Shake a Leg... Get ready. Get Set! GO!

Posted on 21st May, 2013 by admin

Another behind the scenes post this week to show you the talented Books Illustrated team, Ann James and Ann Haddon, hard at work hanging the Shake a Leg exhibition at the State Library of South Australia as part of the Come Out Festival.

They were helped by SA ACLA team Jane Covernton, from Working Title Press, and Sue Hill from the Little Big Book Club.

A huge thank you to Books Illustrated and the dedicated South Australian Laureate contingent who have organised Boori's exciting events at the Come Out Festival and Alison's recent tour to APY Lands! What a team.

The exhibition team! Fiona Bowden (The Little Big Book Club), Ann Haddon and Ann James (Books Illustrated) and Sue Hill (The Little Big Book Club).

Sharing stories about Boori's books while designing the plinths.

Boori's beautiful Magpie Award and photographs from his Life Quilt by Julie Morrison (in the background).

Original artworks by Jan Ormerod from 'Shake a Leg' and examples of the different versions of book cover designs (provided by Allen & Uwin).

Watch Boori's film 'Warrima' (created by YouthWorx Media), view memorabilia from his life, awards and his published children's books.

The 'Shake a Leg' visitors' book... a perfect find!

Don't forget to sign it!

Our first message... from the lovely Ann James

 

'Shake a Leg' exhibition starts its 2013 tour!

Posted on 14th May, 2013 by admin

Here is a sneak peek at behind the scenes at the Laureate this week...
We are very excited to be packing the Shake a Leg exhibition which is travelling in its new packing crate to the State Library of South Australia in Adelaide.
The exhibition, curated by Trish Barnard, Senior Curator Indigenous Studies in QLD, is showing between 20-31 May during the Come Out festival in Sth Australia. Included in the exhibition are Jan Ormerod's beautifully creative and original illustrations which illustrate Boori's stories in their picture book Shake a Leg. Boori's many awards including his 'Laureate Magpie', Prime Minister's Award for Shake a Leg and other memorabilia are also on show for all to admire.
Also in the exhibit are large images of Boori's life quilt, made for him by quilter, Julie Morrison, which depict Boori's various interests and skills.
So if you are in Adelaide, we encourage you to grab a friend and 'shake a leg' over to the State Library to view this great exhibition while it's on.
Geri Barr, ACLA Project Manager, packing the Shake a Leg exhibition in its beautiful new box!

APY Lands – Day 2

Posted on 7th May, 2013 by admin

Alison: Day 2 in Ernabella (Pukatja) actually started late the night before, when just before bedtime there was a strange noise at the gate and quite a commotion outside. When we went out to investigate we found that we had visitors, 3 donkeys. It looked like a mother, father and baby donkey. They were so cute and all 3 of them put their noses up against the window to see what was going on inside. They looked a bit hungry so I gave them a piece of bread each.

Another early start this morning finishing off printing copies of the book that the Kenmore Park students made yesterday, quick breakfast, another visit from the cheeky baby donkey who wanted to come inside the house, and then it was time to head off to the Ernabella School to make books with the kids there.

The Ernabella school is lovely, but we had to make sure that no dogs came in with us through the gate because they are not allowed on the school grounds. We met the junior school kids in their classroom and started to talk with them about all the things they liked doing around Ernabella. Lots of the girls liked playing softball and dancing while many of the boys liked going out bush looking for animals and travelling around this beautiful part of Central Australia.

The kids couldn’t wait to start drawing and painting and all the boys decided that they wanted to sit on a different table to the girls so they set up their own work area. It didn’t take long for some beautiful work to appear on the watercolour paper. So many bright, vibrant colours which will look wonderful in the book. They also recorded some great stories to go with their pictures. Everybody worked so hard and all the teachers and AEW’s were really impressed.

The afternoon was spent with the AEW’s (Anangu Education Worker’s) and AEC’s (Anangu Education Coordinator’s) in a workshop which they learned how to make books from scratch and the process of loading the art work onto the computer and using the program to sort the order of the pages and print.

It was great to see the Kenmore Park kids again and they were thrilled to receive a class set of the book that they made yesterday. They also made some postcards using our ‘Australian Children’s Laureate’ postcard stamp, and a few of the girls wrote to their families down at Yalata and will send the postcards in the mail.

Tomorrow we will go back to the school in the morning and present the book “Ernabella – This is My Place, to the kids who worked so hard to produce it. Thanks to the teachers and AEW’s for all their support and assistance today, it was a great day. I wonder if we will get another visit from the donkey family tonight?

 

 

Day 1: Australian Children’s Laureate Alison Lester visits Kenmore Park Community in SA

Posted on 6th May, 2013 by admin

Alison Lester: "This morning we set off from Uluru very early to travel to the small community of Kenmore Park in the APY Lands, in South Australia. Travelling with me were Lee-Ann Buckskin and Joyce Louey from CARCLEW Youth Arts and my Project Manager John Cooper. The 4WD was jammed packed with our luggage and lots of art supplies that we were taking to schools to make books.

We soon left the bitumen and began to wind our way into the Musgrave ranges along a great sandy red dirt road. The sun was shining and the ranges sparkled above the green grasses and desert oaks which had obviously enjoyed recent rain. We passed a few homesteads, lots of bullocks and the odd kangaroo and arrived at Kenmore Park about 4 hours later.


We were introduced to the Principal Tuppy, who showed us around this fabulous school, one that everyone in Kenmore Park is very proud of. The kids were just coming out for their morning break so we met some of the girls, along with the other teaching and school support staff.

We then went to the Library to begin our work. Lots of students had turned up which was great and we spent some time talking about all the things that the kids like to do in and around Kenmore Park. It sounded like there was always lots of things happening here and the kids told stories about things like mustering cattle, donkeys making funny noises and being attacked by magpies! I was thinking that the drawing and painting part of this project was going to be fun.

The art room was great and we moved into there and started drawing. Some of the kids were a bit slow to get going but they really persevered and worked hard to produce some wonderful work, using  pencil, crayons and watercolours, which will be put into a book to keep at the school.

At the end of the day we were treated to a beautiful performance, when some of the girls (and boys) sang their special song – Kenmore Park Cowgirls. It was fantastic, and topped off a great day. Thanks to CARCLEW and the people of Kenmore Park for having us.

 

Guest blog post from Honey Bee Books: Storytelling with Boori Monty Pryor

Posted on 27th April, 2013 by admin

We've asked Melissa Squire of Honey Bee Books blog if she would like to be a guest blogger. She had a very special experience meeting Boori Monty Pryor on his recent ACT Tour. The tour included the 2013 CBCA Shortlisting announcements and dinner, storytelling workshops at the National Library of Australia and regional libraries; Queanbeyan, Dickson and Woden, as well as being the special focus of the whole-school read aloud in Turner Primary's Indigenous Reconciliation Garden. What a trip!

