Ming and Flo Fight for the Future

Ming and Flo Fight for the Future by Jackie French (Angus and Robertson) PB RRP $16.99 ISBN 978140760208

Reviewed by Kathleen Grace

This latest book in the series, The Girls Who Changed the World
, is an empowering and exhilarating look at the girls who went before us, and the way they shaped the world.

Twelve-year-old Ming Qong is convinced that girls must have changed the world, even if they are rarely mentioned in history books. So, when she gets the chance to go back in time, she imagines herself changing destinies from a glittering palace or an explorer's ship. Instead, she ends up in Australia in 1898, living a tough life as Flo Watson on a drought-stricken farm.

Luckily, Ming is rescued by Flo's Aunt McTavish. Wealthy Aunt McTavish belongs to Louisa Lawson's Suffragist Society, who are desperately and courageously fighting for women's rights. And Ming is determined to get involved, to make a difference. But change is never easy, so how can one girl change the world?

From Jackie French, one of Australia's favourite writers, comes an inspiring new series for all young people. The author, French, says, ‘A book can change a child’s life. A book can change the world’: this was the primary philosophy behind French’s two-year term as Australian children’s literary Laureate.

Like all of French’s books, this latest novel is well-written, engrossing, and is likely to appeal to readers aged 9 years and older.

Christmas Always Comes

Christmas Always Comes by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley (Harper Collins Children’s Books) PB HB RRP $24.99 ISBN 978 1 460757895

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

It’s Christmas Eve in 1932 when Joey, Ellie and their parents are droving their cattle in the drought. Yet, Joey knows that Christmas always comes no matter where you are. This story is a celebration of kindness and human spirit by an award-winning team.

 

Award winning author Jackie French has written a heart-warming Christmas tale about an earlier time in Australian history. She doesn’t shy away from realities and masterfully showcases strength, resilience, and Australian culture. The reader wonders how the family will find Christmas. ‘Christmas pudding tomorrow!’ said Joey, eating his cold meat and damper. ‘And presents!’ ‘Shhh! Don’t let Mum or Dad hear,’ whispered Ellie. ‘There’s no shops or money to buy presents or sultanas for a pudding.’

 

The magic of Christmas is captured simply and beautifully. The dialogue shows character and seamlessly moves the plot along. The reader is encouraged to think about another time and place. Santa had left two kites, and two penny whistles, and some macadamia nuts that looked just like the ones that had been growing along the road. French logically builds and supports the story. She shows that kindness can create miracles no matter where you are. ‘See,’ said Joey, his mouth full of pudding. ‘I told you there were always presents and pudding and a tree at Christmas.’ This is a story that can be read at any time of the year.

 

Illustrator Bruce Whatley has captured the essence of this time and place beautifully. The eye-catching cover looks like Christmas without a single Christmas icon. So much can be learned about the era from the fence, apricot tree, gladiolas, rosellas, kangaroos, children, and their clothing. The colour palette is perfect for an Australian Christmas. The bright orange endpapers move the reader into the story quickly. The two woolly socks on a barbed wire fence on the title page convey much meaning. Whatley’s illustrations take my breath away and at times seem like paintings. The dry brown land, the empty sky along with a horse and cart and cattle, along with the movement and facial expressions give the story so much heart and layered meaning. The illustrations bring to mind, Dorothea Mackellar’s poem, ‘My Country – I love a Sunburnt Country.’ The old farmer’s face on a single page tells a story.

 

Christmas Always Comes, is a picture book for children three years and up about Christmas, Australian history, family, strength, and resilience. It’s a book for home, school and library bookshelves that is filled with heart, hope and Australian culture. It is good to see our own stories being told.

The Fire Wombat

The Fire Wombat by Jackie French and Danny Snell (Harper Collins) ISBN: 978-1-4607-5933-2 RRP $19.99 HB

Reviewed by Nean McKenzie 

Following the horrific bushfires this Summer, The Fire Wombat is a lovely tale focusing on the animals and how they survive the ordeal. The story is told in rhyme from the perspective of a wombat, accompanied by engaging illustrations. To escape the fire, the animals all shelter underground, getting along for a change. Then they set off to look for food and water after the fire has passed and eventually find carrots and piped water supplied by the humans. Finally, the wombat returns home as rain helps the bush regenerate.

