Love kids of The Adventist School Centra...

  Thankyou to the kids and teachers of Central Coast Adventist School  for loving I Am Jack and my JACKS! ‘I Am Jack’ is a core study at the Adventist School for a term. As I entered the library, it felt like  I was welcomed by friends. The warmth of the kids and teachers was a special way to end nearly 2 months on this Book writing tour. It was so much fun driving with my daughter Tory from Sydney to the Central Coast especially since my GPS went crazy. We ended up at this Buddhist Cafe and gallery set amongst rolling hills and the green countryside....

Book Week at Juniperina Juvenile Justice...

 The walls are high, the security is tight – locks, guards, security codes. I’ve entered the world of Sunning Hill Education in the  Juniperina Juvenile Justice Centre (JJJC). The teachers are welcoming and professional. Their goal is to give these girls vocational and social skills so that they won’t have to be incarcerated again. I am given a serious induction session- the security and the way it operates. I have the privilege of being in the staff meeting where the weekend reports are read out and discussed – this young offender was unsettled,...

Wahroonga Primary School Welcomes I Am J...

Beautiful school, beautiful kids, who loved ‘I AM JACK’ -which I was presenting to them through Young Australia Workshop. Wahroonga Public School nestles in the bush with kids happily running around. Love it. The students are really bright and engaged in the issue of bullying – they want a safe school. So do I. I AM JACK is endorsed by The Alannah & Madeline Foundation, keeping children safe from...

Writers in the Environment at Brewongle ...

Brewongle Environmental Centre  is nestled in between eucalyptus trees and red banskia bush. I drove over the Hawkesbury river, then through villages, fields and into bushland.  I loved crossed the river on the Sackville ferry. The  craggy sandstone reddish cliffs are beautiful. Brewongle is a NSW Education Department environmental school, learning centre and bush retreat. Authors Simon French, Sue Whiting, James Roy and I were there to inspire talented kids to write. The kids ran into the 1878 sandstone school house with its wooden porch and stone masonry wash stand...

Warm Welcome at Saint Louis High School ...

Louise Whelan award winning photo journalist and I were welcomed at St Louis High School bu 810 high school students who sang to us. Their singing was beautiful and they cheered us for visiting. After a tour of the school grounds, I was invited back to speak to the teachers. I spoke about my books, especially ‘I Am Jack’ and  ‘Butterflies’ and the power of real story in reaching kids.     Jill Finanne coordinator of the Pacific Calling Partnership spoke after me about climate change and gave them a trial teaching kit with an invitation to...

Wendy Blaxland’s ‘How are th...

I launched Wendy’s series of 12 books ‘How are they Made?’ to hundreds of enthuisiastic Abbotsleigh girls dressed as their favourite book characters. The research is huge, the books really, really interesting and fun on things around us – paper, pencils, plates & mugs,  sneakers, knives & forks, bottles and jar, jumpers, helmets, basketballs, guitars, cans -  I love the recycling focus too.    Jacqueline Harvey coordinated the Abbotsleigh Literature Festival and was MC of the launch. She’s also the author of the popular series...

India- IASA Conference -India & Aust...

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne hits you in the guts with racism and how it destroys all of us. The Curious Incident of thd Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon takes you into autism and suddenly you get it and care. My ‘I Am Jack’ drops you into bullying and the isolation, fear and how to work it out. Kids’ books emotionally engage young readers and change the world. I’m speaking about: – ‘Youth Literature: A Global Strategy for Social Justice’ using my books to illustrrate this – at this fantastic conference in...

The Book Chook – Great Blogger for...

Susan Stephenson, The Book Chook Blogging about kids’ literature and literacy http://thebookchook.blogspot.com Editor of Literacy Lava   The Book Chook    Book Reviews, I am Jack, and Super Jack Posted: 09 Jan 2010 04:18 PM PST One of my favourite books ever is I am Jack, by Susanne Gervay (Angus and Robertson/Harper Collins Publishers 2000). A couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to see I am Jack performed on stage in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia), and what a treat that was! In my post about it, I described the performance as...

2010 – Exciting things:Kids & ...

Some of my ‘babies’ promoting STORY as a way to reach the world for 2010 are:- International Conference in GOA India – January 2010  SCBWI International Conference at The Hughenden 17-19th September 2010 The Kids & YA Literature Festival at the NSW Writers Centre Rozelle 3rd July 2010 My new book ALWAYS JACK comes out for Breast Cancer Awareness month October 2010 I AM JACK in the USA published by Tricycle (Random House USA) PEACE for Kids – 5th Nami Island Children’s Book Festival, South Korea – IBBY (IBBY), UNICEF, UNESCO -...

Wishing Everyone A Joyous Festive Season...

Thankyou to my parents who are always part of me, my family, friends, writers, illustrators and colleagues in Australia and around the world for a year of challenges and love. Some of my friends are facing great personal, emotional and health hurdles. I am in awe of their courage and I send my deepest love to them. Healing love. To feel loved is to find spirituality;  to love others is to experience greatness; to hurt is to prove humanness.   (Buddhist teaching)  I feel loved, love others and I have hurt because I am human. Thankyou for taking social justice...