About the Come Out Festival

Thank you to the Royal Children's Hospital for hosting an inspiring day of events with Children's Laureate Boori Monty Pryor. Here is an extract from their Blog and link to watch Boori on Channel 10 News!

This week the children and young people of the Royal Children's Hospital were treated to the talents of master story teller Boori Monty Pryor. Children’s Laureate, Boori shared stories and storytelling tips with children and young people on the wards and on Main Street. Boori’s stories about finding strength to deal with the challenges life throws at us and his skill in creating positive visions of the future, resonated with many of the listeners. He encouraged children to have fun with their ideas and to think about their own stories and how best to write them, tell them or paint them.

Students coordinating the development of the Jumbunna Film Festival found his advice on crafting stories particularly useful and many children, parents and staff enjoyed listening to engaging tales from one of Australia’s most loved children’s authors. Boori’s visit to the RCH was made possible through the sponsorship of the State Library of Victoria and the Australian Children’s Literature Alliance.

You are able to view footage from this special event via the Channel 10 news clip covering his visit.

Boori Monty Pryor will begin his much anticipated tour of Victoria this May as part of his role as Australia’s inaugural Children’s Laureate*. Boori’s metropolitan and regional tour has been organised in collaboration with the State Library of Victoria to work with Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people in Shepparton, Mooroopna and the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Christine Andell, Learning Programs Officer at the State Library, is excited to have Boori as part of their Reader Development program: “[he] is a wonderful storyteller, dancer, writer and communicator, and a great ambassador for both literacy and for Indigenous culture across Australia, and beyond.”

As part of his tour, Boori will be sharing his love of storytelling, dance and writing in the Royal Children’s Hospital’s busy “Main Street” as well as leading a story workshop to help patients work on their entries for the Jumbunna Film Festival.

On the next leg of their tour, Boori will work with Indigenous students at Shepparton’s Academy of Sport, Health and Education (ASHE), before continuing on to Mooroopna Secondary College to work with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students there over two days. Special emphasis will be given to working with Indigenous students involved in the State Library’s Making Books Making Readers community publishing program, produced with the support of Kids Own Publishing. The students formed the Batja Malnigan dance group and published the Batja Malnigan Story, exploring their cultural heritage.

Phillip Guthrie, Manager at ASHE, expressed his anticipation of Boori’s involvement: “Storytelling is such an important part of Aboriginal culture. To have the chance to meet with someone of Boori's calibre and creativity is a great opportunity for our students, and for staff, here at ASHE. We hope what will happen with Boori is that the students will start to feel confident about themselves and their stories, to believe they have a story worth telling. And then, how to begin crafting an idea into a story of their own.”

Bridie MacKay, Communications, Events and Projects Coordinator
at the Royal Children’s Hospital Education Institute, welcomes the opportunity to work with one of Australia’s premier storytellers:

“Thanks to the support of our friends at the State Library of Victoria, The Royal Children’s Hospital Education Institute is delighted to welcome Australian Children’s Laureate Boori Monty Pryor to the hospital to share his storytelling skills with our young patients. These students are thrilled to be able to learn tips on storytelling and writing from one of Australia’s most loved children’s authors.”

Boori begins his state-wide tour on Monday 13 May 2013 at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

*A position he shares with co-Laureate Alison Lester.

Boori is available for interview

For publicity information or to arrange an interview please contact:

Tye Cattanach Tye.Cattanach@au.penguingroup.com Ph: +61 3 9811 2412

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?

Date: 20 - 31st May 2013

Venue:  Institute Building, State Library of SA

The Shake A Leg touring exhibition is a retrospective of the work of successful writer, story teller, performer and inaugural Australian Children's Laureate, Boori Monty Pryor.  The exhibition focuses on Boori’s acclaimed picture book and winner of the 2011 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for children’s fiction, Shake A Leg.

As well as including the original illustrations and draft works by illustrator Jan Ormerod, the exhibition also showcases large photographs of Boori's life quilt, given to him as a gift by his friend Julie Morrison:

"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."

Don't miss the Free Family Workshops as part of the Come Out Festival with Boori on Sunday 26th May, 11am and 1.30.

For more information visit: comeoutfestival.com.au

Date:  17 - 23 August 2013

In collaboration with the passionate CBCA team in Alice, Alison Lester will visit schools, libraries and be part of the School of the Air distance learning program for Children's Book Week 2013!

Watch this space for more details!

Date:  6 - 9 August 2013

Entry: View Curtis Coast Literary Carnivale website 

In 2013, the CCLC committee is thrilled to announce that the inaugural Australian Children's Laureate Alison Lester will participate in the CCLC's fourth biennial 'alternate-year' project FROM REEF TO RIGGER: This is My Place!
Alison Lester's work is ideally suited to the CCLC's aim of initiating local stories in written and visual texts. She will also promote the Laureate's work as a reading ambassador, and further the Laureate's individual writing and illustration project.

The FROM REEF TO RIGGER project will enable a region-wide focus on the unique aspects of this place and region. It will also invite students to express their feelings about living here. At the end of the 2013 project we aim to have created both a virtual and physical gallery of local images and stories made up of students' responses (Yrs 2-5) to their environment and to Alison’s unique style.

To book your place visit: Curtis Coast Literary Carnivale 

Date:  24 - 25 May 2013
Venue:  Pan Pacific Hotel, Perth

Entry: Visit the EYES website for more details.

Alison Lester will be one of the Key Note speakers at the 2013 Sustaining Best Practice: Early Years in Education Society Conference, Perth.

To hear Alison speak at the conference view the full program here. 

To book your place visit: http://eyes.org.au/conference/2013-conference-may-23-24/

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.