There were articles in newspapers during the bushfires at the start of this year, telling of wombats leading other animals to safety, then other articles saying this was made up. But it is a good story. I understand Jackie French lives very close to where the fires came and she describes herself on her website as an ‘honourary wombat’ so is eminently qualified to write this book.  Evocative lines in the story such as, ‘Other creatures woke and fled, Spurred by age-old pounding dread’ and ‘To ancient tunnels cool and deep, Where even bushfire’s breath can’t creep’ give a great appreciation of how it feels to be in the path of an inferno.

A highlight for me were the illustrations by Danny Snell also illustrator (and author) of Seagull, illustrator of Ozzie goes to School and many other books.  There are appealing looking cockatoos, goannas and echidnas who all find places to go. And worried looking bandicoots and wallabies who follow the wombats to their burrows.  The Fire Wombat talks about the bushfires without dealing with the humans – until the pages near the end where there are pictures of people, organising fundraisers and boxes of carrots for the animals.

Bushfire is a scary thing for young children, but this story deals with the positives of it. The main character survives and helps other animals to. The people in the community band together to do something worthwhile. And then the bush recovers. While the bushfire ‘monster’ is a terrible thing, life goes on afterwards. This is a great message in a picture book for young children.

The Schoolmaster’s Daughter

The Schoolmaster’s Daughter by Jackie French (Angus and Robertson) PB RRP $17.99 ISBN 97814607577710

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Reading this well-written, gripping, and fast-paced book, one can see why Jackie French’s writings have been acclaimed over the years and have won many awards.

Drawing on her own family history, this is a story from French about education in colonial Australia - and how women once had to fight for their right to it. Set it 1901, the first year of Federation, it begins with a shipwreck as teenager Hannah and her family, the Gilberts, head to a new home in north-eastern Australia. Hannah's father has a new post as the schoolmaster in school there, where the school's wealthy patron, a sugar planter called Mr Harris, will give the family a life of comfort and the best society.

Having managed to survive the shipwreck, the family is rescued by a Pacific Islander youth, Jamie, who takes them to his white mother, Mrs Zebediah who welcomes them. She and Jamie are pariahs in this racist society, but Hannah and her mother become fast friends when Hannah’s mother goes to their home regularly to teach Hannah, Jamie and Mrs Zebediah. Later, when he younger brother, Angus, is taken by their mother to Sydney for an operation, Hannah spends many happy hours with Jamie, both of them reading and becoming closer friends.

​Secrets lurk in this subtropical paradise. Mr Harris's fortune is built on slavery and the whip. And the new Federal government's first law demands that all Pacific islanders - even those born in Australia - be deported. If Mr Harris learns of the secret school that Hannah's mother is running, it will mean ruin, violence, and possibly even death.

​

Hannah and Jamie must fight for Jamie's right to stay in the land he loves, and for their rights to education and equality. The question is: can the friendship and love of two young people win against such prejudice and power? Will Hannah ever make it to university and to fulfill her hopes of becoming a poet?

​

Based on the lives of Jackie French's great-grandparents and grandmothers who taught - and fought - for equal education and the rights of all Australians, no matter what their background or the colour of the skin, this story shows us how the bravery and the battles of the past can give us courage for the challenges of today.

This book for readers 11+ years, is highly recommended.

Dippy and the Dinosaurs

Dippy and the Dinosaurs by Jackie French, illustrated by Bruce Whatley (concept by Ben Smith Whatley) (HarperCollins) HB RRP $24.99 ISBN 9781460754092

Reviewed by Nikki M Heath

The second book featuring lovable diprotodon Dippy finds the character digging such a big hole that he ends up in the land of the dinosaurs. Unperturbed by the strange (and sometimes dangerous) creatures, Dippy sees a playground in his new surroundings - and lots of new friends.

