ANZAC Day 2018 – an Overdue Report

July 11, 2018 by Sally

It’s been nearly three months since I last posted here, and since in that last post I shared how excited I was about my upcoming visit to Villers-Bretonneux, it’s been very remiss of me not to post sooner. But of course I was on the road, travelling Europe for six weeks (how lucky am I?) and then, once home, there was so much to catch up on, and then I started to wonder how I could possibly capture the awesomeness of that visit to Villers-Bretonneux. And then I realsied that I could never capture it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give you a glimpse. So here it is.

Here I am rugged up in about a million layers waiting for the dawn service to start. You can see that even though I was freezing, and had been up since 1 am, I’m super excited to be where I am. It’s been a long long time in the planning to be here.

Here are a couple of snaps of the service and the crowd. Because of the light it was difficult to capture the scene or even the size of the crowd (over 8000 people). And, of course, what no photo can capture is the feeling – the most emotional dawn service I have ever attended.

And, of course, the school. Surreal to visit a place I have researched, written about, and longed to see for so long. What you can’t see in the photos is that I had to stand in the rain to get these pics – but I didn’t care a jot!

Only a taste of my visit because oddly, I think the experience was so emotional that, for once, I am lost for words when trying to describe it. But that doesn’t mean I will ever forget.

Do Not Forget

April 18, 2018 by Sally

Tom helps lay a wreath in 2008

Ten years ago my son Tom was chosen to go on an amazing trip to France to visit the Western Front as part of the premier’s ANZAC Tour. When he attended the dawn service at Villers-Bretonneux I watched on television back at home, and marvelled not just at my son being on the other side of the world, but also at the amazing connection between the small village of Villers-Bretonneux and the children of Australia.

It was a story I had only recently come to know, but it was also a story I knew needed to be shared so that it wouldn’t be forgotten.

That was the day that I sat down and drafted the story which would become my picture book Do Not Forget Australia.

Ten years later, and at last it is my turn to visit Villers-Bretonneux for myself. On ANZAC Day next week I’ll be attending the dawn service at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux and later getting to see the school at the centre of the story for myself.

I’m excited. Watch this space for photos and a report.

I’ve packed a copy of the book.

What I Read in February

March 4, 2018 by Sally

February was a really busy month for me – lots of good stuff happening as well as just general busyness. So i guess I shouldn’t be surprised to realise that I only managed to read eight books this month, which is my lowest in a very long time. Lucky there were some good ones there. My favourite this month was, I think, The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone (though it must be said that this book has an inconveniently length name!) which is great fantasy quest for younger readers (and older ones too!) in sumptuous hard cover with brilliant illustrations by the talented Kelly Canby.

As alwways, links to reviews, or to the book online, are included. Have a great month!

Children’s Books

Australia’s Great War: 1918, by Libby Gleeson

The Subtle Knife, by Phillip Pulman

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventure of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty

Pepsi the Problem Puppy, by Sandi Parsons

Stories of Life at Sydney Cove, by Susan E. Boyer

How to Feel Awesome Every Day, by Elly Awesome

Adult Fiction

The Hangman, by Jack Heath

Suddenly One Summer, by Fleur McDonald

Poetry Friday Roundup, and Some Terse Verse

February 9, 2018 by Sally

Welcome to Poetry Friday. I am really excited (and also slightly nervous) because, for the first time ever, I am hosting the Poetry Friday round up here on my blog. What does that mean? It means that other poetry enthusiasts from around the blogosphere will drop in here over the course of today and leave their links at the end of this post. You can then click through on each link and see ALL the poetry goodness on offer.

I mentioned being nervous about hosting (because I do like to do things right, and this is, as I said, my first time). I was also pretty nervous earlier this week, because I had to go to the dentist and get started on a root canal, something I had not been looking forward to, but which was necessary to get me out of the pain I was in.

The dentist was lovely, and tried hard to keep me calm and as comfortable as was possible while he was needling and drilling and prodding and whatever else he was doing. Me? I decided I would keep my mind busy with thoughts of anything other than what was happening in my mouth.

Maybe I could count backwards from a hundred? Nope. I kept losing count.

Maybe I could recite a poem in my head? Nope. My mind was blank.

Maybe I could make up a poem? Noooope. Actually, yes! But it would have to be a short one.

Haiku? Limerick? Ooooh. I had it! Terse Verse. Seemed to match both my mood (definitely terse) and the length of my concentration. My mind got very busy very quickly and, before I knew it I had ideas filling my mind (oooh, there’s a dental play on words), and had (almost) forgotten what the dentist was doing to me.

