Beyond Belief

Beyond Belief by Dee White, (Omnibus Books), 2020, RRP $17.99 pb

      ISBN: 9781760662516

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

Dee White’s book was inspired by the way Muslims in Paris saved the lives of many Jewish children during World War II. This unusual and generally unrecognised true story makes Beyond Belief a valuable addition to middle grade books dealing with this period. It’s also a rattling good adventure full of suspense, with easily likeable characters and a strong evocation of place.

When France is invaded, eleven-year-old Ruben’s parents take him to the Grand Mosque in Paris. They are going to find his sister who has disappeared somewhere in the south of France. Rubin must wait, pretending to be a Muslim, until the legendary Fox appears to take him to Spain where he will be united with his family.

Unfortunately, the Mosque is not safe. It is frequently visited and searched by Nazis.  Rubin escapes with two other Jewish children, Hana and her little brother Momo. Aided by the Resistance, they have several hair-raising adventures. Finally, the three reach a farmhouse in the French countryside, far away from Spain. There, by a set of surprising circumstances, he meets his sister and learns the Fox’s identity.

Rubin emerges as a gentle, kind-hearted boy who struggles to stay brave. Faced with danger, he remembers his mother’s advice: ‘You must be strong like the cedars’.

The details of life in the mosque are fascinating and informative. Jewish and Muslim faiths have many similarities (and differences) which could spark interesting classroom discussions. 

Dee White wanted ‘to write a story about kindness, humanity and hope amidst the horror of war.’ Beyond Belief is certainly that. As such it is a useful text for our time. Highly recommended.

Eddy Popcorn’s Guide to Parent Training

Eddy Popcorn’s Guide to Parent Training by Dee White, illustrated by Ben Johnston (an Omnibus Book from Scholastic Australia) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN 9781743834022

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

With a title such as this, and a first sentence under ‘Day 1 Saturday’ that reads ‘The sun crawls across my face like a MUTANT OCTOPUS’ as well as black and white cartoon illustrations, young readers know they are going to be in for a lot of laughs. It’s the first day of the school holidays and Eddy’s about to turn twelve – what an awesome time he’s about to have in the next 384 hours of FREEDOM. However, things don’t go as planned when Mum and Dad come into Eddy’s bedroom full of frowns about the state of his untidy room. “‘You’re grounded Edward Poppenhagen (aka Eddy Popcorn),’ say his parents. ‘You’re not leaving this house and there will be no recreational screen time until your book reflections are done properly,’ says Mum.” (Wouldn’t you know it, Eddy’s mum is a police officer!)

Upset and frustrated at this situation, Eddy realises that resistance is futile. Instead of getting to work, he decides to write a book, an essential guide to parent training, with numerous tips for kids to help them with difficult parents. From then on, Eddy’s book is filled with comments such as ‘if they’re so interested in your homework, why don’t they do it THEMSELVES – and save you the trouble?’ His dad says Eddy’s bedroom is ‘an absolute PIGSTY… it reeks like a garbage tip’, but a survey of Dad’s garage (with an itemised list), shows that Dad’s special space is full of rubbish. Eddy suggests a garage sale might be a good idea.

“To train a parent,’ says Eddy, ‘you have to understand they are an alien race.’ His guide includes things such as how to cope with a dad (like his) who picks their nose in public or a mum (like his) who complains of loud music. Eddy addresses a wide range of subjects in his helpful holiday antidotes (such as zany zit anecdote and fabulous food anecdote). His guide – filled with lists and humorous suggestions ranges widely from pocket money to distracting your parents to getting parents not to buy you gross clothing. All the time, though, what Eddy most wants is to hang out with his mates Macca and Damo and to enjoy his forthcoming laser tag birthday.

At the end of his book, Eddy says he has tried to cover as many scenarios as possible and provide mostly practical, effective suggestions. ‘This book,’ he writes, ‘is your secret weapon.’ At the end of it is a suggested reading list, acknowledgements, and a glossary. That he’s successful is shown by the reactions of his fellow bus travellers on the first day back to school. How everyone know about his guide is as much as a shock for Eddy as it is for the reader.

