Reflection: Remembering Those Who Serve in War

Reflection: Remembering Those Who Serve in War, by Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg, illustrated by Robin Cowcher (Walker Books)

PB RRP $ 24.99

ISBN 9781922179050

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

This stunning picture book on Anzac Day is a tribute to those who serve, and served, in war. The cover is outstanding as are the illustrations by Robin Cowcher in pen and ink, with watercolours washes. The ochre shaded cover and light colour pages are extremely effective with the media used. It’s obvious that a great deal of consideration and care has gone into the presentation of this book and the messages it carries.

The text is moving and fully engages all the senses. It is a dual depiction; one showing the people’s participation in remembrance, and the other from the soldiers’ activities in various wars. This is an exceptional book in every way. The watercolour washes bring something unique to the story. The meaningful use of red is perfect.

I loved that all the wars are addressed on a double page spread at the end. This is extremely significant to the whole book.

There is an author’s note about how the ideas came about. It serves to remind us about the importance of our commemorative services and the price of freedom.

The illustrator’s note reveals how the dual experiences were linked and the challenges faced in translating this significant work.

This book will be the ideal project resource for young people looking to learn about our servicemen and women who took part in war. There will be discussions around the content which will create a deeper interest that will initiate further research. It’s a beautiful book worth having and giving, for all ages.

My Gallipoli

My Gallipoli by Ruth Starke and Robert Hannaford (Working Title Press)

HB RRP $29.99

ISBN9781921504761

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

This is a timely picture book for older readers with the centenary of the Anzac landing at Gallipoli Peninsula this April. The first page after the title page shows a map to indicate where Anzac Cove is located, with a magnified section that takes in places such as No Man’s Land, Lone Pine and Wire Gully. The narrative comes from the viewpoints of men (and women) involved in the battle.

To start the story, shepherd, Adil Sakin, whose village is north-east of Anzac Cove, speaks from Anzac Cove in November 1914 where he says army men came to his village speaking about the Great War. Adil announces his intention of fighting for the peninsular which has belonged to his family for hundreds of years. Then the story moves to 25 April 1915 where Midshipman Peter Burch RN is waiting in a boat to be landed on Anzac Cove. Burch tells how shooting started even before soldiers reached shore and how many died.

As the story progresses, other characters embroiled in the battle speak of their personal involvement. There’s a private from the Turkish army, a nursing sister on a hospital ship, a Ghurkha from Nepal (fighting in the British Army), an Australia chaplain, a New Zealand Private, and so on. One of the best-known narrators is Australia’s official war correspondent, C.E.W. Bean. Everyone who speaks, tells of the war from his or her perspective. The narrators speak from places such as Suvla Bay, Cape Helles and No Man’s Land. Each entry is prefaced by the place and the date. Towards the end of the battle we see a crippled soldier in Melbourne, a lieutenant charged with identifying and reburying remains of Allied soldiers, several cemetery scenes and Australia’s war artist, George Lambert, at work in Anzac Cove. There is no sense of victory, as there never ought to be with any war.

Without doubt a great deal of commendable research has gone into covering all of the various aspects of the battle which is unveiled with each narrator. There are also three end pages of notes with commentaries and illustrations of those real-life characters that appear in the story, and of geographical landmarks, etc. In addition, there is a bibliography, which includes another Working Title Press title by author Ruth Starke (An Anzac Tale, 2013).

The illustrations use charcoal sketches and watercolour depicting those aspects which are highlighted in the narrative, such as a nurse tending a soldier by lamp-light, men digging graves, soldiers exhausted in the trenches, men on furlong. It’s a real-life, comprehensive view of those hard, bloody days.

What I most like about this book is its interesting and well-written multi-narrative viewpoints; this is not just about Australia’s role in the battle, but an overall view. What I didn’t particularly like in this otherwise handsome production was the smallish typeface. For sure there is a lot of text employed, but for some readers aged 9 to 12 years, the font size might be too small. 

My Australian Story: Gallipoli

My Australian Story: Gallipoli by Alan Tucker (Scholastic Press)
PB RRP $16.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-693-5
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

On the 25th of April, 1915, in one of Australia’s most well-known military campaigns, Allied forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula and attempted to push back the Turkish defenders.

Gallipoli tells this story of Victor March, who, along with his new mates, Robbo, Fish and Needle, is among the first wave of soldiers to land at Anzac Cove. Desperate to leave world of the mines where he works as a pickey-boy, fourteen year old Victor views the war as an escape. He grabs the opportunity as a chance to travel, have adventures and do his bit for his country. With his parents permission he lies about his age and enlists in the 10th Battalion of the AIF. What he finds changes him and everything he thinks about the world.

