Footprints on the Moon

Footprints on the Moon by Lorraine Marwood (UQP) University of Queensland Press PB RRP $16.99 ISBN: 9780702262838

Reviewed by Jeffery E Doherty

Humans are about to leave footprints on the moon, but what sort of mark can one girl make here on Earth?

Footprints on the Moon is a verse novel set in 1969, at the time of the moon landing and the anti-Vietnam War protests, as seen through the eyes of Sharnie Burley a young girl who is starting high school.

Sharnie’s life is becoming complicated; she is struggling to find friends at high school, her older sister Cas is becoming distant and secretive, rifts are growing in her family, and Gran has been forgetting things. Around her, excitement is building about the imminent moon landing, and tensions are building in town around the anti-war protests. Can Sharnie find her own way in this brave new world?

Footprints on the Moon is my first exploration into verse novels. I found it a little strange at first to read. With so few words on the page, it should have been a fast read, but I often found myself going over and examining sections of verse, probably a throw-back from dissecting poems at school. Parts of the text, although poetically written, could easily have been written across the page like a normal prose book, but overall, the verse format certainly fits and works beautifully well. It also helps draw the reader into Sharnie’s mind and strengthens the emotional connection to her.

This book is raw and emotional in a world full of uncertainty. It distils the turmoil of the times through the lens of one young girl, going through her own emotional battles. As such, this book would make an excellent accompaniment to school history texts. For adults who grew up in the sixties and seventies, the story releases a wave of nostalgia for those times. Although Footprints on the Moon uses historical events, the emotional uncertainty explored in the book is just as relevant today.

This is a wonderful book that I believe readers, both young and old, will adore.

Leave Taking

Leave Taking by Lorraine Marwood (UQP) PB   RRP $14.95 ISBN: 978 0 7022 6011 7

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Here is a new verse novel for younger readers from the celebrated author of Star Jumps, the 2010 winner of the Prime Minister’s Award for Children’s Fiction. The theme of Leave Taking had its genesis in the author’s own (successful) battle with cancer and her move away from the farm where she raised her children. Basically, this book is a journey through grief and a celebration of hope, with Toby, his mum and dad, leaving their family farm after the death of Toby’s younger sister, Leah. Together, they sort through all their belongings and put things aside to sell or throw out. It’s a big task, and naturally Toby doesn’t want to leave the only place he’s called home.

As his last day on the farm approaches, Toby has a plan -- to say goodbye to all the things and places that mean something special to him and Leah, from the machinery shed and Pa’s old truck to the chook house. With the help of his best friend, Trigger the dog, he learns what it means to take your leave.

As Toby says good-bye in this final week, he experiences camping, a clearing sale and a bonfire night, meanwhile undertaking chores such as milking cows, tidying up and packing.

This is a gentle story with no dramatic moments; the story action rolling smoothly through the course of the last week on the farm.

Written in easy-to-read free verse, the book will appeal to readers aged 7 to 10 years who prefer short sentences and stanzas with plenty of white space and pared-back descriptions. Simple black and white line illustrations scattered through the book with drawings on the fly pages add to the book’s appeal.

Guinea Pig Town and Other Animal Poems

Guinea Pig Town and Other Animal Poems by Lorraine Marwood (Walker Books)
PB RRP $16.95
ISBN 9781922077424
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Lorraine Marwood, the winner of the 2010 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children’s Fiction for her novel Star Jumps, has lived most of her life on a dairy farm. Being close to nature has nurtured a strong bond with her surroundings and made her senses alert to every living, moving thing. This is visible in every word and its nuance in her new poetry book, Guinea Pig Town and Other Animal Poems.

Welcome to this ‘eat and drink garden’ of ‘so many flying objects’ that will ‘never collide’. It is a brand new collection of ninety poems on 141 pages, under seven headings. They are interesting, intelligent and insightful poems that entertain whilst presenting to the reader, an intimate view of animals and insects, their surroundings and unusual habits.

Poetry is a magical medium that demands skill from the writer for its message to be relayed to the reader. Marwood is a gifted wordsmith whose clever use of assonance and alliteration has added a musical rhythm to every piece in the book.

These poems are suitable for ages 8-108.

Note on the Door

Note on the Door and other poems about family life by Lorraine Marwood (Walker Books Australia)
PB RRP $15.95
ISBN 9781921720611
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

Award-winning poet Lorraine Marwood's newest collection of poems is full of astute observations of the intricacies and eccentricities of family life. The poems are organised into sections titled: Family Notes, Holiday Notes, School Notes, Extended Family Notes, and Playtime Notes. All the ups and downs of growing up are represented by a poem - from being sick and stuck in bed to friendships to beach holidays and everything in between. There is something that everyone can relate to and the poems are accessible to all.

The title poem is a standout and one that will be read aloud in homes across Australia. The fate of the child's bedroom is one that many will relate to with the news that a "bedroom rotted away at 9.15 am this morning'. Another favourite of mine is Almost a Circus where the older sibling is so besotted by the baby brother that he is equated with a "crowd-stopping circus extravaganza".

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and highly recommend it.