Month: December 2001

My Story – Who Am I?

“Matron Rose said I should write in you every day about all the things I do and stuff. And I do lots of things that I’m gunna tell you about.” So begins the diary of Mary Talence, aged 10, Sydney 1937.

Mary’s story, presented via her diary entries, begins at Bombaderry home for Aboriginal children. Mary has been living here since she was five, but remembers another home- with her Mum and Dad and lots of brothers and sisters. Mary likes her family at Bombaderry, including her best friend Marj, and the babies she looks after, but she still misses her Mum and wonders why she doesn’t come to visit.

Mary’s life changes again soon after the diary begins, when she is fostered by a white family. The diary follows her struggle to assimilate into the white society she finds herself living in. Mary is repeatedly told that to be Aboriginal is bad and that she must forget her past. To Mary this is incomprehensible.

Who Am I ? creates an awareness and understanding in young readers of the policies of protection and assimilation of Aborigines which were practiced in Australia until 1969. By using the intimate first person format of the diary, readers are given a first-hand experience of the emotional effects on the children from the ‘stolen generation’ of being removed from their families and stripped of their identities.

Who Am I? is part of Scholastic’s ongoing My Story series, presenting the stories of young people in different periods of Australian history. A quality read for readers aged 10 and over, and also suitable for study as an in class text.

My Story: Who Am I?, by Anita Heiss
Published by Scholastic Australia, 2001

The Floating Brothel

Many stories of convict life present romanticised tales of poor innocents wrongly accused of trivial crimes and sent on ships with billowing sails to ultimately lead a wonderful new life in the bountiful southern land.

In The Floating Brothel, Sian Rees presents a vividly different view. This is the previously untold story of life aboard the Lady Julian which sailed from England in 1789 bearing a cargo of convicts destined for Botany Bay.

This is an historical account, not a piece of fiction, so do not expect a light romance or tales of happily ever after, though this does not mean that The Floating Brothel is overly pessimistic or negative. Rees has carefully researched this history and provides a detailed exploration of life on board the Lady Julian, and of the history of those who came to sail on her. Details of life in and beyond the new colony for the key figures round off the book.

For those who enjoy historical fiction, the opening chapters of The Floating Brothel may prove to be a little hard-going. Rees details the social circumstances which led to the use of deportation as a means of relieving pressure on English prisons and, more broadly, English society, as well as the crimes and circumstances of the women who sailed on the Lady Julian. Perseverance with this opening will find the reader drawn in to the tale and to the individual stories of some of those on board, especially that of the ship’s steward, John Nicol, and 19 year old Sarah Whitelam.

Despite its title, The Floating Brothel is not a tale of moral depravity – Rees delves deep into the realities of the relationships and activities on board the ship. This is an absorbing read for anyone with an interest in this era of Australia’s history.


The Floating Brothel, by Sian Reees
Published by Hodder, 2001.

Whoppers

Mrs Silverstein is a teacher with a difference – she believes children should be seen and heard. This makes life in her classroom very interesting – and very noisy. Today the year sixes have to tell their life stories. Just to make it more interesting, Mrs Silverstein has asked them to tell ‘whoppers’ – tall tales to make their lives sound as interesting as they can. The best ‘whopper’ will win a giant box of smarties.

When it is Mark’s turn, however, he says he doesn’t want to tell a whopper. The time has come, he says, to instead tell the world the truth. He is really a Martian. As the class listens intently he gives more and more details of life on Mars and his secret life here on Earth. None of Mark’s classmates are sure whether to believe him or not – except for his girlfriend Deborah, who hangs on every word he says.

By the end of the day, no one has managed to tell a story more interesting than Mark’s. His classmates keep looking at him, trying to figure out if he’s telling the truth or not. And to top it all off, Deborah has asked him to come home with her after school – for a special kiss, perhaps? Will Mark win the kiss and the contest? Or will his tale-telling backfire?

Whoppers is a lively read for eight to eleven year olds. One of Puffin’s popular Aussie Bites books, it could be devoured by an advanced reader in one sitting, or savoured in smaller nibbles by a reluctant reader.

Whoppers, by Moya Simons
Published by Puffin Books, 1998

Chloe's Wish

Chloe’s family tell her that wishes aren’t real – even her little brother Eli tells her they’re ‘kid’s stuff’. But Chloe is sure that wishes float around in the air like invisible bubbles. All she has to do is wish at the right time and pop the wish bubble will burst and come true.