Stunning illustrations grab the reader’s attention from the cover through to the final page. Dippy is expressive and adorable, while the dinosaurs and landscapes are vibrant and rich with detail. The text bubbles with enthusiasm and echoes the naive, playful tone so familiar from the Baby Wombat books. 

This book will be particularly enjoyed by dinosaur-loving Diary of a Wombat fans - which is to say, a whole lot of kids aged 2 to 5 years. Teachers’ notes do not yet appear to be available, but identification of the various dinosaurs and explanation of the relevant time periods and geographical locations would add considerable value.

The Ghost of Howlers Beach

The Ghost of Howlers Beach by Jackie French (Angus & Robertson) PB

RRP $16.99 ISBN: 9781460757727

Reviewed by Jeffery E Doherty

The Ghost of Howlers Beach is the latest historical fiction book for children by Jackie French and appears to be the first in a series called The Butter O’Bryan Mysteries. The story takes place on the east coast of NSW, in the early 1930’s during the Great Depression.

Twelve-year-old Butter lives in a Very Small Castle with his Father and three aunts, whose real names are not Aunt Elephant, Aunt Peculiar and Aunt Cake. Although Butter is the grandson of one of Australia’s most successful Jam Kings, he is still aware of the hardships and suffering of the people around him. This becomes more apparent after meeting three children and their dog playing cricket on his beach. Butter believes the children are from the nearby susso (sustenance payment) camp. The children are secretive and when they vanish, Butter wonders, who are these children and why they refuse his help? He is certain Gil, Olive and little Tish are hiding a secret and he is determined to uncover it.

  

You can teach children facts and figures about events in history like the Great Depression, polio epidemics, the aftermath of war, rampant unemployment and the suffering and helplessness of people who can’t even afford to feed their families. I remember learning about these topics in school, but they had no tangible effect on me because it was almost impossible to conceptualise what living in those hard times would be like.

Jackie French lures the reader into this world through the eyes of her naive and caring narrator, Butter. He comes from a wealthy family and is not suffering like the families living in the Susso camp, but his family is broken in other ways. This is a story that touches the heart and brings history to life in a way my history teachers never did.

One of the main take-a-ways from this book for me was the reoccurring theme of helplessness. The helplessness of the damaged soldiers returning from war, the unemployed and their families living in desperate poverty, the children living in fear of being taken away by the authorities, but also the helplessness of  kind-hearted people who see such enormous issues and cannot find a way that they can make a difference. This is a theme that has great relevance with current issues like the recent devastating bush fires, the refugee crisis and climate change.

The Ghost of Howlers Beach is an excellent book and I highly recommend it for readers 8-12 years old. I would also recommend it to teachers who want to bring this period of history to life for their students. There are some great teaching resources at the back of the book dealing with the cause of the Great Depression, the Susso, making do, Indigenous Dispossession, Don Bradman, as well as some interesting recipes from the time.

All of Us, A History of Southeast Asia

All of Us, A History of Southeast Asia by Jackie French and Virginia Hooker, illustrated by Mark Wilson (Angus & Robertson, an imprint of Harper Collins Children’s Books) HB RRP $29.99 ISBN 9781460750025 October, 2019

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

All of Us, A History of Southeast Asia is a non-fiction picture book that covers the history of the land masses of Southeast Asia. It is a very detailed and informative picture book that has been carefully and meticulously compiled about our mysterious Asian lands. I particularly like the fact that the book covers our part of the world from an Australian perspective, not a European one and that it celebrates the diversity of the different lands in Southeast Asia and their cultures and history. Australia is an interwoven part of southeast Asia and we are all connected.

The text is easy to follow, and the illustrations are simply stunning with the use of lots of lush greens and blues and browns of the lands. Each spread incorporates a striking illustration with a timeline and poetry that sings. Mark Wilson’s illustrations showcase and capture each land by bringing to life the lands, people, customs and the weather. They encourage the reader to explore the history and interconnection of us all. Wilson also brings in a geographical aspect to each land and its people. This picture book could easily be a coffee table book with its stunning illustrations by an award-winning illustrator. The paintwork and detail are second to none and the human face is captured so well.