We'd like to say a huge thank you to all the partners involved in the tour, especially ACLA's board member Maureen Brooks from the National Library for pulling it all together and establishing such strong new partnerships in ACT for the Laureate project going forward.

Storytelling with Boori Monty Pryor - Melissa Squire

Originally posted on Honey Bee Books blog, Monday April 15th 2013

"Spread the write words to make ours a nation of readers and storytellers!"- Boori Monty Pryor.

We were fortunate enough to attend a storytelling session with one of the two inaugural Australian Children's Laureates, Boori Monty Pryor, earlier this week at our local library.

I almost didn't go (you know, one of those days) but I am sooooo glad that I did because it was an amazing experience for my children and myself!

Boori Monty Pryor is the most charismatic, passionate and engaging storyteller I have had the pleasure to listen to. He weaved his storytelling magic and captured the imaginations of the entire audience, who all happily joined in the storytelling experience. As I looked around the young audience, they were simply spellbound! Laughter filled the library!

I thoroughly enjoyed the stories that he shared, but it was how he told them that really impressed me. So instead of simply sharing a review of his books, (which are wonderful and I highly recommend them) I thought I would share some of my observations on his storytelling techniques.

Here are 3 of Boori Monty's storytelling techniques that I observed:

1. Start with some fun and simple questions
The audience was engaged from the very beginning! After introducing himself, Boori asked the audience a series of questions, getting everyone to put up their hands up in response:

  • Hands up if you love your Mum?
  • Hands up if you love your Dad?
  • Hands up if you love eating chocolate?
  • Hands up if you love eating chocolate frogs?
  • Hands up if you love eating real frogs? EWWW!

As you can see, they were simple questions that even the youngest in the audience could respond to and hands were going up everywhere. The final questions tricked a few of us, which got everyone laughing. It also perfectly lead into his main story based on his book My Girragundji, where he shared some of his boyhood antics with his pet frog and his family of seven sisters and three brothers.

2. Make the audience active participants in the story
Another method Boori used was to have the audience provide fun sound effects throughout the story. Whenever he said 'scary' we all had to say "oooooo" in our scariest ghost type voice. Whenever he said the word 'funny' we all had to laugh. This technique was used throughout the story and the children loved it. We were being invited to be an active part of the storytelling process rather than sitting passively and listening. Plus it was lots of fun!

3. Get the audience up and moving
As we all know young children don't like to sit still for too long. Fidgeting and wriggling is often a sign that their attention is waning. This certainly wasn't an issue for Boori! Storytelling though dance is an important part of indigenous culture and Boori taught us how to Shake a Leg! While he played the didgeridoo and clap sticks, the children paired up to re-enact a dance that told the story of a boy who didn't listen and the crocodile.

I know this storytelling experience will have a lasting impact on me and my children. In fact, Emily was so taken by him that she actually had a chat to him after the session, which really surprised me as she is always so shy. He was wonderful with her too, taking the time to listen to what she had to say. She even wanted him to come home with us! Each day since meeting him, she has talked about him or the stories he told.

If you have an opportunity to see Boori Monty Pryor in action, drop everything and go! You won't be disappointed. In the meantime, you might want to check out his books!

On our way home via the Tate Modern for a catch up with the UK Laureate Team!

Posted on 27th April, 2013 by admin

Just before we flew home we met the UK Laureate team at the Tate Modern to swap stories from the tour and past year. Now in their 8th year of the program the UK team, John Dunne (on the founding committee of the UK Children's Laureate project) and Katherine Woodfine, had some invaluable ideas to share. They were both very excited to hear about the next International Summit at Bologna in 2015.

Just think how many more countries might have Children's Laureates by then!?

Swapping Stories: Irish and Australian Laureates, National Library of Ireland, Dublin

Posted on 27th April, 2013 by admin

To finish the tour, Children's Books Ireland organised a fascinating Swapping Stories Q&A with Alison, Boori and Irish Children's Laureate Niamh Sharkey at the National Library of Ireland, Dublin.

We'd like to say a huge thank you to Niamh Sharkey (Laureate na nÓg/Ireland),  Siobhán Parkinson (first Laureate na nÓg/Ireland) and the fantastic team at Children's Books Ireland for making this very special opportunity a reality.

Then onto the Verbal Arts Centre, Derry (UK City of Culture 2013)

Posted on 27th April, 2013 by admin

The came another warm welcome by James Kerr and the Verbal Arts Centre team in Derry. After a BBC radio interview kids came pouring in for the afternoon workshops and the questions asked by Irish TV celebrity host, Joe Mahon, created an electrifying Q&A.

Images from the Laureates touring across Australia, and the magnificent work created by the children they inspire, left the audience in awe. Alison's Rodeo art project in Borroloola was a particular surprise - most of the audience had no idea that rodeo existed in Australia.

The Irish Tour begins... Crescent Art Centre, Belfast!

Posted on 27th April, 2013 by admin

Met at Belfast airport by the lovely Damian Smyth (Arts Council of Northern Ireland), we couldn't have been made to feel more welcome (especially in our rock-star tour bus).

The team at the Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, ran a seamless ship with a beautiful welcome ceremony passionately opened by Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council Northern Ireland, followed by Junior Minister Jonathan Bell.

Many congratulations to Damian Smyth of ACNI, Keith Acheson, manager of the Crescent and all the wonderful staff at the Crescent for a superbly organised day!

Meeting the Australian Children's Laureates at Bologna

Posted on 22nd April, 2013 by admin

In Bologna Alison and Boori spent two hours each day at the Australian Publishers Association stand and 'Hello! from Australia' Books Illustrated exhibition. Here they met with international publishers, agents, publicists and creators as well as made new friends from the Australian publishing community.

There was a very welcoming atmosphere and the calibre of Australian creators represented in the exhibition as well as those there demonstrating created much interest to visitors.

 

 

 

 

'Sophie Scott Goes South' awarded White Raven Status!

Posted on 22nd April, 2013 by admin

Congratulations to Alison whose recent picture book Sophie Scott Goes South was chosen for the highly prestigious White Raven Catalogue 2013.

The White Raven label is given to books that deserve worldwide attention because of their universal themes and/or their exceptional and often innovative artistic and literary style and design. If you like to find out more visit the White Raven website here.

Allen & Unwin 25th Anniversary Dinner

Posted on 22nd April, 2013 by admin

On Monday 25th March (first evening of the Bologna fair) Alison and Boori were special guests at the Allen & Unwin 25th anniversary dinner where each of the 50 guests received one of their books. As a surprise Boori performed his Shake a Leg story with every international publisher, agent and publicist joining in; this was chosen by Publishers Weekly as a 2013 Fair highlight!