Written in diary form, Gallipoli is an intimate account of Victor’s experiences, while the addition of letters from home also gives an insight into life in Australia at the time. The writing is straight forward and Victor’s voice is down to earth and genuine with just a trace of humour. These things keep the story from becoming too heavy or depressing which is a good thing as the author does not shy away from the realities of war or the horrors of the trenches – the lice, the dysentery, the confusion, the stench, the killing, the fear and especially the growing realization that the Turks in the enemy trenches were just boys like them. One of the most poignant moments for me was that after passing notes and food between the trenches, the ANZACs and the Turks had to go back to shooting at each other.

An engrossing and well-written story about Australia’s history is a great way to learn about our past. This story is both. It shows the mundane problems which affect soldiers, such as seasickness and boredom, as well as the shocking and bloody battles. Gallipoli is a balanced story which depicts the awakening consciousness of young men faced with the realities of war, along with the growing realisation that the line between right and wrong, good and bad, is never clear.

I would urge young boys in particular, from twelve years to read this, but I think adults would enjoy this and learn much from Gallipoli as well.

ANZAC Biscuits

ANZAC Biscuits by Phil Cummings, illustrated by Owen Swan (Scholastic Press)
HB RRP $24.99
ISBN 978-1-74283– 346-0
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

ANZAC Biscuits is a touching story about a young girl baking biscuit with her mother to send to her father who is serving on the frontline of war, far away.

The contrasting situations of the girl Rachel and her mother - warm, happy and safe - and her father - cold and miserable - is brought clearly to the pages in a gentle manner. This is achieved through both the illustrations and text. Swan’s delicate pictures of Rachel and her mother in their kitchen are washed in cosy pastel colours of pink, lemon, pale blues and greens. The images of Rachel’s father on the frontline are chilly, with the colours drained. They are painted in greys, white and black, with only a hint of yellow.

The differences between the two worlds accentuate the starkness and desolation of the soldier’s situation. Rachel’s mother wears her favourite apron, covered in wildflowers, while her father hides his head on the ground amongst wildflowers to escape gunfire. In the warm kitchen, flour and oats are sprinkled like snow for the ANZAC biscuits, while bitter cold snow falls on the battlefield.

But it is these differences which also bind the family together; Rachel with the sticky treacle while her father trudges through sticky mud, the smell of smoke, a photo of the soldier on the wall, and the singing.

The final images are especially powerful. The love which pours from the soldier’s box of ANZACs reflects on his face and fills it with hope. These soft pencil and wash illustrations are beautiful, conveying the strong emotion which the text hints at. It is a fabulous example of text and illustrations working together to create and expand the story.

This is not a confrontational story about the horrors of war, but rather a subtle and gentle story which can be read to pre-schoolers. It embraces the ANZAC traditions and shows how family can be close in heart, even if physically separated, through simple actions such as the baking of ANZAC biscuits.

With ANZAC Day approaching, this would be a perfect time to introduce young children to a piece of Australian history.
 

Do Not Forget Australia

Do Not Forget Australia by Sally Murphy, illustrated by Sonia Kretschmar (Walker Books)
HB RRP $29.95
ISBN 9781921529863
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Just in time for Anzac Day! This beautiful book illustrated with mixed media, is a story for Primary School children (and adults that collect beautiful things) about war and remembrance. It is a wonderful learning tool and a reminder of the battle at Villers-Bretonneux.

Two boys, Billy in Melbourne and Henri in a village in France, simultaneously miss their fathers who have gone to fight in the First World War.

Henri cannot remember Australia when asked to name the continents. He only cares that his father is no longer there with him. Later, he only cares that he has to leave his home and all that he loves because the fighting has reached his village. On his return, Henri remembers Australia, because the Aussie soldiers have helped free their village which was won back on Anzac Day, 25 April, 1918. A soldier sits with him and talks about his boy Billy, far away in Australia. They exchange stories and Henri tells the man about his school being bombed.

Billy finally receives a card from his dad from Villers-Bretonneux. He had studied the battle his father had fought in. He learns about Henri and his village and is moved to help in some way.

Nine years later, Henri stands in the courtyard of the new school. All the children are wearing red poppies in their lapels. He reads the banner Do Not Forget Australia which hangs across the front. As if he ever could. At the same time, on the other side of the world, the headlines on Billy’s newspaper blaze with the announcement of the opening of a new school, built by the money sent by the soldiers who fought at Villers-Bretonneux.

In A Note from the Author at the end of the book, we are reminded that although the characters are fictional, ‘Villers-Bretonneux is very real’. It gives an easy to understand historical account of the battle and the fundraising for the people of France. It also refers to many other things connected to the site of the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux which commemorates all Australians that died during the First World War, and about the school that reopened in 1927. A valuable book for any home/collection produced with full page, full colour pictures, and an outstanding front cover.