The book’s 48 pages are appealing to both adults and children alike and will be a valuable resource for teachers as it can be used in a classroom to great effect. The book starts at 200,000,000 BC when Gondwanaland is one huge landmass in the southern hemisphere and then in sections it goes through one land at a time, with an era of its history and how it’s linked to all of us in Southeast Asia. We are all connected by the winds and tides that create our weather.

This picture book has much to offer any reader aged 8 years and over.

My Name is NOT Peaseblossom

My Name is NOT Peaseblossom by Jackie French, (Angus & Robertson), 2019, Pb RRP  $14.50 ISBN: 9781460754788 Ebook 9781460709177

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

This is the last in Jackie French’s Shakespeare series which comprises I am Juliet, Ophelia: Queen of Denmark and Third Witch.

Peaseblossom is an enterprising male fairy attendant of Titania, Queen of the Fairies. His wedding has been arranged to one of the tooth fairies, Floss. On midsummer’s eve Peaseblossom and Floss will drink the magic love potion and live happily ever after. 

That’s what’s supposed to happen. Peaseblossom (‘I prefer to be called Pete’) is a bit of a rebel. He’s adept at using TAP (time and place manipulation) and frequently jumps thousands of years into the future. He’s developed a taste for pizzas rather than dandelion salad and candied violets, especially the pizzas from the Leaning Tower of Pizza made by the mysteriously attractive Gaela.

The introduction of vampires adds a dramatic twist to Pete’s dilemma.

Pete is a likeable, subversive, hero who has the courage to deny the love potion and choose instead real love with all its ups and downs and uncertainties.

The theme of the book is free will, or the lack of it. Scattered among Pete’s adventures is a retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the play, the only characters who can do what they want are the royals: Theseus, the Amazon Queen, Oberon and Titania. 

Everyone else has to do what they are told and love who is chosen for them. Poor Hermia must marry the man her father prefers rather than the one she loves.

Students from Grade 6 upwards will enjoy such a light, rollicking tale. There are lots of giggle moments. The ageing fairy Puck is the source of much amusement.

It isn’t necessary to know the play well, although this will add to a reader’s enjoyment. Direct quotes are cunningly placed throughout in the text.

Recommended.

Mad About Metaphors and other Poetic Problems

 The following short story, ‘Mad About Metaphors and other Poetic Problems’ by Zoe Gaetjens was Highly Commended by Jackie French in the 2018 inaugural Buzz Words Short Story Prize.

Mo liked to talk. He liked to ask questions. And he liked to tell people what he was thinking. Most adults didn’t like Mo talking. In fact, barely a day went by when Mo wasn’t shushed. Just yesterday his mum shushed him. Mo had asked if Mrs Petrovich was pregnant with twins. She wasn’t pregnant. She was standing right there. She was not pleased.

It happened on Saturday too. Mo spent ages waiting for his dad outside the shop toilets. He asked his dad if he’d done a poo.

‘Mo, shh,’ his dad said. But seeing as he didn’t answer the question, Mo figured he must be right. His dad had been in there for a while.

‘Everyone poos,’ Mo said. ‘It really shouldn’t be a problem.’

His dad shushed him again.

Mo was constantly shushed at school too. By his teacher, the canteen mums, even his friends. So, when he had the opportunity to share his thoughts, without being shushed, he took it.

It all began in a poetry lesson. Yep, poetry. As soon as Mrs Wobbegong wrote ‘Poetic Imagery’ on the board Mo’s eyes rolled. His head slumped to the table. Floral arrangement would be more stimulating. Sifting sand would be more exciting. Cutting grass with scissors would be fascinating in comparison. Or so Mo thought. Mo was as close to a snooze as his Uncle Albert after Christmas lunch, when suddenly, in the foggy haze at the back of his brain Mrs Wobbegong’s notes made sense. It was like someone had flicked a switch in his head. Like the buzz you feel when you touch a friend after hurtling down a slide. Mo got it. He totally got it. Poetry didn’t have to be dull. It wasn’t just greying men rowing swooning women in white dresses around. It was about expressing yourself. Describing the world. Saying how you felt and what you thought, without being shushed. 