 

 

Special Laureate Stamp

Posted on 22nd April, 2013 by admin

As a present to the Laureates the ACLA team created a special postcard stamp to be used during Alison's demonstrations on the Australian Publishers Stand and on tour in Ireland! Why not try making your own 'This is My Place' postcard at home.

The International Laureate Summit: Right to Culture

Posted on 22nd April, 2013 by admin

Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor represented Australia in their honorary role as the inaugural Children’s Laureates at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in its 50th anniversary year (25 – 28 March 2013).

Five Laureates and Reading Ambassadors attended the International Laureate Summit on Monday 25th in the busy Authors' Cafe; Johan Unenge (Sweden),  Niamh Sharkey (Ireland, current Laureate), Siobhán Parkinson (Ireland), Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor (Australia).

There was an extremely exciting exchange of ideas at both the public and private meetings including a unanimous endorsement that 'all children have the right to culture.' As well as encouraging other countries around the world to establish a Laureate program with the aim of organising an International Laureate Summit at Bologna every two years as a permanent part of the program.

Siobhán Parkinson (Ireland, first Laureate), Johan Unenge (Sweden),  Niamh Sharkey (Current Irish Laureate), Boori Monty Pryor and Alison Lester (Australia).

Photos from The Big Draw Newcastle Region Library

Posted on 21st April, 2013 by admin

Thank you to Julie Swane and Carol Edmonds (and all the support team!) at Newcastle Region Library for hosting Alison Lester as part of the Big Draw Newcastle. With 1,970 people through the door and 400 kids taking part in both Alison's Antarctica-themed mural and The Arts Emporium drawing activities inspired by her Kids Antarctic Art exhibition, it was a real success!

Julie Swane, Newcastle's Children's and Young Adult Librarian, was thrilled with the response:

"We had a wonderful day on Friday. Over 400 hundred children were involved in drawing activities at the library and Alison was also very popular signing books. She was certainly a big draw-card and we greatly appreciate you making her available for us on the day.
It was also lovely spending time with Alison and getting to know her."

And visitors were obviously delighted by the opportunity with guest book comments including...

"How lucky we are to be part of something so special. Thank you to all who organised 'The Big Draw.' "- Katrina.

"A great thrill for us to meet Alison Lester and enjoy the day drawing." - The Huber Family.

"What a great day. A wonderful sense of community has been created." - Andrew

"Thank you Alison for all the pleasure your books have given my family over the years and thank you for coming today. And thank you to the organisers for setting this up too!"- Julia.

Awesome day of drawing! - Skye.

Alison also had great time, leaving her own message....

"Lovely to see these old friends again in such a beautiful setting. I love Newcastle." - Alison Lester

Alison demonstrating watercolour painting techniques at the Big Draw

Removing the masking tape border of a 'This is my place' postcard - always an exciting moment.

Then onto the collage workshops!

Getting stuck into collage-style drawings at the Big Draw.

Fans queue for to have their favourite Alison Lester book signed.

Enjoying the Kids Antarctic Art Exhibition at the Newcastle Region Library, as part of the Big Draw.

Alison Lester and Carol Edmonds (Education and Promotions Officer)

Julie Swane (Children's and Young Adult Librarian) and Alison celebrate the mural of art created at the Big Draw.

Alison Lester embraces children's wild sides

Posted on 18th March, 2013 by admin

A favourite tweet during Alison's talk at the 'Where the Wild Things Are' Wheeler Centre's Gala...

 

 

 

 

If you're interested in hearing more by Alison on this subject listen to her interview on ABC Radio National Books and Arts Daily, Where the Wild Things Are turns 50. 

Tips on making books by Alison Lester

Posted on 18th March, 2013 by admin

1. Scan the art at 300dpi and save them as jpgs. if you scan at 600dpi and it makes everything very big and slow to process.

 

 2. You can adjust the brightness setting on the scanner if the scans look a little dull.

3. To tidy up the pictures I open them in microsoft office or microsoft picture manager. auto correct is great for brightning up the pix. I can’t find an eraser in this program so if I have to erase anything I open it with paint.

4. Draw up a story board to organise the book, 24 pages is a good number but any multiples of 4 will work. Figure out what words and pix are going on what pages. This storyboard is a great help once you start putting the book together in publisher.

5. Open publisher and select your page size. I use A5 landscape for the little books. There are all sorts of templates available but I haven’t been able to find one I like.

6. If you double click on the A5 page it will pop up on the left of the screen. If you right click ( I think ) on it there, it will offer new page, and if you click on that it will ask how many pages. If you type in 23 and click you’ll then have your 24 pages down the side, ready to drop your text and pix in.

7. There is a list of things along the top to help you arrange the pages and you will find them as you go. You seem to be able to fiddle with sizes and layout even after you’ve saved it so it's pretty useful. Some options only pop up when home is selected, or design, or when you’ve selected the pic on the page, but as you work on it you’ll figure it out.

8. When its all done, save it and press print. When the print tabs pop up you select; print all pages, booklet, side fold, A3, manual two-sided print ( flip sheets on short edge ) go into printer properties and select; landscape, other inkjet papers.

 9. The printer might give you a procedure to figure out how to put the paper back in the printer for the second side to be printer but I put it in exactly as it came out and that worked fine.

Enjoy!

If you'd like inspiration about what to write and draw why not get involved with my 'This Is My Place' Laureate project. Here's the link: 

http://thisismyplaceproject.wikispaces.com

 

There is nothing I love more than to hear children laughing, and there was plenty of that!

Posted on 18th March, 2013 by admin

We have another lovely guest post, this time from Ngaire at Frankston Library:

I just wanted to pass on some feedback as we had Boori Monty Pryor come to Frankston Library for a storytelling performance.

Boori was really wonderful and engaging with the children.  We had invited a local school of 2 classes of Year 4 to walk down to the library and for the full hour he had their attention and imagination captured, encouraging them to participate verbally and physically within the stories he told.  He was humourous and warm and ensured the adults attending (we also had a Special Needs group attend with carers, teachers and myself) were also included in his questioning and storytelling.

There is nothing I love more than to hear children laughing, and there was plenty of that last Friday. Boori was a fantastic representative for literacy and it was a great honour to host him at our library.

Ngaire Keane

Frankston City Council — Frankston Library

Guest post from Thornbury Primary

Posted on 18th March, 2013 by admin

Hi my name is Jasmine Cordy and I am a teacher at Thornbury Primary school, where we have a strong Indigenous community. A couple of weeks ago Boori Monty Pryor came to share his story 'Shake a Leg', it was truly inspiring and I find myself still talking about what he did with our kids three weeks later.