Almost, because unbeknownst to him, he was inspiring the verses. Afterwards, I couldn’t wait to get home and jot down what I’d come up with. So, here you have it, a series of Terse Verse in honour of my dentist:

To the Dentist Asking Me Questions While He Probes My Mouth

Mmmmfff grmmmmmf

To the Dentist Telling Me this is Going to Sting

No Joke, Poke

To the Dentist Making My Skull Vibrate With the Drill

Drilling’s Killing!

To the Dentist Telling Me I’m Doing Reaaaally Well

Why Cry?

To the Dentist Telling Me He’ll See Me Next Week for Another Round of Treatment

Great, mate!

(Insert sarcasm in the first word of that one!)

Goes to show you can write poetry about anything, anywhere. There is a form for every occasion, too.

If you are new to Terse Verse, my efforts might give you the idea – but if not, it’s simple. A Terse Verse has a generally quite long title (sometimes posed as a question), and then uses as few as two rhyming words to sum up the sentiment, or answer the question. Does it have to be as negative as mine? No And, just to prove that here’s a happier one

To the Snail I Met on My Morning Walk:

Swell shell!

Have you ever tried to write terse verse? Would love to see what you come up with. In the meantime, if you have a poetry post please share it in the Mr Linky below, and, whether you do or not, click through to see what my Poetry Friday friends are up to.

To My Friends on Poetry Friday

Rhyme time!

(All verses copyright Sally Murphy, 2018)

Teacher Tuesday: Creative Writing Using Looking Up

February 6, 2018 by Sally

It’s Teacher Tuesday. Previous Teacher Tuesday posts have been quite long, offering whole units of work around one my books. But this week, to mix things up a bit, I am going to try a shorter post with just one activity. But it’s one of my all-time favourite creative writing activities, and it works well as an introduction to reading Looking Up as a class novel.

So, here’s what you do. Before you read the novel, buy or make a set of birthday cards (I buy mine cheaply from discount stores), one for each member of the class, and write one for each student. You could write their name inside (ie Dear Tommy,….) OR, do what I have done in the past, and start each with Dear You, which means they can then be given out randomly. Also add a short message. When I have done this activity, I have used the same message that is used in Looking Up:

Happy birthday.

May all your dreams come true.

However, if you are feeling really creative, you might decide to write a different message in each card.

The fun bit is deciding who each card is from. The idea is that it is going to be a card from a complete stranger – someone the student has never met. They might be silly, fantastical, or completely random. Ideally, every student will get a card from someone different. Here are some ideas, which I have used:

The Monster Under Your Bed

Alan the Alien

Your New Next Door Neighbour

Officer Smith

Your Great Great Great Uncle Albert

Mrs Madge Longbottom

The Pot Plant Fairy

The Spider in Your Mailbox

So, a completed card might read:

Dear You,

Happy birthday.

May all your dreams come true.

Love,

Your Worst Nightmare

(Yes, I have used this one – the girl who got it had a lot of fun writing back.)

Now, for the activity.

Explain to the students that they are going to receive a birthday card, imagining that their birthday is coming up. Discuss: who generally sends birthday cards; what kinds of messages might they contain?
Give each student their sealed card. Make them wait to open it.
Before opening it, let them guess who it might be from.
Tell them they can open the envelope and remove the card, but not read it yet. Look at the outside of the card. Is it the sort of card they expected? Does it match their interests? Who might send them a card with a bunch of flowers/a race car/ etc on it?
Lastly, let them read the card, and share with neighbours.
As a class, have some students share their cards. Ask: Why would this person be writing to you? What would you do about it? Would you write back? Get help from a parent? Ignore the card?
Creative Writing. Either: Write a letter back to the sender, thanking them for the card and asking them about themselves. OR Write a scene where you meet the sender of the card.

After this activity, read the first two chapters of Looking Up. Make predictions about who ‘Grandad’ might be. Do students think he is really Pete’s Grandad or is it some kind of trick? What should Pete do about it? Why would his mum lie about Grandad being dead?

This activity can be adapted for students from year two through to year six. If you try it, I would love to hear how it goes.

More ideas for using Looking Up, can be found here or here.

Looking Up, by Sally Murphy, with illustrations by Aska
Published by Fremantle Press, 2017
ISBN 9781925164572

Format, Paperback 72 pages, RRP $14.99

Available from good bookstores or here. Also available as an ebook.

What I Read in January

February 4, 2018 by Sally

The first month of 2018 has been and gone (gosh, that was quick!), and it’s time to check in with what I read for January. I only managed one picture book – but it was my favourite read for the month. The Great Rabbit Chase is a delightful offering about, as the title suggests, the quest to capture an escaped rabbit. But perhaps it is the rabbit who is capturing the people – showing them a good time! Other highlights this month were Clan of Wolves, the second on the Tarin of the Mammoths series and, although it made me cry, and The Choke, by Sofie Laguna.

As always, if I have reviewed the book, I have linked to the review so you can see what I thought.