There is so much fun in this hint-packed book and lots of laughs. Young readers will no doubt nod their heads at Eddy’s philosophies and views on life. The pages ‘shout out’ with different sized fonts and terrific illustrations.

This book would suit readers aged 8 to 11 years.

Beyond Belief

Beyond Belief by Dee White (Omnibus Books from Scholastic Australia) PB RRP ISBN 9781760662516

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

The title of this novel for readers aged 8 to 12 years is appropriate given that is was inspired by the true story of Muslims who saved the lives of Jewish children in the Second World War. (There is a Quran saying, ‘Allah says to save one man’s life is to save the whole of mankind’.)

In 1942, in the Grand Mosque in Paris, 11-year-old Ruben is hiding from the Nazis, taken there by his parents who are desperately trying to find his older sister, Rosa. Ruben is passing himself off as a Muslim named Abdul Azim, son of the mosque’s Iman as he waits for ‘the Fox’ to help him travel to Spain to be reunited with his family. When the Nazis come to the mosque, Ruben is taken to hide in tunnels behind a bookshelf. Nazis come a second time and take Amar, another Jew, also in hiding, as she has blonde hair.

Next time there is danger in the mosque, Ruben, with other younger children, Momo and Hana, escape with adults Evette and Fida (who say they are working for the Fox), by walking for hours through underground sewers. They then hide in barrels on board a barge and finish up in the water. Next, they travel in a tank under a truck and are transported to a farm where a blind man, Gerard, takes them in. There they are reunited with Amar who has been rescued from the Nazis.

When Ruben is reunited in the south of France with his (wounded) sister, Rosa tells him their parents are dead, gunned down by German soldiers. It is then that Ruben also learns the true (and surprising) identity of the infamous Fox.

Beyond Belief is an exciting adventure with many twists and turns, based on true events, that offers much drama, fear, and bravery on behalf of all the adults involved in protecting the Jewish children. The children themselves show great fortitude, too, dealing with subterfuge, danger, hunger, and pain. Muslim or Jew, all are heroes who work ‘beyond (religious) belief’ to escape the German enemy.

Author Dee White not only travelled to France on a Vic Arts grant from Creative Victoria to research this story, but had assistance too from Jewish holocaust survivors, The Jewish Holocaust Centre, a Melbourne librarian, and a Muslim reader to ensure accuracy in her book. 

This well-written and fast-paced novel is a part of the ‘Heroes of the Holocaust’ series for children.

Letters to Leonard; The Truth Changes

Letters to Leonard; The Truth Changes, a YA novel by Dee White, was recently republished in Australia and released for the first time in the US and UK almost 10 years exactly from its debut in Australia). There have been some changes to the manuscript’s ending.

When Matt Hudson turns fifteen, he receives a birthday card from the mother he thought was dead. Why has his father lied to him for the last ten years? Matt doesn’t know who or what to believe. He sets out to find his mother, and the reasons behind her abandonment soon become clear.

Assigned a letter-writing project at school, Matt writes to his idol – Leonardo da Vinci. This simple act helps him work through his feelings of betrayal and understand how neglected mental illness can tear a family apart.

Dee White is the author of more than 20 books for children and young adults across all genres. She will do just about anything (including ride a camel, jump out of a plane and walk through a Paris sewer) to explore a story.

For more information, go to www.mazopublishers.com

How to Find Out about Writers’ Conferences

by Dee White

Following my posts about Why Attend a Writer's Conference and Preparing for a Writer's Conference, I recently had a question from a blog reader, "How do we find out about writer's conferences?"

Thus, this article is designed to give you tips on where to start. I also wanted to mention that there are a lot of writer's festivals around, too. These are great for being inspired by other writers, hearing how they write and learning about their work and what their favourite reads are/were, but I find that conferences are a usually a better place to meet and present your work to publishers and agents. Seeing as I write for children and young adults, I find that the best place to start for these conferences is The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCWBI). Their website is divided into regions, so you can click on any region around the world and it will take you to a specific page that has any upcoming conferences listed.