Enjoy the pictures,

Jasmine Cordy
Thornbury Primary School

Love2Read Feature 44: Children's Laureate Boori Monty Pryor

Posted on 10th February, 2013 by admin

If you didn't catch Boori's fantastic interview on the Love2Read website in December here's a taster... (read the full article here).

It has been a special year for me both as a National Year of Reading ambassador and the inaugural Children's Laureate, a position I share with Alison Lester.

I was thrilled to be a guest storyteller at the official Canberra opening of the 2012 National Year of Reading with Jennifer Byrne, William McInnes and Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. A particularly special moment was when Bryce Courtenay came up to me afterwards and said 'your story had the perfect structure, and the perfect bones within that structure.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading is a way to survive. It's like traditional hunting. With hunting, if you don't listen and learn from what other people tell you - through their stories and by letting them take you to special places - you won't survive. Literacy is similar. We're going to make a better nation if we can all read and write.

A special activity I have been working on during the National Year of Reading is the Storykeepers documentary with Meme McDonald, Jon Staley (Youthworx Productions) and Ian Jones (The Tracker, Ten Canoes).  - Boori Monty Pryor

(Photo: Boori and Meme at the Celebration of the first year of the Laureate at City Library, Melbourne c/o Love2Read website). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here was our favourite answer to his 20 questions (read all here)...

 

A warm farewell to a year of reading at the Royal Children's Hospital

Posted on 9th February, 2013 by admin

Visit the Royal Children's Hospital's blog to read about Alison's adventures at the Royal Children's Hospital for a 'farewell to a year of reading'. Here's a taster...

Alison Lester’s visit delighted children in the Day Cancer Centre and on the hospital’s Main Street where patients and their siblings learned some of Alison’s techniques with watercolours to create postcards and Christmas cards. Young readers were excited to meet the author of some of their favourite picture books.

 

 

Children's Laureate visits the School of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE)

Posted on 23rd November, 2012 by admin

We hope you enjoy this charming guest post from Cathy Scott, teacher librarian from the School of Isolated and Distance Education. Check out their website here.  What a fantastic resource!

Children’s Laureate visits the Schools of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE)

Boori (Monty) Pryor’s visit to SIDE on 14 November was an absolute treat.  Children attended two sessions with Boori – a Year K-4 session in the morning and a Year 5-10 in the afternoon.  Boori spoke to over 90 children using Centra, the online classroom.  We were able to watch Boori on video cam, listen to him with VOIP and view images in the online classroom.

Boori, THANKYOU SO MUCH for your awesome stories today. We have all had a great laugh! The children were from rural and remote areas of Western Australia, other parts of Australia, and SIDE students who are living overseas.  Not only could we see Boori, but some children allowed us to turn on their video cam so that Boori could see them listening and doing the actions.  It was a wonderful opportunity for us all.   Here are some sample comments at the end of the session:

 All your stories were really awesome!! I think that you are awesome too!!!!!!!

 Your stories were so funny! I really like when you said 'is this fence shaped liked a crocodile'? Thank you so muc. We hope you come back again to tell more stories

 Hi Boori I really love your stories. They are so funny. Thank you so much for telling your stories :)

 I love your story Boori.  Thanks.  Travel safely.  Bye Bye.

I liked listening to the crocodile story and the spit snot story.

Our thanks to the Australian Children’s Literature Alliance for loaning us Boori, the Literature Centre in Fremantle for facilitating the visit, Cathy Scott and Halina Sobkowiak at SIDE, and all the SIDE and SOTA families and teachers who made time to come online and get to know Boori and his stories.

 

Alison surfs her way to the Inverloch exhibition opening

Posted on 20th November, 2012 by admin

Inverloch Library currently have an exhibition of Alison Lester's to celebrate the success of National Year of Reading 's Are We There Yet? touring exhibition. The exhibition will be on until November 30th if you'd like to check it out.

In true Australian Children's Laureate style Alison surfed over to the children taking part in the exhibition opening as well as launching the swellmamas illustrated board. There was fish n' chips, Zart Art kids workshops, and of course, Story Time with Alison as well.

Thanks to the Inverloch Library team, Books Illustrated for curating the exhibition, Swellmamas, and the National Year of Reading for organising the event!

Here is a great shot of Alison!

Alison Lester at the Rodeo, Borroloola NT

Posted on 16th October, 2012 by admin

Alison: I recently returned from the Northern Territory town of Borroloola, which is situated close to the coast of the Gulf of Carpenteria.

I was there with my friend Maree. She was there to help the community make a mosaic mural and I went to work with the kids and adults to make books. Our visit coincided with the local rodeo where people from all over the NT and interstate came to have lots of fun! Lots of the kids and adults were getting around in brand new gear, including hats, shirts and belts and they looked fantastic. Lots of the kids from the school rode in the rodeo, competing in the junior bullride! It was great to watch.

We wanted to make a few books over the two weeks and the first book we made was called “Reading with families”, which we did as part of the Families as First Teachers program. This is a great program which emphasises how important it is to read to little children. Our book was great and it showed other people how to make books.

The kids were telling me that lots of people refer to Borroloola as ‘the fighting town’, because there was a lot of fighting going on there. This made the kids feel sad so we decided to make a book about things that cause fights. The adults thought this was a great idea too so we worked really hard and made a book called “The Fighting Town”.

In the book there was lots of yelling and the people had been fighting for so long they actually had forgotten what they were fighting about. The Rainbow Serpent hears all this fighting and decides to visit to see what is going on. The final book we made was called ‘Borroloola Stories’.

I had a wonderful time in Borroloola and a big thanks to everyone who helped organise the visit and worked so hard with us over the two weeks.  I will never forget the running of the Borroloola Cup with the horses running down the rodeo track!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being able to read well is like a gold pass to the world.

Posted on 4th September, 2012 by admin

Children's Laureate Alison Lester and children's author Rosanne Hawke supported the GREAT Day event organised by the Principal and Staff of Gilgandra Public School by sending inspiring messages about reading...

Alison's message, Friday 31st August

“Hello to everybody at Gilgandra. I hope you are having a wonderful GREAT Day.  It’s good to celebrate books because they make our lives so fabulous.  If you can read you are never lonely and never bored.  You can travel anywhere, meet anybody, be whoever you’d like to be and feel terrified, happy, brave and sad.

If I am very worried about something, so worried that I can’t sit still, I read.  I have a couple of books I use in this way and they always do the trick.  They take me to another place, away from the worry that’s driving me crazy.  If you are a terrific reader you will know all this already but if you are still struggling to read, persevere, keep at it! Being able to read well is like a gold pass to the world.”

