Today’s article is a reprint, submitted to me by Hazel Edwards, and with the permission of its author, Darren Sandford. Whilst it is an interesting tale of how one kids book came to be published, it is also a wonderful example of the importance of keeping the rights to your books when they go out of print. Thanks for the piece, Hazel.
Gang-O Kids: A fun book for a new generation of O-Kids!
by Darren Sandford, Orienteering publisher
www.osoa.com.au
article first published in The Australian Orienteer, 2008
Interview with Hazel Edwards, author of Gang-O Kids:
Where did you get the idea for the book?
My family used to orienteer each weekend at a different place. We belonged to Emus Orienteering Club. Orienteers notice stuff. That’s why I thought of making my Gang into sporting sleuths who solve mysteries. As a former national literacy champion, I’m aware of the need for easy to read stories where the language and structure may be simple but the action and mystery will attract varied age readers. An emphasis on incidental fitness while running to solve a mystery is a fun way to gain exercise for body and mind and links to health curriculum and the current anti-obesity health campaign.
Are the kids based on real orienteers?
The characters are made-up. They are composites, based on habits I’d noticed in several kids, plus my imagination. But the story is based on real events, like the elastic on the O pants breaking, as the kids ran in at the Finish.
How did you make up the characters?
When you have a gang, they each need to be good at different things. To make up a character, I create a ‘dossier’ of all their details, like name, height, hobbies, what they are good/bad at doing.
How did you meet Darren from Orienteering Service of Australia?
Darren contacted me via my website, hazeledwards.com, where I have a list of my current and rights reverted, out-of-print titles as well as book discussion notes and speaking gigs… Darren is an orienteer who owns an orienteering shop too, so he knows the right ‘’O” language. He was keen to publish orienteering stories for children. Darren did the editing and organised an illustrator and a printer for the manuscript.
Does anyone check your facts?
Usually I ask an ‘expert’ to check my stories to see if I’ve used the right terms. e.g. D.N.F. (did not finish). And I ask a ‘naïve’ reader, usually a kid of the appropriate age to read it just for the story.
I try to write simply, so the story is easy to understand and easy to record for later audio books.
Gang-O Kids (ISBN 978-0-646-48847-9) is published by Omotivo, and can be ordered online from www.osoa.com.au for $11.95 plus postage.
www.hazeledwards.com for author discussion notes, literacy links and gigs, plus book launch details.
Interview with Omotivo Publisher Darren Sandford
It’s been quite some time since there’s been a fiction book based around orienteering, particularly a children’s junior novel. However, that’s now changed. A new title, “Gang-O Kids”, by Australian author Hazel Edwards has just been released.
Gang-O Kids is an easy- to- read children’s chapter book. The book is designed for readers from about 7 to 11 and especially those interested in sport There are four individual chapters featuring the adventures of a gang of five kids. Jamie-the-Brainy, “Mars Bar” Mario, Kate and twins Tina and Emma are all members of the “Bunyip Orienteering Club”. They get together on the weekends at Orienteering events and find themselves in situations where their mystery solving skills are put to the test.
Disclosure: as publisher of the “Gang-O Kids”, I have a vested interest in seeing the book sell, but I also am keen to help promote Orienteering to a new generation of kids. As such, I wanted to share with the readers of Australian Orienteer how this book came about and how I hope to ensure that many primary school and local libraries have a copy available for interested kids or even literacy sets for reading groups. .
In mid-2007, after taking over Orienteering Service of Australia, I was scouring the internet for new titles related to Orienteering. While we stock a great range of various instructional type books and manuals, on the whole, I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t too many titles published recently. On doing a search, I hit upon Hazel Edward’s website which advised that publishing rights to “O Gang” and “O Gang Again” were available. I did a bit more research and learned that these were popular children’s chapter books published in the mid-80’s. Curious to learn more, I emailed Hazel. After finding out that Hazel lived in Melbourne, we had chat over afternoon tea one Sunday and both agreed that if she modernised the manuscript, Orienteering Service of Australia would publish a new edition with new illustrations. The rewrite date was to be by the end of January 2008.
Christmas 2007 soon came and went, but we remained in contact. Hazel tackled the rewrite as promised, but then came down with an illness which required hospitalisation. I had been pretty relaxed about the timeframes on the project, until a recovered Hazel advised that we had an opportunity to launch the book at Children’s Literature in the Centre conference in Alice Springs in May. Seeing as I hadn’t yet organised the illustrator, typesetter, cover designer and printer, I was a bit taken aback, but we decided to go for it anyway!
I had made a contact while travelling in Ireland in September 2007 who agreed to take on the cover and text design. Once again the internet came in handy, so after reviewing online portfolios and sending out a heap of emails, I selected an illustrator from Brisbane. Her name is Kim Woolley, originally from the UK. Kim had illustrated about 30 children’s books in the past and was excited to take on illustrating “Gang-O Kids” even with the tight timelines. Finally, Hazel’s vast range of contacts put me on to Ken Linn of Hyde Park Press, Adelaide. Like Kim, he was also willing to help guide me through the maze tasks, decisions and terminology that are publishing.
While working with Hazel we decided to shorten the book and simplify the language to aim at newly independent readers. The illustrator, Kim, and I decided to focus on developing characters that looked like everyday contemporary kids who happened to enjoy orienteering. The idea was to make the cover eye-catching and show the dynamic, energetic kids really enjoying themselves running in an Orienteering event. The internal illustrations in the book are set in various scenes, such as camping out prior to an Orienteering, running in an event and getting involved in adventures in the bush.
Hopefully, the book will be read by thousands of primary school age students over the next few years. The hope is that there’ll be a new generation of kids enthused by reading about Orienteering adventure stories of the Gang-O Kids running through the bush, navigating with map and compass, camping out and helping out at O events.
Gang O Kids Reviews by Students
This book will inspire children because of all the funny mysteries. It’s also got a great character profile at the start. Enjoy reading this book.
Grade 4 Alisha
Highvale PS
I would say it was good because it gives profiles of the characters at the start. It is very funny and I would give it a 5 ½ star rating.
Grade 3 Markus
Highvale PS
I recommend this book because it is fast and adventurous. I suggest a kid of any age who loves a short, funny novel would enjoy reading it.
Grade 4 Cathey
Highvale PS
I enjoyed reading this book because it had a funny storyline.
Grade 3Clement
Highvale PS
I think that this book is very interesting and full of adjectives. I recommend this book for all ages because I think everyone would enjoy reading it. I rate it 10 out of 10.
Grade 3 Louise
Highvale PS
This article is printed here with the permission of Darren Sandford and Hazel Edwards. Content may be copied for personal use only.