CONFERENCES BY GENRE                                                                                      One way to find conferences that might be worth going to is to look at the genre you write in and then research organisations for writers in that genre. Some of these organisations host their own conferences; others can give you information about them through newsletters and websites.

For example, there are organisations for

1. Romance Writers - Romance Writers of Australia, Romance Writers of America

2. Speculative Fiction writers - Conflux, Clarion

3. Horror writers - Horror Writers Association

4. Crime writers - Australian Crime Writers Association, Sisters in Crime

5. Children's writers - Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators

6. Comedy writers

LIBRARY CONFERENCES                                                                                          Reading Matters Conference - Held every second year by the State Library of Victoria. Check with your state or national library - they may be able to give you information about upcoming conferences.

WRITERS CENTRES IN AUSTRALIA BY STATE

ACT Writers Centre NSW Booranga Writers Centre New England Writers Centre NSW Writers Centre Hunter Writers Centre Northern Rivers Writers Centre South Coast Writers Centre Sydney Writers' Centre Varuna - The Writers' House, NT Writers Centre QLD Queensland Writers Centre, SA Writers Centre TAS Tasmanian Writers Centre VIC Writers Victoria WA Writing WA Katherine Susannah Pritchard Writers Centre

If you're overseas - for example in the US -- Google writers’ centres in your state, area or town

PUBLICATIONS                                                                                                            ASA - Australian Society of Authors newsletters - There may be an author organisation in your country that produces a publication that will list conferences in it. BUZZ WORDS - for Australian Children's and YA writers lists conferences and upcoming events.

There are lots of conferences I haven't been to that I'm sure are fantastic, but I just wanted to finish by mentioning ones I have been to that have been extremely beneficial to me. My book, Letters to Leonardo was picked up by Walker Books after I pitched it at the SCBWI Australia Conference in Sydney. I recently attended the CYA Conference in Brisbane and received three manuscript requests from publishers and one from an agent. I attended the 40th Anniversary SCBWI LA conference and apart from being loads of fun it was a huge global networking experience.

This article first appeared in Buzz Words magazine, 2015. Dee White wanted to be a writer since she was seven-years old. She has published 16 books for children and young adults and many articles, short stories and poems. She has been lucky enough to combine her loves of writing and travel into a career which takes her all over the world writing, researching and presenting workshops. Dee is a certified writing teacher and mentor, passionate about encouraging new writers. Her blogs Writing Classes for Kids and DeeScribe Writing are full of career and writing tips for writers of all ages. https://www.deescribe.com.au

Reena’s Rainbow

Reena’s Rainbow by Dee White, illustrated by Tracie Grimwood (EK Books) HB RRP $19.99 ISBN: 9781925335491

Reviewed by Anne Helen Donnelly

Reena is deaf but highly observant. She finds Dog at the park and immediately likes his playful nature. They both play hide-and-seek in the playground with the other kids. But when Reena finds herself alone in the park after not hearing the other children leave and calling out to her, she is sad. Her mother explains to her that we are all different, just like each colour of the rainbow. But, just like in a rainbow, despite our differences, we all have a place. Reena is not convinced: she feels that she does not belong, like the brown dog that does not have a home.

Then one day, Reena, with her keen eye, notices a tree branch about to fall onto one of the boys in the park. She calls out, but no-one hears her. Luckily, Dog leaps in and saves the day. The children at the park are shaken and nobody notices that Dog’s paw has been hurt from his heroic efforts. Reena takes Dog home and the pair finds they are perfect for each other. Dog is joyful with his new home and best friend and Reena’s heart is happy again. She finds her place in life’s rainbow.

Reena’s Rainbow is a picture book ideal for children 5 to 7 years old, beautifully finished with soft illustrations and a hard cover to couple with this gentle story of diversity and acceptance. Children will identify with Reena’s need to belong and to find their place.