ACLA think this is a fabulous community  initiative and encourage people all over Australia to get involved. It has been running since 2005 and if you would like find out more please visit:

http://gilgandralibrarybookchat.blogspot.com.au/

Gilgandra Shire Library Facebook page

Everything Around Town Day - Reading 'Are We There Yet?' by Alison Lester

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo c/o Gilgandra Shire Library Facebook page

 

Stories to Make Mountains Start Breathing by Judith Ridge

Posted on 3rd September, 2012 by admin

We recently found this fabulous article, Stories to Make Mountains Start Breathing, by Judith Ridge written for the March/April 2006 issue of The Horn Book Magazine. Judith explores a number of Children's Laureate, Boori Monty Pryor's books written in partnership with Meme McDonald.

Here's a taster:

BY JUDITH RIDGE
When Popeye Bobby walks in, everybody stands back. He’s real gentle this old fulla, but no one messes with him, neither. He’s real powerful… He can tell you stories that make mountains start breathing.

—from The Binna Binna Man
by Meme McDonald and Boori Monty Pryor

n 1998, at the height of a popular movement for social, political, and spiritual reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, a remarkable book was published. Maybe Tomorrow is a memoir, written by Boori Monty Pryor, an Aboriginal Australian who hails from the Kunggandji and Birra-gubba nations of far north Queensland, and his partner Meme McDonald — a migaloo jalbu, or “white woman,” in Boori’s peoples’ language. Maybe Tomorrow tells of Boori’s life as an Aboriginal man living between two cultures; his work as a storyteller and performer in schools, prisons, and libraries; his family and the many tragedies they have faced. The memoir’s perspective on the often-difficult relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia is particularly noteworthy because it is told with dignity, humor, optimism, and a total lack of bitterness or anger. It’s a book I believe every Australian ought to read...

Read the article in full here.

A message from Alison Lester on her adventures in WA

Posted on 20th August, 2012 by admin

Alison: I have just returned from spending the past 2 weeks in Western Australia working with schools which are part of AISWA (Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia).

The first community I went to was Yakanara, which is nestled between the Great  Sandy Desert and the St. Georges  Ranges. We had to fly on a small charter plane from Broome which was flown by our pilot ‘Holly’. She was such a great pilot and she was really short and had to sit on a cushion so she could see out the front window of the plane!

I spent the week at Yakanara working with the students, adults and teachers making books based on their stories. We made 2 books; ‘Yakanara Day’ and ‘Yakanara Dogs’. My friend Maree worked with the students to make a big mosaic mural.

The community was great and everyone was so friendly. Malcom took us for a drive to the flood plains where we saw Brolgas, Bush turkeys and Scrub Bulls. We needed a long arm stapler and the school didn’t have one so we had to go to Noonkanbah which was 90 minutes away to get one!

I was lucky enough to play basketball with the women and girls and then we watched to local footy team, the Yakanara Dockers train!

Thanks to everyone in Yakanara for a wonderful and memorable visit and I hope you enjoy the books and mural!

It was a quick stop in Broome and then down to Perth for a flight to Kalgoorlie to work with the students at CAPS Kurrawang School, which is about 20km from the goldfields town.

The week was spent working with about 12 students and we made 2 books, ‘Kurrawang Counting’ and ‘Kurrawang Stories’.

All of the books we made were fantastic and the students did a great job! Thanks for everyone who assisted at Kurrawang, I had a great time! Back to the freezing cold weather in Victoria!

Here are some photographs from the trip - enjoy!

Me and Patricia in Kurrawang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the huge goldmine at Kalgoorlie. You can see it from the moon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Yakanarra from the plane as we were leaving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Queensland Librarians performing the 'butterfly dance' at the SLAQ conference

Posted on 22nd July, 2012 by admin

Thank you to the president of the School Library Association of Queensland (SLAQ)  for inviting Laureate Boori Monty Pryor to be a Key Note Speaker at the 2012 conference and for his positive and supportive feedback!

Congratulations to ACLA and Boori Monty Pryor (Inaugural Children's Laureate) for an outstanding keynote address at our 2012 Cairns Conference.

Delegate feedback has been overwhelming as we watched enthralled as a master wove his storytelling magic.

Australian children will delight in this special chance to be included in the story.

Toni Leigh, President SLAQ, Inc. (The School Library Association of Queensland)

Boori had the whole audience performing The Butterfly Dance

Auction for autographed "Shake a Leg" raises funds for Storykeepers

Posted on 22nd July, 2012 by admin

L - R: Allan Ford, Jenny Austin, Liz Jorgensen, Bronte Bailey and Tony Ford.

Thanks to Liz Jorgensen (Hambledon State School) and Bronte Bailey (Caravonica State School), aided by $200 donated by Allan and Tony Ford of LibCode, who were successful in their bid for the autographed copy of "Shake a Leg" by Boori Monty Pryor, donated by Jenny Austin of Harley's Educational.

The money will be donated to Boori's exciting Laureate film project Storykeepers! 

Boori Monty Pryor and Marj Osborne at the SLAQ Conference

Posted on 22nd July, 2012 by admin

ACLA Chair Marj Osborne recently hosted Boori at the SLAQ Conference where he spoke passionately about his work as Laureate. This was a great start to his tour of Far North Queensland as Laureate - here is Marj's lovely comment about his visit:
Had a wonderful week in Cairns - learning, catching up with old and new friends. Honoured to meet Boori at last and to host him at a fabulous conference...seeing him in action I know why I do what I do!

Boori Monty Pryor and Marj Osborne


A busy week!

Posted on 22nd July, 2012 by admin

Alison: It has been a busy week, doing lots of art work for upcoming books and trying to stay warm in the freezing Victorian winter!

I have been getting art work together for an upcoming exhibition at a new gallery not far from where I live, a tiny place called Maryknoll. The Maryknoll General Store is having an exhibition of my work and Lachie Humes work (Clancy the Courageous Cow & Banjo Bounces Back). The Exhibition opens on July 8th (2-5pm) and will run for a month. So if you are in the area, make sure you pop in and have a look!

A while back I did some work in China and one of the places I went to was an orphenage for Tibetan children in the south west of China. I promised that I would send them some art supplies so the children could keep working after I left. Micador have kindly donated some lovely art supplies including some great drawing pads, watercolours and brushes. We are going to make a short movie about how to use the materials and what they can create with them!

Alison's news from Tasmania

Posted on 9th July, 2012 by admin

Alison: I was very happy to be back in Tasmania again, so soon after the launch of Sophie Scott Goes South, at the end of May. Hobart in the winter is cold but beautiful!

On the first day I worked at the Kingston Library with my mates from Margate Primary School. The 2 classes made some beautiful watercolours about a place that they love. In the afternoon I read stories to little kids and their parents and that was loads of fun as well.

It was a great day and the staff at the library were wonderful. That night a few of the teachers took me for a run along the side of Mt. Wellington! Needless to say I slept very well that night!