An idea began taking shape in Mo’s head. He raised his hand.

‘So you’re saying that writing a poem is like painting pictures using words. And poets use these word pictures, these metaphors and similes, to tell people how they see the world?’

That’s what Mo said. But he was thinking, ‘No one shushes a poet!’

Mrs Wobbegong attempted, not particularly well I might add, to re-shape her facial expression. Best not look too surprised she thought to herself. It might send the wrong message. But she was surprised. She had not expected her lesson to have gone so well. She had certainly not expected such poetic musings to be on her students’ lips, least of all a student like Mo.

Mrs Wobbegong tried not to be over the top. She didn’t usually like to make such a fuss, however, this answer was so good. Mo had hit the nail on the head.

‘Mo, how wonderful. What a great way to explain it. Yes, word pictures, quite right. One can never get enough of poetry.’

Boy would she live to regret saying that. In that moment, a can of worms had been opened that would be very difficult to close. Once Mo was encouraged there was no slowing him down. Mo was ready to share his thoughts with the world.

          He began with Greg. ‘Greg, your book is full of chicken scratchings.’

‘Huh?’ Greg looked confused.

Priya giggled. ‘He’s saying your hand writing is crazy messy,’ she explained before returning to her long division.

Mrs Wobbegong smiled, ‘Accurate observation Mo, and great application of the poetic content. Excellent cross curricular connections.’

This was fun, Mo thought. He hadn’t been shushed and he had been complimented. It was a good morning. He kept going.

‘That answer needs to be locked up in an insane asylum Tashi, it is crazy.’

Mrs Wobbegong nodded, ‘Another, amusing metaphor Mo.’

‘Mrs Wobbegong is it recess yet? Time is an injured snail inching slowly forward.’

‘Not how I’d encourage you to view my lesson Mo, but brilliant imagery.’

Fuelled by his teacher’s praise Mo was not slowed down by recess. He continued to share his thoughts via word pictures. ‘My mouth is a black hole,’ he shouted, almost between bites. ‘I’ll eviscerate everything in my path.’

Greg was still having trouble understanding Mo. Black hole he got, eviscerate not so much. 

‘He means demolish,’ Priya explained.

Greg’s face remained blank. ‘Eat.’ Priya translated.

‘Greg you’re as slow as the last 5 minutes before home time,’ said Mo.

Priya did not explain that one. Instead she said, ‘Mo, that one was pretty mean.’ But she didn’t shush him.

Things did not go so well after recess. Mrs Wobbegong was going over the instructions for her art lesson. Mo was feeling frustrated.

‘Mrs Wobbegong, you’re like last night’s spicy sausage dinner. I know you don’t want to be forgotten, but do you need to keep repeating yourself?’ Mo burped for emphasis. Yep, somehow that spicy sausage was still hanging around.

Mrs Wobbegong was beginning to regret her previous comments.

‘That’s enough Mo,’ she said. ‘I think we all need a little break. Over to timeout. And no more metaphors!’

Unfortunately, it was a little too late for that. Mo wasn’t like a bull at a gate. The gate had been opened and he was charging around the field, using his words to take down all in his path.

From the timeout desk Mo caught a whiff of something nasty and just had to tell everyone.

‘That stench is as bad as our garbage before bin night,’ Mo called out looking at Greg. ‘Was that you?’

Mo didn’t notice his friend’s face crumpling, a piece of paper discarded in the bin. He didn’t see Mrs Wobbegong’s face reddening, her rage a pimple about to explode. Mo didn’t notice his friend or his teacher because his underwear was beginning to inch up his bottom and he had another thought to share.

‘My undies are playing tug-a-war and my butt is losing out.’ Mo said.

The class feel about in laughter. Mrs Wobbegong erupted.