So Chloe isn’t as surprised as you might expect when she wishes for a fairy godmother to help her decide what to wish for, and pop, whizz, a fairy godmother appears in a cloud of pink and mauve fuzzy stuff. What she is surprised to learn is that some fairy godmothers aren’t exactly expert at granting wishes.

The tale of Chloe’s Wish, by Diana Chase, will delight six to ten year old readers. They will laugh out loud at the antics of Gloria, Chloe’s fairy godmother, and thrill at the idea that wishes really can come true. The illustrations of Heather Himmel also add a special touch to the book.

Chloe’s Wish, by Diana Chase
Published by Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2001

Cat Balloon

Every night one thousand cats watch the moon ride over their heads. One small cat called Cat Balloon longs to fly with the moon, but the other cats tell him sternly: “Cats can’t fly.”

Cat Balloon doesn’t care what they say – he is determined to find a way and so sets off on a journey to search for the secret of the full moon. That night, nine hundred and ninety-nine cats see an amazing sight.

Cat Balloon, by Palo Morgan, is a delightful story in verse suitable for three to seven year olds. Not only will children love the story, they will be fascinated by Morgan’s beautiful illustrations. From plain moggies to stately lions, the one thousand cats will captivate young animal lovers and the luminous moon seems to sine out of the page.

The book is available with or without a CD of music from the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre’s stage adaptation.

Cat Balloon, by Palo Morgan
Published by Sandcastle Books (Fremantle Arts Centre Press Children’s Book Imprint), 1992.

The Water Underneath, by Kate Lyons

When a young woman and her baby go missing, gossip abounds in the small mining town where she lives. Twenty years later, the local lake yields human bones. The woman’s daughter, Ruth, returns to the town of her birth, ostensibly to see her dying Uncle Frank. He has carried secrets through those two decades which have rendered him a shadow of the man he once was.

The Water Underneath, by Kate Lyons, is a superb piece of literature. Its style, coupled with its water and journeying motifs, lend it satisfactory tones of Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing. The gripping mystery of the disappearance and the family’s history is seen through the eyes of three women of different generations who, while not close, share the common bond of their love for Frank, the man at the head of the family.

The Water Underneath, Lyons’ first novel, was a deserving runner-up in the 1999 The Australian/Vogel Literary Award. It paints a vivid picture of the town and countryside in which it is set – both the physical surrounds and the social backdrop to the tale – at the same time exploring some of the issues which have divided Australian society.

This is a story which will grip you with its mystery and its believability from start to finish.

The Water Underneath, by Kate Lyons
Published by Allen & Unwin, 2001

A Fisherman's Tale

Fishing in tidepools is fun, but watch out – if you take a little fish home for a pet, you may get more than you bargained for.

A Fisherman’s Tale, by Keith Faulkner and Jonathon Lambert, is a delightful lift the flap book which kids will love and parents enjoy reading.

The story is a little reminiscent of another old favourite, Seuss’s The Boy Who Fed His Fish Too Much, but this does not detract from the book. Kids love lifting and unfolding flaps and pages as they see the fish grow bigger and bigger and bigger, and the final flap with its satisfying ending.

A Fisherman’s Tale, published by Australian publisher, Koala Books is suitable for one to six year olds.

A Fisherman’s Tale, by Keith Faulkner and Jonathan Lambert
Published by Koala Books, Sydney, 1994

Opportunities From Home

If you are just starting out, establishing a business can appear a complex affair – you must decide exactly what kind of business you are hoping to set up, learn how to cope with the financial and administrative processes, establish the kinds of permits you will need and so on. Ian Birt’s book, Opportunities From Home: Establishing Your Home Business, aims to help those wishing to work from home to navigate these difficulties.

From understanding what a home business is, to choosing what sort of business is right for you, to time management, motivation and administration, this book serves as a practical guide and a wonderful tool in the planning and setting up of a home based business. Birt speaks from experience, having run his own home-based business for over twenty years.

As well as providing information, Opportunities From Home doubles as a work book, with each chapter concluding with Self-development exercises and Case Studies, aimed at making the reader apply what they have learnt, both to their own situation and to those they may not have yet encountered.

No matter what kind of home business you are considering, this book will prove relevant, and if you have not yet decided what sort of business will be best, there is helpful advice for choosing the business that is right for you.

Before embarking on the exciting voyage of home employment, take the time to read what an expert has to say.

Opportunities From Home: Establishing Your Home Business , by Ian Birt
Prentice Hall: 1998.