I was back at the library on the second day, this time working with students from Kingston Primary, who walked to the library from their school. The young students drew animals and stuck crazy eyes on them, while the older students created some beautiful watercolours about the place that they love. That evening my friend and fellow illustrator Coral Tulloch and I spoke with people from the Hobart CBCA organised by Patsy Jones, which was a really lovely night.

The next day I had a wonderful day at St. Therese's Primary School in Moonah. It was a busy day working with 3 different groups, but one of the most enjoyable and inspirational days I've ever had in a school! The day ended with reading stories to a large group of students and the Southern Cross TV news turned up to film!

Maria from St. Thereses said these lovely words about the visit:

I would like to thank you for the very special day you gave us at St Therese's. You were an inspiration to all, students and staff.  You have inspired so many children here - those artistically inclined in particular - to follow their dreams and ... well, DRAW.

My final day of this leg of the Laureate tour was at Bruny Island! I had to get up early and drive to the ferry, it was a lovely drive through farmland and I arrived just in time for breakfast, which was some yummy porridge cooked by the principal! The students worked really well and made some great watercolours about the place they love. Its wonderful to see so many different visual images of places that are so special to all the children! I even had my first ever 'Wallaby Burger"!

It was a very busy week in Tasmania, but I had so much fun and was inspired by all of the places I visited. I hope that the students were inspired also, and use some of the materials that were left at the schools to keep drawing and creating!

Thanks to everyone who helped organise this leg of the Laureate tour and a special thanks to the teachers, librarians, students and parents who participated and help make it a wonderful week and the supportive CBCA Tasmania representatives Patsy Jones and Carol Fuller.

Showing students from Margate Primary around the 'Are We There Yet?' exhibition at Kingston Library.

Me and CBCA Tasmania

Working with students on their 'This is my place' postcards at Bruny Island District School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Receiving a lovely thank you artwork from Bruny Island District School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor in conversation at the Wheeler Centre

Posted on 8th July, 2012 by admin

This video was filmed as part of the Wheeler Centre's Children’s Book Festival, co-presented with the State Library of Victoria. The 2012 and 2013 Australian Children’s Laureates Boori Monty Pryor and Alison Lester joined Paula Kelly to discuss their travels as part of the Laureate programme – as well as their love of reading, the value of inspirational storytelling for kids, their plans for further books and their love of meeting children all over Australia.

Alison Lester at Elizabeth South Primary School

Posted on 8th July, 2012 by admin

As part of her tour of South Australia - read more about this in her CBCA speech in the post below - Alison Lester spent the day with Elizabeth South Primary School.

Teacher Librarian Sue van der Veer, who organised Alison's event, emailed us with some photographs to show you, as well as letting us know how Alison's workshops and advice have continued to influence her students...

"Thanks for the opportunity of spending the day with Alison. It was magic, easily the happiest day of the year so far. What's been great has been watching the students apply this learning to other aspects of their schooling. I had a student in a recent lesson tell me that she wanted to rewrite her rough draft - "Just like Alison Lester who told us that she changes the words over and over and over, until it's right."

She happily signed our library copies of her books, and I can't keep them on the shelf since her visit." - Sue van der Veer (teacher Librarian.)

Alison and Philip (student) are holding up their watercolour postcard artworks created as part of Alison's 'This is my place' special Laureate workshop.

If you would like to get involved at home or at school visit the Kids page of the Children's Laureate website for information on how to make your own post card.

 

Alison also read her very large copy of Magic Beach to the reception classes who, as you can see from this photograph, were completely captivated!

This was followed by a drawing workshop and questions about how to write and illustrate their own stories.

To finish off the day Alison was presented with this beautiful thank you card.

Teacher Librarian Sue van der Veer and Alison Lester at the end of a great day together at Elizabeth South Primary, SA. Thanks Sue!

Alison Lester's Speech from the CBCA Multi-Storied Conference, 2012

Posted on 29th June, 2012 by admin

 

Alison Lester was invited to speak as the inaugural Children's Laureate at the welcome reception of the Children's Book Council of Australia's National Conference this May.

At the CBCA reception event Alison was introduced by the former National President of the CBCA, and ACLA's Chair, Marj Osborne. Both speeches were incredibly inspiring so we have included them below for you to enjoy as well.

Marj Osborne - Chair of ACLA 

" Good evening ladies and gentlemen.

In 2008, a group of people met to discuss a brilliant idea – an Australian Children’s Laureate – an advocate for children and reading. So, from the grass roots level of people interested in children’s literature, the Laureate Project was born.

In December 2011, our Laureate was launched: not one person, but two voices who unite in a single message – that the children of Australia should join their circle of story.

Story is the heart of our Laureates – Alison Lester and Boori Monty Prior.

Different but together, Boori and Alison are united in their work. They invite children to read, write, create, be imaginative and be a part of something.

Boori tells stories which originated 30,000 years ago, weaving children into the stories of our history and our culture through dance and storytelling.

Alison encourages kids to see story as belonging, painting them into the places they love through art and story. Like the interwoven strands of the double helix, Alison and Boori are weaving their magic with the children of Australia.

From Antarctica to Alice Springs to Adelaide, Alison as Laureate is drawing kids in, inviting them to learn about their land, about themselves. So, ladies and gentlemen, it’s my pleasure to introduce our Inaugural Children’s Laureate: Alison Lester."

 

Alison Lester - Inaugural Australian Children's Laureate 

"I would like to thank everyone who has supported the Australian Children’s Laureate Project: the CBCA, the SA Department of Education and Early Childhood, the SA government – specifically Jay Wetherill who had the foresight to recognise it as a worthwhile thing, ACLA, booksellers, librarians, teachers, parents, publishers, children and the Salteri family trust who are the project’s major sponsors.

I am delighted to be one of the first Australian Children’s Laureates and especially delighted to share the position with Boori Prior. To be chosen from all the wonderful children’s authors in Australia is an enormous honour.

For two years Boori and I will travel around Australia as ambassadors for children’s literature and literacy. Between us we will visit every state and territory. Maybe the reason we were chosen is because we both do this already. Boori has worked with more than a million children and I have seen a fair few too. 

We both have strong connections to the land and love helping children to tell their own stories. Boori through song and dance, me through books. We work in cities and towns but we also travel to remote indigenous communities. Over the years I have visited remote communities with Ann James, Anne Haddon, Liz Honey, Rosalind Price, Jane Godwin and Sue Flockhart, a star cast of children’s book professionals. It’s been a pleasure and privilege to work with them alongside adults and children in the outback, turning stories into books.

Boori and I are both undertaking projects over the two years. Boor is making a film of his work with children. My project is a book, by children for children.

