Meet Ned Kelly by Janeen Brian ill Matt Adams

Ned Kelly went to school for a year or two.

He had books and friends and fun.

But that all changed when his father died.

He became a widow’s son.

Ned Kelly went to school for a year or two.

He had books and friends and fun.

But that all changed when his father died.

He became a widow’s son.

The family was poor. They had to move

To a farm that was nothing grand.

Ned soon learnt that those in charge

Took all the good, rich land.

Ned Kelly was born in the Victorian countryside, and grew up there much as many other boys of his time. He attended school, lived with his family. Then his father died. Ned was given a green sash when he rescued a boy from a swift-running creek. Already though, the police were often not far away. They pursued him when they thought him guilty of committing crimes, and sometimes even when they knew he hadn’t. He went to gaol at the age of sixteen for three years. Life was, he said, unfair. The police were corrupt, or drunk, or both and they were definitely not on the side of the poor. He retreated into the bush, wandering with his gang for a year, evading capture. The reward on his head eventually became too tempting and he was betrayed. In his final stand, at Glenrowan, he was injured and finally taken into custody. He was tried, convicted and hung. He was 25 years old. Illustrations are painterly and naïve, and accompanied by text set in an old-style newspaper type. Text size also varies throughout.

The ‘Meet the … ‘ series from Random House is non-fiction, where real characters from Australia’s history have their stories told in a narrative style. Ned Kelly was born into a poor Irish immigrant family, but life was fairly normal until his father was killed. Ned found himself living the life of an outlaw, partly by bad luck, then because he was angry with those who made and enforced the laws. He saw the inequality of life and of rules for the rich and for the poor. His story has become legend, but Meet Ned Kelly doesn’t set out to render him a saint, only to provide some of the background for the choices he makes. Ned’s story is told in rhyme that references bush ballads and takes the reader back to a time when stories were often told in ballad form – making them easier to share with others. Ned Kelly’s story is an iconic one, and readers will enjoy this introduction to his short and eventful life. Recommended for younger primary readers.

Meet Ned Kelly, Janeen Brian ill Matt Adams
Random House Australia 2013
ISBN: 9781742757186

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

Hammering Iron by L.S. Lawrence

Paramon and his brother and widowed-mother, are poor but of noble lineage. Paramon has been apprenticed to the storeman and his brother is shield-carrier to the Lord. That may have been the plan, but fate would have it otherwise. An unfortunate accident sets Paramon on a journey he could not have imagined. But he is a canny and resourceful young man. With a little luck, a quick mind and a sense of caution, he travels his destined road almost safely. But this is the Bronze-age and safe is a relative term. Along his journey, he makes a discovery that may just cost him his life.

‘… and of small bronze ingots, twenty and three,’ called Master Onesimos. Then, a moment later, and much louder: ‘Paramon!’

Paramon started sharply, and wrenched his mind away from the horses that were being led past the open door of the storehouse. He groped for his writing stick, found it, dropped it, picked up the soft clay tablet he had let fall in his lap, found his writing stick again, smoothed out a random scratch or two in the clay, poised the stick to write, saw that he had chewed the end of it into useless splinters, reversed it, and found that he had forgotten how many bars there were.

Start by writing ‘bronze’. If he could get that right, maybe he’d escape the usual reward for not paying attention.

Hammering Iron takes the reader into a world very different to now. Bronze is the choice of kings and lords when it comes to battle. But it is expensive and time-consuming to produce. And it’s flawed. Like the society that values war above most other things, and considers the common people expendable. Families must tread warily if they are to stay in favour and be able to earn a living. Even the ‘good’ lords think mostly in terms of their own gain rather than the good of their people. Despite the challenges of this world, Paramon shows there are ways to not only survive but to thrive. He works within the flawed parameters of his existence. His strength of character enables him to survive an adventure that could well have cost him his life, many times over. Recommended for early secondary readers, particularly history and adventure fans.