 ‘Shhhhhhhhhhhh!’

There it was. The shush was back.

‘I warned you Mo. No matter how poetic your thoughts are, they don’t always need to be shared,’ Mrs Wobbegong took a breath, calming herself, finding composure. ‘Although you do need to share one more time today. To the principal. Now!’

Mo knew that Mrs Wobbegong didn’t really mean he should share all his thoughts with the principal. He was beginning to remember that sometimes shushing could be helpful. But, when Principal Eggsnert let out an enormous sneeze as Mo entered his office there was no way to stay quiet.

‘Your cold is so bad- ‘

Principal Eggsnert cut him off. ‘Ahhh, yes Mo.’

Mo’s thoughts needed to be set free. He tried again.

‘Your nose is a-’

‘Mo,’ Principal Eggsnert stopped him a second time.

By now Mo was bouncing up and down, a ball of excitement. He couldn’t contain it. ‘There are-’

‘Mo I’ve been hearing reports about you.’

Mo could stand it no longer. He grabbed the nearest pencil and scrawled his thought so he wouldn’t lose it.

A nose cave full of bats hanging around.

Now it was Principal Eggsnert’s turn to stop.

‘Bats in the cave?’ offered Mo by way of explanation.

Strangely Principal Eggsnert didn’t shush Mo. He didn’t shake his fist, or give Mo detention. No. He laughed. And reached for a tissue.

‘You certainly have a way with words,’ he said. ‘I think writing them down, instead of blurting them out, is a good idea.’

And it was a good idea, a very good idea. Mo wrote, and wrote, and wrote.  And no one had to shush him. At least not until Mrs Wobbegong’s lesson on alliteration. When big, bouncy bottom was just begging to be bellowed out loud.

The Secret of the Youngest Rebel

The Secret of the Youngest Rebel by Jackie French (Harper Collins) RRP $14.99 (PB) ISBN 9781460754801

Reviewed by Nean McKenzie

Set in Sydney in 1804, this junior fiction novel is about Frog, a young orphan surviving on the streets of Parramatta, despite a set of difficult circumstances. Not knowing who either parent is, Frog sleeps at Ma Grimsby’s pie shop in return for some pick-pocketing (or ‘dambling’). While stealing an apple pie, Frog meets the Irishman Phillip Cunningham, who is kind. Frog then follows Phillip who is the leader of the ‘Castle Hill Rebellion’.

The shanty town where Frog lives is not painted in an appealing light. The currency is rum. Most people are either convicts or ex-convicts, with the scars to prove it. Frog is constantly hungry, unwashed and always on guard, but at the same time not complaining, just getting by in the best way possible.

When Frog meets Phillip, another kind of life presents itself. Freedom becomes an ideal and Frog joins up with the soldiers, willing to fight. Unfortunately, because this is based on true history, the ‘Republic of New Ireland’ never comes about. But Frog does find another kind of hope.

The best thing about this story is the twist, which I didn’t guess at all, so I’m not going to give it away. Also, very effective are descriptions of early colonial Sydney – the smell of wood smoke and the taste of greasy salt mutton. Aptly depicted on the front cover, the character of Frog is the other best thing about the story. From the first introduction, any reader will be on Frog’s side.

Author’s notes at the back include a glossary (with words like ‘gammon’ and ‘Shank’s pony’). Also included are notes about the Castle Hill Rebellion, Phillip Cunningham and the transportation of Irish people to Australia.

The Secret of the Youngest Rebel is a thoroughly enjoyable and educational story for primary school children.

Empty Orchestra

The following story is the inaugural winner of the 2018 Buzz Words Short Story for Children Prize which was won by Jemma van de Nes. The judge who chose it from the 209 entries was Jackie French.

Empty Orchestra

The playground is like an orchestra. 

With his eyes closed, Nick can hear it all; the thumping bass of footsteps pounding across the bridge; the sizzle and crackle of static on the slide; the shrill whistle of the chain on the flying fox; the squeals of laughter from the girls in the cubby.