It is called This is my place and its planned to include about 100 kids writing/drawing/painting and photographing their lives – from children in remote communities to those from cities, from kids who live in commission flats to those who grow up with everything money can buy. I hope it will be a book that shows the many different childhoods in Australia, how not everybody gets the same opportunities.

When I’m working in schools, the thing that strikes me is how fabulous kids are. They are all bursting with potential. Sadly, many don’t all get the chance to shine. Poverty and lack of education means that m

any children never reach their potential. It shouldn’t be that hard to fix this but funding for education is always inadequate and poor schools always get less than the wealthy ones.Since the launch at Carclew last year I have toured Victoria as laureate. The tour started at the State Library where I worked with, kids from Springvale and Carlton, then I had a beautiful afternoon with children at the Royal Children’s Hospital. For the rest of the week I visited, Mooroopna, Mildura, Geelong, and Ballarat and all the kids along the way were full of beans.

This week I’ve been at Willunga Waldorf and Elizabeth South Primary. I met great kids in both schools but I couldn’t feeling there is a massive difference in their chances, dictated by the socio-economic status of their communities.

Readings is like a gold pass. Once a child can read properly they have a window into another world – a different world to whatever they live in.It is the most important key to having a fulfilled life, yet nearly

half of Australian’s can’t read properly. Reading helps us understand, emphasise and sympathise with others. There is no excuse for a child to leave primary school not reading but we need more resources and funds.Last year the Victorian government scrapped the Young Reader’s Program, which gave a picture book to every newborn baby. For many families this was the first picture they’d ever had in their home, a key to a new world of books.It beggars belief to see a project like this stopped.

For what? To put armed guards on railway stations!

Its time that government listened to the experts and got behind the push to improve literacy.

They should fund a librarian in every school and pour money into literacy programs.A nation of readers is going to be a clever, compassionate, educated, high achieving nation.

People who can read are not likely to be causing trouble on train stations.

Finally, I think we need to look after our children better. Every child should have a book and a bed to read in it."


Boori Monty Pryor visits Strathfield campus

Posted on 15th June, 2012 by admin

 

Australian Children’s Laureate Boori Monty Pryor entertained Australian Catholic University (ACU) staff and 100 school students from St Anne’s and St Martha’s Strathfield on Friday 8 June 2012.

The staff and school children were so enthralled they blogged about it on their Library News. Thanks for your support ACU!

Shake a Leg promoted by Booktrust UK

Posted on 11th June, 2012 by admin

 

Boori's picture book Shake  a Leg, illustrated by Jan Ormerod, is highly praised by the UK's Booktrust charity (responsible for the Children's Laureate in the UK).

Here's their review:

"This award-winning picture book celebrates the diversity of peoples and traditions in Australia.

When three boys go for a pizza, they discover that although the owner can speak Italian, he is actually from an indigenous Australian background. With his family, his everyday life is 21st-century, city-bound and multicultural, while their time off is spent celebrating the rich diversity of their traditional life, and this spills into everything they do. He tells the boys legends, teaches them some of his language, and his family paint the boys’ bodies so that they can take part in indigenous dances, learning about the people who were in their country long before other settlers came.

A revelatory look at the richness of Australian life."

Booktrust UK

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rugged Times blog Interviews Laureate Alison Lester

Posted on 11th June, 2012 by admin

Driz-Bone clothing store - which since 1898 has been producing genuine, rugged apparel made for the individuals and industries shaping the Australian outdoor way of life - recently interviewed Children's Laureate Alison Lester on their blog. Rugged Times.

With a focus on outdoor living, Alison was the perfect interviewee as a Children's book illustrator and author who loves horse-riding, animals and the outdoors.

Creative Director Stephen Bennett spoke to Alison about her work, creative inspiration and growing up in the country.

SB: What was the inspiration that sparked you to write and illustrate your wonderful and successful book My Farm?

AL: This was a really obvious one to do—as soon as I found my feet as a writer and illustrator, I wanted to do [this book] because there was so much material from my childhood.

SB: We particularly loved the sketches and story in My Farm of the cattle muster and droving from the lease on Wilson’s Promontory. Can you share a few of your memories of these times and events with us?

AL: I was actually too little to ever go, so it was all very much a romantic dream for me. We used to wait for Dad and Uncle Jack to come back and they always had amazing stories of, you know, big bullocks they’d found that had been left in the bush for four years that had huge, big horns on them, and so on. There was a very famous time when Taffy, one of our dear old stock horses got bogged in quicksand on the beach.

Illustration from 'My Farm' by Alison Lester

Alison Lester in Wilcannia with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation

Posted on 7th June, 2012 by admin

Thanks to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) for sharing this recent photograph of Alison's 'This is My Place ' workshop at Wilcannia and for their supportive message on facebook:
Wonderful site and work. We'd like to share this pic taken at an Indigenous Literacy Foundation workshop which Alison Lester so generously gave for the kids from Wilcannia. See more on:www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au

Support the Australian Children's Laureate on your website, blog and Facebook

Posted on 8th May, 2012 by admin

If you would like to support the initiatives of the first Australian Children's Laureate - Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor - please share our charming logo (illustrated by Ann James) on your website, blog, facebook or pinterest!

We have also included an email signature too. Thanks for your support, Oz Laureate.

You can also follow us on facebook and twitter.

 

Bringing everyone 'into the circle'

Posted on 27th April, 2012 by admin

Ben Jones, a former student of Laburnum Primary School, was so inspired by meeting Laureate Boori Monty Pryor and reading his book "Maybe Tomorrow", written with Meme McDonald, that he created this News Broadcast book review.

This creative response encapsulates Alison and Boori's combined aim, in their role as Laureate, to inspire children to tell their own stories. As this video demonstrates, there are many ways to tell a story!

Paintings inspired by Alison's Workshop: "A Place You Love"

Posted on 23rd April, 2012 by admin

During Alison's exciting tour of Melbourne and Regional Victoria she inspired many young people to paint a postcard about 'a place they love'. Here are a few we wanted to share ...

 

Carlton Primary School during the Children's Book Festival

Illustration by a visiting student as part of Alison's workshop at Geelong Regional Library

Illustration by a visiting student as part of Alison's workshop at Geelong Regional Library

Illustration by Stephanie, created during Alison's workshop at Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne

Illustration by a student from St. Joseph's Springvale during the Children's Book Festival (School's Programme)

Illustration by a student from St. Joseph's Springvale during the Children's Book Festival (School's Programme)

This quilt is my telling of the Boori that I know, admire and love...

Posted on 5th April, 2012 by admin

Julie Morrison, a close friend of Boori Monty Pryor talks about why she dedicated 10 months to creating a very special and precious life quilt for her friend Boori. Thank you Julie for this detailed and inspiring article:

 

"I like to sew and to quilt and Boori had admired my quilts; he mentioned to me one time that he would love it if I made one for him. That set me to thinking; I could design a quilt of blocks that had meaning to him. A personal story quilt.

