Archie’s Letter by Martin Flanagan ill Ainsley Walters

‘Archie’s Letter’ is the story of an ordinary man, his experience at war, and his living beyond it. As a small child, he witnesses a soldier’s return from WWI. He cannot possibly understand it, but the image stays with him.

Archie grew up in the country beside a railway siding in Tasmania. When he was four years old, he saw a young man in uniform step of a train and fall to the platform weeping. Archie watched and wondered why a grown man would cry. The year was 1918. The young man was a soldier just home from the horrors of World War I.

Archie’s Letter is the story of an ordinary man, his experience at war, and his living beyond it. As a small child, he witnesses a soldier’s return from WWI. He cannot possibly understand it, but the image stays with him. He joins WWII because he believes strongly that the world cannot succumb to the will of Hitler. He fights initially in the Middle East before he is recalled to the Pacific to defend Australia. When the Japanese conquer the island of Java, Archie is imprisoned first in Java and then in Thailand where the Japanese oversaw the construction of the infamous Burma Railway. The treatment of the prisoners was appalling and many, many died. Survival for others was made possible by the Aussie sense of humour, and the leadership of Colonel Dunlop. Archie returned home, but the horrors of war came with him. Rather than share them with his family, he kept them to himself, only sharing funny stories. Paintings and/or photographs appear on every opening.

Archie’s Letter is written by a son wanting to understand and know his father. It is a very personal story, but also an Australian story. The soldiers and others who experienced active service WWII and survived are ageing now. So many of them, like Archie, chose not to share the horrors they witnessed and endured, but their silence means their stories may soon be lost. Horrible though the stories often are, it’s important that they be recorded and shared with new generations. There are also many inspiring stories of friendship and bravery, that should not be allowed to vanish. It is important to keep all the stories of where we’ve been, as they show us how we got here, and how we might go on from here. Recommended for upper-primary and early-secondary readers.

Archie's Letter: An ANZAC Day Story

Archie’s Letter: An ANZAC Day Story, Martin Flanagan ill Ainsley
Walters One Hill Publishers 2012
ISBN: 9780980794878

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

This book is available from good bookstores or online from Fishpond.

Wattle Creek, by Fiona McCallum

Jacqueline Havelock has never lived in the country, but she needs a fresh start, so when she’s offered a job as a rural psychologist, she takes it. Her first patient is Damien McAllister, a man on the brink.

The saltbush plains stretched for miles all around and without another car in sight, Jacqueline had begin to feel isolated and melancholy. She’d read that the rate of suicide was highest in young men living in rural and remote areas. No wonder, she’d thought wistfully; the environment was so grey, brown and stunted. Refusing to accept any internal suggestion that she was having second thoughts, she’d put on a CD and sang loudly while her eyes focused on the endless white lines dividing the dark bitumen road.

Jacqueline Havelock has never lived in the country, but she needs a fresh start, so when she’s offered a job as a rural psychologist, she takes it. Her first patient is Damien McAllister, a man on the brink. Since his father died and his mother remarried, Damien has been running the family farm. It’s hard, lonely work, and he isn’t even sure why he bothers. He’s certainly not used to sharing his problems, so ending up in the psychologist’s office is painfully embarrassing. Even more embarrassing is the fact that he finds her so attractive – and she’s telling him up front that their relationship must be strictly professional.

As the pair get to know each other, though, both of their lives change. JAcqueline learns about coutnry lfie – its highs and its lows – and Damien learns tof ind hope. If they can both break free fromt he ghosts of their pasts it’s just possible that the pair might find happiness.

Wattle Creek is a rural romance novel , which is also a story about following dreams, unlikely friendships and life in rural Australia. The characters and events will be familiar with those who live in, or have lived in, farming communities. The book also deals with the issue of depression and is dedicated to those who have suffered depression.

A warm tale.

Wattle Creek

Wattle Creek, by Fiona McCallum
Mira Books, 2012
ISBN 978192179539

This book is available in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Cannily, Cannily, by Simon French

Trevor is new to town. Again. For almost as long as he can remember, he’s been moving between towns, living in a kombi and caravan wherever his mum and dad can find work. This time, though, he’s wondering if he’ll ever fit in.

“Bloody tourists,” said a chirpy country voice behind him.
“Yeah, bloody tourists,” came a chorus of other voices. Their talk seemed to follow him all the way back to the kombivan, and his mind smarted at the thought of starting school in this town with those kids. Tough, knowledgeable, ridiculing, country kids….What’s it going to be like? he wondered, and spent the rest of the weekend thinking about Monday.

Trevor is new to town. Again. For almost as long as he can remember, he’s been moving between towns, living in a kombi and caravan wherever his mum and dad can find work. This time, though, he’s wondering if he’ll ever fit in. All the boys play football (rugby) and their teacher is the coach. Trevor decides that if he joins the team, maybe he’ll be accepted. The problem is, no one really wants him on the team – least of all the coach, who picks on him at raining just as much as he does in the classroom.

Cannily, Cannily is a story of friendship, family and belonging. Trevor is made different by his travelling lifestyle, but as he works to find a place in this new town, he wonders whether he wants to be the same as the boys on his team who want to win at all costs and are scared of their parents, their coach and, at times, each other. There’s a deeper issue – beyond his desire to fit in here is his need to belong somewhere, anywhere,  with his dim recollections of living in a house near the beach a taunting memory.

Firs published in 1981, and newly re released by Walker Books, Cannily, Cannily is set in a time somewhat different that young readers’ experiences, yet will be familiar enough for them to relate, with the issues explored being thoroughly contemporary.

Suitable for readers aged 10 and up.

Cannily, Cannily

Cannily, Cannily, by Simon French
This edition Walker Books, 2012
ISBN 9781921720741

This book is available in good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Red, by Libby Gleeson

Something else happened, long before the cyclone, that took Red away from Sydney. If she can figure out what it is she might figure out exactly who she is and where her family are. First, tough ,she has to decide who she can trust.

Mud in her mouth, her nose and her eyes. Mud in her hair and caked on her neck and her arms. Mud filling her shoes and seeping through her clothes. She lay sprawled on her side, a garbled, barely distinct sound coming from her: ‘Jaymartinjaymartin’. One eye opened, then the other. She coughed, spat, tried to clear her throat. Mud was stuck to her tongue, her gums and the top of her mouth. Still she said the words ‘Jaymartinjaymartin.’

When Red wakes up, muddy and muddled, she has no idea who she is, where she is or even how she got there. Her new friend Peri helps her navigate the strange new world of a Sydney partly destroyed by a terrible cyclone. But although Peri gives her her new name, he can’t give Red back her lost memory, and without that, she has no idea how she can find her family, if she has one.

As memories slowly return, Red realises that the cyclone isn’t the only threat to her survival. Something else happened, long before the cyclone, that took Red away from Sydney. If she can figure out what it is she might figure out exactly who she is and where her family are. First, tough ,she has to decide who she can trust.

Red is an exciting new tale from much-loved author Libby Gleeson. The pace is fast, the mystery absorbing and the dilemma of amnesia and displacement one which will intrigue young readers. Red and her friends Peri and Jazz are diverse and likable, willing to take chances and to work together.

Suitable for readers aged ten and over, Red is an outstanding offering.

Red

Red, by Libby Gleeson
Allen & Uniwn, 2012
ISBN 9781741758535

This book is available from good bookstores or online from Fishpond.