He imagines that he is the conductor of all this noise, banishing spiteful giggles and hurtful words with a swish of his baton.  It is so vivid - this image where he is in control of the music.  But what he really sees, when he opens his eyes, is the empty swing beside him.

He pumps his legs and reaches for the clouds with his toes and pictures a world where nobody calls him names, where adults don’t tell him to leave the house for the whole day and where everyone has someone to talk with.

He doesn’t talk much anymore. 

His mum said not to; that the reason they keep moving is nobody’s business. 

But he’d tell anyone if they stopped long enough to listen.

He still sings, though, because when he sings, he forgets.  The constant moving.  The new schools.  The couches he sleeps on.  

He swings and sings his song, the one he wrote for his dad.  His favourite part is: Your arms are the walls that hold us safe and tight.  When we find a home with you, everything will be alright. When he sings it, he hits notes so high he feels like he is flying. 

A girl climbs out of the cubby and hangs from the monkey bars by her legs.  Her hair cascades to the ground and swirls in tangled knots about her face.  She reaches her arms out wide, like she’s trying to hug the universe.

Who’d want to do that, he wonders?

She ignores her friends, who are still in the cubby, tapping at their phones.

But she smiles at him.

She has braces, too.

They swing together, on opposite sides of the playground – forwards, backwards, forwards, backwards – like a metronome keeping time.

Their own time.

And then, she’s on the swing beside him.

“That’s a pretty song,” she says, her voice a whisper on the breeze.  Her cheeks are flushed, and her hands are shaking.  “You should record yourself singing it, even just on your phone.”

Her feet skid along the ground and he thinks she’s leaving, so to cover her embarrassment he shares with her some of his own.

“I don’t have a phone,” he says.

“Lucky you,” she laughs.  “No mean messages from your friends.” 

He looks to the cubby and sees the girls whispering behind their hands.  “I guess,” he shrugs.  “But … I … we … don’t have a phone at all where I … where we’re staying … with one of mum’s friends.  She’s got two babies who cry all the time.  Mum said I had to get out of the house for the day so her friend could sleep when the babies do.  They said my singing is too loud so … I can’t go back to the house until mum gets home from work, which is at night, and I can’t ring her to check or anything.  I wish I had a phone.  I’d ring my dad every day, just to hear his voice.  He sends me postcards.  Which I … love … but I miss his voice.  He used to sing me to sleep.  Every night.  Even though I’m nearly twelve.  But he’ll be home soon.  Once he’s earned some money up north, we can find a place of our own.  The three of us.  That’ll be cool.  And I’ll be able to sing with my dad every day and I won’t have to stay in the park until dark.”

He’s said too much, and he squirms in his seat on the swing as the worry about sharing all the things his mum said not to tell anyone twists and turns into knots in his stomach. 

“Did you make that up?”

“No, I really can’t go back to the house until it gets dark.”

“I mean the song.  Did you write the song?”

He nods.

She takes a deep breath and kicks off.  She’s swinging again and he sighs with relief.

“There’s this thing,” she says, “at the community centre every Saturday.  They have Milo and biscuits and singing.  Like a choir.  My mum runs it.”  She rolls her eyes. “Sometimes they even have karaoke.  You should do it.  We could go.”

He smiles then because he knows from Japanese lessons at one of the schools he’s been to this year that karaoke means empty orchestra.

But he’s not empty.  Not anymore.

Her phone beeps.  She scrolls though the message and wipe her eyes.  He hears the wave of laughter from the girls – her friends – in the cubby.

She jumps off the swing.  It ricochets on the chain, shooting from side to side, like it doesn’t know where to go now that she isn’t part of it anymore.

“I’m Casey,” she says.  She turns to face him.  Waiting.

He can’t believe he just spilled his entire story and now he can’t even say his own name.

Casey is already running when he yells, “I’m Nick!”

He shouts so loudly, he thinks everyone on the playground will stop and look and laugh and point: at his tracksuit pants with the holes in the knees and his mismatched socks and his uneven hair cut that doesn’t hide the scratch on his cheek that he pretends is from his mum’s friend’s cat.