My first move was to ask him to draw around his hand (his very large hand). I knew that I wanted that to be a rock painting hand, in the centre of the quilt. The rest of the blocks evolved. I used google images to help me design the appliqués when my limited drawing skills became evident.

The top left hand corner is gum leaves. Those not only represent Australia, but also dance.  I have been at  presentations when Boori teaches the little ones to do the mosquito dance; they dance to music and wave the gum twigs and leaves to brush off the mossies. The kids just love it.

Moving across the top, the next block is the kite. This bird has significance to Boori and his life.

The next block is music. The boomerang and clap sticks are used for rhythm when he plays the didg.

The right corner is writing. Boori got his first computer just a few years ago. Before that he would have an exercise book and pencils always in his bag and would write wherever and whenever he could.

Going down one row is My Girragundgi, the frog. Everyone knows that story now, but I first heard it before the book came out when he told it to my then 6 year old granddaughter to dry her tears.

Across from that is his hand. For the quilters, it is reverse appliqué with his hand shape the same as the rock.

On the right hand side is a North Queensland gecko. They are everywhere up here and we hear them at night as they hunt around the lights for moths.

Under the hand is a library. Boori is a great supporter of libraries and the library at his old school, Garbutt State School has been named for him.  It also represents the books he has written.

Under the library is the didgeridoo. Boori has played this all over the world. The kids just love his stories of playing the didg, especially the one about the fly.  He is a very skilled musician and says the kids names through the music.

On the right hand side then, is the crocodile.  Boori’s family comes from Yarrabah (near Cairns) and he has told me of sleeping on the beach listening to the big crocs barking nearby.

Across the bottom are my interpretations of aboriginal art. On the left is the turtle, then the meeting place, then the fish and the bottom right has a kangaroo.

Across the whole quilt a rainbow serpent winds its way. The rainbow serpent formed Australia, so this serpent starts in snow, goes through cold desert, then the hot sandy desert, up through heat and bushfires, across through the wildflowers then down to the bush, finishing in the rainforest.

It has been quilted with gum leaves all around the edge, then boomerangs, clap sticks and meeting places across the body.

The whole quilt is made of cotton from fabrics that I collected all across North Queensland.

It was fun to make. Stories about people, events and lives can be told in words, painted as art, written in books or sewn into fabric.  This quilt is my telling of the Boori that I know, admire and love. I think that there will be a lot of people who can see him in this quilt.  He said the only thing that I left off was the basketball! No, I am not making another to include it."

Julie Morrison

Boori Monty Pryor's Life Quilt by Julie Morrison (Photograph c/o Queensland Museum)

Alison at Yarra Junction Library

Posted on 30th March, 2012 by admin

Thank you to Maria Mithen, Youth Services Librarian, at Yarra Junction Library for her lovely email about Alison's recent visit.
"It was such a joy to have her here. I felt uplifted by her. I felt she related beautifully with the children in a gentle inclusive way. We had a great day.
Alison was amazing. Particularly for the mixed audience we had. Over a 100 squashed into our children's room. For the older kids she showed the process of drawing and producing a book, her new Antarctic illustrations and photographs, lots of her sketches, and told some of her life experiences.
What a lovely lady. Very generous in signing and gave out bookmarks. We can't wait to send in the results of our project on 'Are We There Yet' at the end of the year."
Maria Mithen

Meeting Boori 14 years later...

Posted on 27th March, 2012 by admin

This is a guest post by Brigitta Ragg, a teacher from Blackfriars' Priory School, who wanted to share her touching experience of meeting Laureate Boori Monty Pryor:

Last week our school was lucky enough to have Boori come and speak to our year 8 students. I shared a story with him and he asked that I share it with you...

When I was a student in Year 8, some 14 years ago, I remember going to the library to hear Boori Monty Pryor speak. I had always been interested in books and reading, but as far as I can remember he was the first “real life author” I had ever met. I cannot remember any specific thing that he spoke to us about, but I do remember that I was so inspired by him that I immediately borrowed his book “Maybe Tomorrow” from the library and read it in a matter of days. I remember his energy, his passion, and the way he told a story and made me feel like he was just speaking to me.

Well over a decade later, and now a teacher myself,  I was recently informed that Boori would be visiting our school to talk to my Year 8 class. I wondered if my memories of him had been inflated over time and whether he would live up to the somewhat magical character I had created in my head. I needn’t have worried. In the much-dreaded time slot of last lesson on a Friday, Boori captured the hearts and minds of nearly 150 Year 8 boys. They laughed until they cried and when they caught their breath, they laughed again. He captivated them with stories of his childhood and inspired them with his messages of understanding and inclusion. I could see by their faces that they, too, felt like he was speaking just to them.

I met Boori Monty Pryor for one hour, over half my lifetime ago, and had never forgot him. I am so grateful that my students were able to have that same experience.

Thank you Boori, for continuing to do what you have always done so well and allowing me the opportunity to be inspired by you all over again.

Brigitta Ragg

To read more about Boori's visit to Blackfriars’ Primary School visit their library blog

Kirsty Adderley, Boori Monty Pryor, Anna Patching and Brigitta Ragg

Alison - Kid's India Art

Posted on 18th March, 2012 by admin

I've started painting the pictures for a project called Kid's India Art that I started when I was in India in 2010. This one is called Minaret and was drawn by a student from Connecticut in the US.

 

Alison - A Wedding Pinata

Posted on 18th March, 2012 by admin

This is a pinata I made with my daughter Clair, for our friend Georgia's wedding. We used heaps of glue and it was very hard to break.

 

 

Alison - On the Road

Posted on 18th March, 2012 by admin

Just before Christmas I helped my friend Christa walk her cows up to the high plains. We were on the road for three days. These ears belong to my horse, Woollyfoot.

 

Boori's first post!

Posted on 9th December, 2011 by boori

“I am truly excited by this opportunity to have a national focus on stories – for kids and by kids – celebrating the work we do together, and creating ways to share it with each other. We will perform and live our stories, write and read our stories, sing and dance our stories, and cook and eat our stories! It’s such an honour and privilege to be chosen as a Laureate and a chance of a lifetime!”

Alison's first post!

Posted on 9th December, 2011 by alisonlester

“I am jumping out of my skin with excitement at being named one of Australia’s first Children’s Laureates! It’s an enormous honour. I love helping kids tell their stories and I believe children’s literature is hugely important for their understanding of themselves and their place in the world.  Stories can take you anywhere, make you anyone, teach you everything. I’m really looking forward to working with children all over Australia.”

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