How to use this Page

Hop Up! Wriggle Over!, Elizabeth Honey (author, illus.), Allen & Unwin, April 2015.   Cherish the moments of early mornings, chaotic meal times, constantly chasing tails and a house that’s never tidy, because one day it will be a distant memory; and you’ll miss it. This recent release emanates all this energy, and more; it’s […]

Family holidays are the stuff many childhood memories are forged from. With just a couple more weeks of summer holidays left, I revisited an old favourite and evoked some happy would-be memories (if mine had been the type of family to embark on seaside camping trips).

The excitement is palpable as Susie’s family head to the beach, car packed to the roof racks. They soon set up camp and immediately immerse themselves into all things seaside: hunting in rock pools, feeding seagulls, swimming the surf, and of course, fishing.

Led by over enthusiastic Dad, Susie, her brothers and cousins begin each day with great expectations, but for Susie, catching fish proves as elusive as keeping waves upon the sand. Her determination however never wanes, not even when her brother Alex taunts and teases her with fake-fish-hope. It’s not until the last day of their holiday that Susie glumly concedes defeat. Not everyone is lucky with fishing. She appears to be that luckless somebody.

Incredibly, Susie’s luck changes. She catches a glimpse of two Southern Right whales off the jetty much to the disbelief and delight of the surrounding crowd. She, her Dad and a dozen fascinated on-lookers, unite as they share a few special moments together watching mother and calf frolic in the waters before them. It’s a holiday memory bigger than any fish her family have caught before and one Susie won’t easily let get away.

Elizabeth Honey’s entrancing sojourn to the beach captures precious familiarity and the exuberance of youth with playful grace. It is a story we can cherish for years to come much like a treasured cowrie shell. Honey’s spirited prose makes me want to kick off my sandals and grab a rod and bucket of bait. Susie’s Dad’s regular morning wake-up calls, addressing his kids as various species of marine-life, caused me to smile often. And who doesn’t delight in a big frothy milk shake from the local beach town café?

Each page drips with Honey’s sparkling watercolour illustrations, capturing the very essence and light of the seaside. Vintage Honey and deserved CBCA Picture Book of the Year.

Ideal to share with primary-aged readers.

Published by Allen and Unwin 1997

Throughout Book Week 2011 I had the honour of accompanying Elizabeth Honey (The Boy in Berlin, That’s Not a Daffodil) and Melina Marchetta (Frio of the Exile, Looking for Alibrandi) as we drove our way across regional Victoria.

Imagine sitting in a car for numerous hours with two amazingly gifted and multi-award winning authors. The conversation flew over many different topics from film script writing to writing inspiration to process. I was in heaven.

The Centre for Youth Literature collaborated with Arts 2 Go to bring these two authors, and a local author, into many regional schools over Book Week. Melina took the students through her many international covers, her approach to dialogue and adapting her prologue (from On the Jellicoe Road) to a film script. Liz used the fantastic local models for a watercolour workshop. Students would be walked through the importance of a powerful pose, the use of light and then let loose. The results were remarkable as can be seen below.

The great feature of the tour was the use of local artists on every stop of the tour. Each day Melina and Liz were joined by a different author. Over the five schools we were joined by:

• Tim Pegler (YA author, Five Parts Dead)
• John Romeril (playwright, Miss Tanaka)
• Christie Niesen (playwright, Call Me Komachi)
• Lorraine Marwood (author/poet, Star Jumps)

The authors and I had a fabulous time visiting each of the schools from the outer suburbs (Manor Lakes p-12) and out into more country areas (Wedderburn College, Managatang P-12, Murrayville P-12 and Ouyen p-12).  The students and staff were so welcoming and asked some great questions, created beautiful pieces of art, prose and poetry.  Also, a big thank you to all the local personalities that contributed their time to act as models for the students.  We had maintenance men, grandmothers, librarians and ex-teachers all sit still for remarkable lengths of time.

I blogged on insideadog thrughout the week so you can hear what happened from day to day on the tour.  The authors would change their presentations up every day so there was always something new being revealed.  You can read all the posts and see the work produced in each school.

• Day 2 – Wedderburn
• Day 3 – Managatang
• Day 4 – Murrayville
• Day 5 – Ouyen

You can see more of the work produced via the 0 Comments on Writers Toolkit – Regional Tour as of 1/1/1900