But they don’t hear or see him; he is invisible to them, like always.

Casey, though … she stops.

And rolls her eyes.

He’s beginning to like the eye roll.

“Yeah, yeah,” she says.  “I know you from school.  You sit at the front of my maths class.”

“I do?”

“You do.”

He’s had his head down and eyes to the ground since moving here, when all along he should’ve been looking up.

“Come on!” she laughs.  “Let’s go!  Before all the good biscuits are gone!”

Nick runs after her, his footsteps a drum beat on the path and soon they are side by side.  The huff of his breath is the woodwind. The swish of her hair in the breeze is the strings. The brush of their arms against each other’s is the percussion.  And he realises then that the magic is not in controlling the music, but in being part of it.

Buzz Words Short Story Prize

For those of us who write for children, it will come as no surprise that there are no awards in Australia for short stories written for children. To remedy this, Buzz Words has decided to take the initiative and launch the inaugural Buzz Words Short Story Prize. As we have been unable to find a funding organisation prepared to make a grant possible, Buzz Words founder and compiler, author Dianne (Di) Bates is sponsoring the competition which will be launched today, 1 September 2018.

There will be two prizes: first is $1,000 and second is $500. The three short-listing judges are Cathie Tasker, who has worked with Australia’s leading trade and children’s book publishers — HarperCollins Publishers, Scholastic Australia and Koala Books and who currently runs a very successful writing course, Short Story Essentials for the Australian Writers Centre, author Bill Condon, winner of the Prime Minister’s Award for Youth Literature and three times winner of the CBCA Honour Book of the Year, and author Dianne Bates, recipient of the Lady Cutler Award for distinguished services for children’s literature. 

Finalist judge is author Jackie French AM, former Australian Children’s Laureate and winner of many state and national awards for children’s literature.

Entrants are invited to send up to three entries, each accompanied by an official entry form with a fee of $10 per entry. 

The story should be for children 8 to 11 years and no longer than 1,500 words.  Closing date for receipt of entries in 31 December 2018. 

The short list of 10 will be announced in the 1 February 2019 issue of Buzz Words and the winners in the 15 February 2019 issue 

Buzz Words will also publish the winning entries on www.buzzwordsmagazine.com on a date yet to be decided.

Full Terms and Conditions and Entry Form here.

The Secret of the Black Bushranger

The Secret of the Black Bushranger by Jackie French (Harper Collins Children’s Books) PB RRP $14.99    ISBN 9780732299453

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

Award winning author Jackie French has been writing a secret Australian history series and this is the third book in that series.  Readers from the ages of 7 years and on will enjoy this book that is very well researched yet easy to read.   The book contains both the actions and opinions of real people as close as possible to the historical records. French’s writing voice speaks very clearly to the reader and really does open the door into our colonial past as if she has been there.  It is entertaining story and very engaging.

What is fascinating about this story is the central character Black Caesar (John Black) who really did exist and became Australia’s very first bushranger.  He arrived in Australia from England and was never free so he fought for his freedom and became a thief.  French has cleverly filled in many gaps with fiction as very little is known about Black. She shows the human side of the times and the hard way of life in a young penal colony.

The story travels well because it is interwoven with the characters that met and interacted with Black Caesar.  The story is told from the viewpoint of Barney Bean, a young English boy who features centrally in book one in the series, Birrung and the Secret Friend and book two Barney and the Secret of the Whales.

‘The giant man looked down at me with those brown eyes. ‘If I show myself in daylight, boy, they chain me up again.’ His voice was so deep, deeper than any other I had ever heard. He drew himself up even taller. More stars vanished behind him. ‘I am John Black Caesar. I will not be a slave.’

The book allows the reader to decide if the actions of the characters are right or wrong.

History is now part of the Australian primary schools’ curriculum so this book will be a handy resource; online there are also teacher’s notes available.  Anyone with an interest in Australian history will love this book and gain a good picture of our harsh early beginnings.

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