Literature Live
Connecting Authors and Illustrators to Classrooms (www.literaturelive.net)
If you've ever read a book and wanted to get up close and personal with the author or illustrator who created those stories then Literature Live! is for you. If you've ever wanted to learn how to create those stories yourself, then Literature Live! is even more for you.
And if you've ever wanted to make friends with kids and teachers in schools across Australia and the world, then Literature Live! is definitely for you.
Literature Live! introduces their books as well as the authors and illustrators through interviews, reviews and book launches.
Literature Live! is the creative team of:
- Author – Susanne Gervay
- Author – Aleesah Darlison
- Author – Jeni Mawter
- Author – Laurine Croasdale
- Illustrator – Nina Rycroft
Downloads:
- Literature Live! book order form
- Literature Live! media release
- Literature Live! promotional slideshow
Launch across NSW with Connections DET
The creative team of authors Aleesah Darlinson, Laurine Croasdale, Jeni Mawter, Susanne Gervay and illustrator Nina Rycroft hit Dubbo to launch Literature Live!
- The studio was provided with thanks by iiNet21
- The technology by CONNECTIONS with thanks to Bonnie Tratt and the technical team
- The Creators were prepared with a great PowerPoint slide show with thanks to Nina Rycroft
- and scripts thanks to the whole team
Ready, Set Go – we reached 60 schools across NSW from the city to the Outback, from the beaches to country towns – It was amazing, fantastic, and we loved connecting with kids and teachers everywhere.
Literature Live! ROAD TOUR
We packed our bags and the Literature Live! team spoke to wonderful kids and teachers at schools including Dubbo Public School, Mosman Preparatory School, Balgowlah Heights Public School and Oxford Falls Grammar.
It was so much fun with the kids engrossed in our show cases:
- Jeni Mawter made everyone laugh with her So Gross book stories
- Laurine Croasdale surfed the beaches with her Surf School and Surf Sister books
- Nina Rycroft had them spell bound with illustrations from her award winning Ballroom Bonanza
- Aleesah Darlison engaged them with her Totally Twin books published by New Frontier
- Susanne Gervay captured everyone with winning against school bullying.
IT WAS FANTASTIC!
Susanne Gervay
Hi, my name is Susanne or my family call me Susie.
I am very proud to be an author and an Australia Day Ambassador, especially because my parents were Hungarian refugees who loved this country and books.
Since I was a little girl, I've always written stories. When I grew up, I still wrote stories, but now for my children and all of you. My parents would be so proud of that.
My JACK books are inspired by my son. My first JACK book is called 'I Am Jack'. My Jack's a kid like you or your friends.
He makes jokes, teases his sister, kicks a ball, tries to get out of homework, loves to take photographs and make inventions. Here are some of his inventions which he thinks are great –even though some of them don't work.
He made a dumb joke one day and the bullying started. Bullying can start from anything. If you're tall or short, got a single Mum or not, if you have freckles –just any reason. Kids do it because it's fun, makes them feel important and because they don't get it. Bullying destroys another kid and the school too.
The bullying got out of control for Jack– kids were teasing, hitting, barring him from games, other kids joined in. His friends left him because they were scared.
Every day, my JACK tried to survive. He ignored the kids at first, but it didn't work. They went for him so he'd race behind the toilets, escape into the library, try to make it through the day.
Jack should have told me, but he didn't. He didn't tell the teacher either. He thought her could handle bullying. He thought he could fix it. No one can fix bullying alone.
In the end Jack won against bullying with the help of his teacher, family, friends and YOU. And most of all himself.
Aleesah Darlison
Hi, I'm Aleesah Darlison and I write picture books and novels. I grew up on a farm in the country and that's where I learned to love animals.
Even though I live in the city now I still love the country and animals, both of which feature strongly in my writing.
Puggle's Problem for instance is about a baby echidna.
When I first saw a puggle I fell in love with them. And I knew I just had to write a book on them. Puggle's Problem is a funny story about a puggle who can't get his spines.
My next picture book is called Warambi. It's about a Little Bent-wing bat who loses her home and her family then sets up a new roost in a rather unusual place. Now if you hold up your thumb, that's as big as a Little Bent-wing bat gets.
My junior series called Totally Twins is about identical twins, Persephone and Portia Pinchgut.
When I was young I always wanted an identical twin. I wanted someone to be just like me. I thought identical twins were exactly the same.
But when I researched twins for this series, I discovered twins might look the same on the outside, but they can be very different on the inside.
So that's how I made my twins – different. I made Persephone shy, sensible and sensitive. And I made Portia outgoing, bossy and messy.
I love writing for kids from picture books to young adult books.
Jeni Mawter
I am part of Literature Live! too. I'm J. A. Mawter to my fans, Jeni to my friends, and Muuuuuum to my kids at home. Families can be funny. Families can be embarrassing. And families can drive you insane. You meet all those sorts of families, and more, when you read my books.
Now, I'd like to tell you a little bit about how writers go on a journey.
I started to write funny stories. I used members of my family, like my dog Bella who appeared on the cover of Unleashed! and my daughter, Tulli, the little ballerina who later appeared as a footballer on the cover of Team Dream.
My new picture book called The Snugglebump Jump! is about a little boy who is desperate to meet the new baby growing in his mummy's tummy.
That's what happened in my family.
I write funny stories because kids are funny – they're in my SO GROSS books.
Laurine Croasdale
I wrote for the TV show Hi5. I wrote about Jup-Jup. And when I first started writing stories for him this is what he looked a bit ratty but the puppeteers fixed his shape, put in his missing eye and added lots of colour.
I want to share a secret with you today. You know when you write stories you worry that it isn't perfect. It's just the same for writers and illustrators.
My Big Games Book took me a year to create with lots of changes. An illustrator helped me. While the illustrator worked on the illustration I played the game with lots of children and made changes so that I knew that it worked properly. When I'd finished making all my changes we sent the illustration to a special illustrator who only draws the Blinky Bill character. The finished game is now perfect.
It took me a long time to write my Surf Girl series with researching, talking to surfers, experiencing the beach culture, which is why these books are so real and girls love them.
Nina Rycroft
Hello, my name is Nina Rycroft and I'm a children's book illustrator, which means that I create the artwork for picture books.
Most of the time I work with an author's story, however, Ballroom Bonanza is a picture book that I both wrote and illustrated. Today I'd like to show you how I came up with the idea for Ballroom Bonanza.
When I was young, I loved art, but I also loved to dance. My children's great grandfather, the legendary Tommy Jones, band master and musician at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool.
When my son was a baby, together we watched the entire series of "Dancing with the Stars"...dancing around the living room was the only thing that would settle him. So, while baby slept, I learnt the fine art of ballroom dance.
Watching the show, I learnt that each year, the world's best ballroom dancers would compete at the famous Tower Ballroom in Blackpool, the same Tower Ballroom where my children's great grandfather worked as a musician.
So I put two and two together and Boom! I came up with the idea for Ballroom Bonanza.
I love illustrating and brining story to kids and adults.
LITERATURE LIVE!
Literature Live! knows story comes from everywhere. From you, me, where we live, what we think, do, see.
- Laurine 'We want to bring story to you wherever you are.'
- Aleesah 'in the country'
- Laurine 'on the beach'
- Susanne 'at home'
- Nina 'in the garden'
- Jeni 'in the city'
All Everywhere!!!