Hammering Iron, L.S. Lawrence
Omnibus Books 2012
ISBN: 9781862919716

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

Great Anzac Stories, by Graham Seal

Talk about go! We did go. We could only just see the enemey, as it was only break of day. You ought to have heard the cheer when they gave us the word to charge. You could have heard it for miles if you could have stopped to listen. Some were saying (or roaring), ‘Come on Australia!’ and others ‘Australia for ever!’…

For almost 100 years the story of the first Anzac Day has been told. Even before that day in 1915, Australian soldiers were making a name for themselves, and in the years since brave Australian men and women have continued to fight, to heal, to serve and to survive, on the battlefield and at home, in times of conflict.

Great Anzac Stories: The Men and Women Who Created the Digger Legend shares stories of Gallipoli and beyond, using first person accounts, news stories of the day and recollections of those who were there in the years that followed. There are stories of bravery, of tragedy and of humour joined by Graham Seal’s narrative and comment, in a form accessible to the layman readers.

This is accessible history.

Great Anzac Stories: The Men and Women Who Created the Digger Legend, by Graham Seal
Allen & Unwin, 2012
ISBN 9781743310595

Available from good bookstores and online.

The Light by Jo Oliver

The lighthouse stands on the high, smooth rock of the island. The light shines from dusk until dawn to protect those at sea.

My father is the lighthouse keeper.

Our family lives in the lighthouse keeper’s cottage.

The lighthouse stands on the high, smooth rock of the island. The light shines from dusk until dawn to protect those at sea.

My father is the lighthouse keeper.

Our family lives in the lighthouse keeper’s cottage.

Louisa and her family live on a little island off the NSW coast, for their father is the lighthouse keeper. Theirs is an isolated life, in a remote location. Louisa, second daughter in a family of four narrates a day in their life. The day begins with chores and schooling, and more chores. They don’t see much of their father because he works all night keeping the light shining to sea. On this day, he cannot sleep long, and will need to be extra vigilant as a storm closes in. But in the meantime, there is also free time to enjoy the wildness, the seals and penguins, the sounds of their world. Louisa accompanies them on her tin whistle. When jobs are done, dinner is finished, they gather to share music. Mother plays the piano, Dad the fiddle and Louisa the tin whistle. A wrecked boat brings extras to the island, drawn first by the light, then by the music. Fittingly, presentation is portrait and the cover design increases this notion of height.

‘The Light’ documents a day in the life of a lighthouse man and his family from the perspective of a young girl. The first person narrative brings the reader close while the illustrations offer more details. The clothing suggest an earlier time, as does the formality of ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’. Illustrations are charcoal and soft pastels and also introduce a nostalgia for another, simpler time. Most are framed, as if looking at photos, and some are set on music scores, bringing to life the sounds of the island. ‘The Light’ shows not only another way of living (in isolation and self-sufficiency) but also the dangers of the coastline and the role lighthouses and their keepers played in keeping sailors safe. Endpapers feature diagrams of a lighthouse and cottage. Recommended for lower- to mid-primary readers.

The Light, Jo Oliver New Frontier Publishing 2013 ISBN: 9780921928413

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Aussie Heroes: Fred Hollows by Hazel Edwards Ill Pat Reynolds

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.

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

My Father's War, by Sophie Masson

It scares me a lot, thinking of Dad out there, far away in that dangerous, terrible place, wondering how it will be when he comes back – if he comes back, that is…

Annie’s dad has been away fighting in the Great War for two years leaving Annie and her mum at home in Australia. But Dad’s letters have stopped coming, ad Annie’s mother is sick with worry, so she’s decided to do something about it. She will travel to France to find him. Soon Annie and her Mother, who is French, are in France trying to find out what has happened to Dad. As she pieces together the clues to her father’s disappearance, Annie finds out for herself what war is like.

My Father’s War , part of the My Australian Story series, presents a fictional first person account of the events and impact of the first world war on a twelve year old girl. Told using diary format, Annie’s mixed parentage and feisty nature enable the reader to experience the war first hand as she travels through the war zone in search of her father.

Excellent historical fiction for primary aged readers.

My Father’s War , by Sophie Masson
Scholastic, 2011
ISBN 9781741698282

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond .