Aidan Chambers 1935-1925

Image source: Writers Review

I know from experience and from visiting schools that the library can, and should, be the cultural and educational heart of a school, the place where pupils are stimulated and helped to become readers for pleasure, as well as the best resource for information. The success of this depends on the skill, book knowledge and energy of the librarian. (source)

Before you dip into my post take a few minutes to read this wonderful and heartfelt blog entry by my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything. 

I found a few quotes by Aiden Chambers:

• Readers are made by readers - it is so obvious it is almost banal to say it.
• Life is not like a novel, but a novel can be like life. The best ones always are.
• You become a reader by reading the literature, not by reading the handbooks about it.
• Books are like friends, they stay with you for life.
• The power of literature lies in its ability to make us think and question.
• Literature helps us to understand and navigate the complexities of human emotions.
• A good story can change the way we see the world.
• Reading is not a solitary act; it connects us to a larger community.

A few facts about Aidan Chambers:

• In 2002, he was awarded the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award (acceptance speech)
• He worked extensively in the field of education, specializing in English language teaching and literature.
• Chambers is a passionate advocate for young readers and the importance of literature in their lives. He has actively supported initiatives promoting reading and literacy and has served as a judge for several prestigious literary awards, including the Carnegie Medal.
• Aidan edited a number of short story collections and wrote two novels for children – Seal Secret and The Present Takers. However, he was particularly admired as a writer of YA fiction, or as he termed it, youth fiction.

Read more here from IBBY.uk

You can all a full list of novels (especially YA novels) by Aidan Chambers here. 

My focus (as you have also seen in the Kinderbookswitheverything post) is on his philosophy and wisdom about reading and our young library users.

See the detailed version of this here. 

Basic Questions 

• Was there anything you liked about this book? 

• Was there anything you disliked? 

• Was there anything that puzzled you? 

• Were there any patterns – any connections – that you noticed? 

General Questions  

• Have you read any other books like this one? 

• Has anything that happened in this book ever happened to you? 

Special Questions 

• How long did it take for the story to happen? 

• Who was telling – who was narrating – the story? Do we know?  How do we know?

"What is it that enabling adults do? They provide, stimulate, demonstrate and respond. They provide books and time to read them and an attractive environment where people want to read. 

They stimulate a desire to become a thoughtful readers. 

They demonstrate by reading aloud and by their own behaviour what a 'good' reader does."

Here are a few text quotes that resonated with me:

"This process of building up pleasurable experience and extending the length of time we can concentrate, depends on regularly giving of oneself to books that replay the effort. So, providing time to read and helping learner readers attend to rewarding books for longer and longer periods of time is an important part of an enabling adult's job."

"All other obstacles in the way of learner readers can be overcome it they have the help and example of a trusted, experienced adult reader."

"Reading aloud to children is essential to helping them become readers. And it is a mistake to suppose that reading aloud is only needed in the early stages ... Ideally every child should hear a piece of literature read aloud every day."

"The message to any pre-service (teacher) must be to read as much as you can now, because you (might) never have such a good chance again."

The enabling adult: readers are made by readers; know yourself as a reader; protect your time to read; visit bookshops; share books at a staff meeting and more!

John Marsden (27 September 1950 – 18 December 2024)

Image source: John Marsden website

John Marsden profoundly impacted the world of literature, particularly with his enthralling young adult novels such as the ‘Tomorrow’ series, which we have previously described as ‘the best series for Australian teens of all time’. His ability to encapsulate the essence of youth struggles and aspirations in his works has left an indelible mark on readers worldwide. A storyteller like no other, John’s books were a masterclass in the creation of characters, plot, pacing and setting.  Pan Macmillan

John Marsden was best known for his Young Adult book series and titles such as Tomorrow when the War Began but here are the titles that I would also like to highlight. I have put the covers I remember - many of these do have updated newer covers. You might also like to notice some of the wonderful illustrators featured here too - Matt Ottley, Shaun Tan, Peter Gouldthorpe, Sally Rippin and Craig Smith. I should also mention my former school and library had a small connection with John Marsden because his niece and nephew attended my school and he kindly gifted us many of his picture book titles.

This one was a very popular class read aloud in several of my previous schools

This is a very important book that explores the issues surrounding the detention of refugees. 

Read more here. 

Read more here.

Read more here

1988 Winner, CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers

Bio from Goodreads: John Marsden was an Australian writer and school principal. He wrote more than 40 books in his career and his books have been translated into many languages. He was especially known for his young adult novel Tomorrow, When the War Began, which began a series of seven books.

Marsden began writing for children while working as a teacher, and had his first book, So Much to Tell You, published in 1987. In 2006, he started an alternative school, Candlebark School, and reduced his writing to focus on teaching and running the school. In 2016, he opened the arts-focused secondary school, Alice Miller School. Both schools are in the Macedon Ranges.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted, “John Marsden wanted young Australians to read more, and his writing made that happen. Vivid, funny, quintessentially Australian, he wrote with a real love for our land and a true sense of our people’s character. His was a great Australian voice that spoke to all ages, here and around the world. John’s work will live long in our national memory.” Kirkus

Read some tributes and other links:

• Sally Rippin Sydney Morning Herald 19 December, 2024
• 2019 ABC Radio interview Life Matters
• The Conversation 19 December, 2024
• ABC News
• Children's Book Council of Australia

John Marsden's tips for parents (Victorian Parents Council's Facebook Post August 23rd, 2019)

1. Give children space. Back off. Let them roam. Let them be bored. Don't over-plan their lives. Cut way back on the after-school activities programs.

2. Keep away from all those ghastly, soulless, sterile playgrounds. Keep away from shopping malls. Look for real places. Wild places.

3. Be an adult. Say no to your children at least once a day. If the role of adult in your family is vacant, then one of your children will fill it. And it won't be pretty.

4. Don't take up all the space. If you are dominating, loud, forceful, your children are highly likely to become passive, lacking spirit and personality … and/or sullen.

5. Believe about 40 per cent of the dramatic stories your children tell you of the injustices, corruption and satanic practices happening at school.

6. Teach them empathy. For example, after their jubilant victory celebrations when they win a sporting match, remind them that their jubilation was only possible because someone else – the losers – have been made to feel awful.

7. Help them develop language skills. Don't finish their sentences for them. Don't correct them when they mispronounce a word – they'll work it out sooner or later. Ask them open-ended questions, that need a detailed answer, not Yes/No questions.

8. Make sure they have regular jobs/duties at home and that those jobs are done to a consistently high standard.

9. Don't whinge endlessly about the miseries of your adult life. A lot of children now are fearful about growing up because their parents paint such a grim picture of the awfulness ahead.

10. Teach them to be very wary of people who Absolutely Know the Absolute Truth about Absolutely Everything! The colour of truth is always grey. Extreme positions are for the ignorant. Every creature, every person and every situation is complex. The universe is a wonderful mystery.”

Meet the author Pip Harry

Image source: 2014 interview with Kids' Book Review

This week I attended a local library conference, and the after-lunch speaker was Pip Harry.  I have previously talked about quite a few of her books and in this post, I can share some news of her new titles coming out later this year and next year. Here is her Instagram page. 

Are you there Buddha?

August and Jones

The Little Wave

Pip saw some children at South Curl Curl beach here in Sydney and she found out about 

Stewart House and this gave the idea for this book. 

As a child this was the beach where I swam with my parents. 

Here are a few things I discovered about Pip Harry:

• Many years of her childhood were spent in Singapore and later at a girls' school in Melbourne
• As a child she moved a lot and so is familiar with the complexities of fitting in
• Her books explore big themes - change, loss, grief, trauma
• Her early career was writing for magazines such as Women's Day and New Idea
• Magazine writing taught her about deadlines and developed her own curiosity about people
• She also learned how to think on her feet
• In her early 20s she wrote a novel but it was not accepted by any publisher (she tried 23).
• At age 35 she started writing again and Pip Harry also went back to night school to study creative writing and she found a group of other writers who supported her work
• She writes to make sense of the world, to process situations and relationships
• The blue cover of August and Jones was not intended to link with the US Classic Wonder by RJ Palacio

There was one more thing Pip Harry mentioned that I have been pondering. She said in journalism it is important not to 'bury the lead' and that has helped with her writing for children but oddly I am not so sure about this. I adore books where the plot line slowly unfolds - where you are NOT told everything up front but have to do the 'hard yards' and read the whole book to discover the 'truth' or the solution to the mystery and so on.

Here are her first three books:

Read this interview where Pip talks about this book.

Shortlisted - CBCA Book of the Year Awards 2018
Shortlisted - Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2018
Shortlisted - Queensland Literary Awards 2018

Here is a 2017 interview where Pip talks about this book

Coming next from Pip Harry:

• Picture books - Over and Under (with Hilary Jean Tapper from New Zealand); The Inside Dog; and The Goodbye Tree.
• Junior novel series - Camp Spook: Attack of the Aliants written with Kate Foster.
• A young adult verse novel called Drift.

Pip Harry likes the form of the verse novel (so do I) because

• you need to strip away all unnecessary words
• highlight imagery
• they accesible to all readers especially reluctant readers
• the offer a fun way to play with words

Pip mentioned the wonderful NCACL verse novel database. Check out this link and this post. 

Pip Harry is SO lucky - she will visit Milkwood the farm owned by Sophie Blackall for an author/illustrator retreat. Here are some photos of previous events at Milkwood. Hundreds of people apply to attend these events each of which have a different focus. See all the wonderful books by Sophie Blackall here. And check out all her photos on Instagram. 

Residencies are designed for writers, illustrators, and researchers who want to get sustained, uninterrupted work done. You might work at the desk in your room or at the communal table in the two-story library, in the light-filled Calf Barn studio or the cavernous hayloft, on a sunny balcony or under the shade of the open-air barn, or in any number of secluded nooks and corners. 

One more thing ... As usual I didn't gather enough courage to personally speak to Pip Harry but I was thrilled when she said she now lives in the suburb of Sydney where I grew up!!

After six years abroad, Pip recently returned home to Australia and now lives on the beautiful Northern Beaches of Sydney. Pip works as a copywriter for a non-profit in the youth homelessness sector and has three picture books coming out soon. When Pip isn’t scribbling, typing or reading, she loves to swim in the ocean, wander along bush tracks and eat ice-cream.

Focus on one Author or Illustrator

 

Bob Graham illustration from Let's get a Pup

A question was asked on a Facebook forum:

If you could purchase a complete set of one Australian Author books for a primary school library (picture or fiction) what author would you choose?

I was curious so I asked WHY? Here is the reply:

I would like to make author boxes so teacher can read specific author books in class or I can display in library. At my previous school we had these where the teachers and students loved them by reading the books from that author. I was getting author ideas to purchase.

I have a few concerns about this?

• I'm all for promoting our Australian authors and illustrators but if I did set out to do this in my library, I would want to include so many fabulous international names too. (Julia Donaldson; and Pamela Allen were suggested in the thread but there are so many more). Just off the top of my head I would list these international names (this list could be way longer) David McKee, Mick Inkpen, Suzy Lee, David Weisner, Pat Hutchins, Michael Foreman, The Fan Brothers, Janosch, Margaret Mahy.
• If books are popped into boxes does that take them out of circulation or does the library need to hold two copies of each book? Or are these collections just shelved in a different part of the library or just lent out once or twice each term as requested to classes?
• The question asked for one Australian author but clearly the plan is to collate quite a few sets so there will need to be more names?
• If the focus is an author who writes longer novels is there an expectation class teachers will read these books to their class? With the new NSW (Australia) curriculum requirements especially for English I cannot imagine how (sadly) any class teacher would have time for this? I think it might be better to make picture books the focus of this project. 

SO which authors and illustrators were mentioned? I will only focus on the picture book creators who others listed because their works can be shared easily with all grades.

From the Facebook post:

• Jackie French 
• Alison Lester
• Phil Bunting
• Matt Cosgrove
• Aaron Blabey
• Chris Cheng
• Nick Bland
• Mem Fox
• Aura Parker

Here are a few of the names I would suggest (Australian)

• Margaret Wild (you could expand a focus on Margaret Wild this to include many of the people who have illustrated her books such as Kerry Argent; Ann James, Donna Rawlins, Ron Brooks)

• Bob Graham
• Jeannie Baker
• Tohby Riddle
• Sophie Blackall
• Stephen Michael King

• Jess Racklyeft
• Gabriel Evans
• Jess McGeachin
• Jan Ormerod

• Anna Walker
• Kim Gamble
• Sara Acton
• Freya Blackwood
• Emma Quay
• Cheryl Orsini

Tru and Nelle by G Neri

About Tru:

• Truman Capote was born on 30 September 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana, originally named Truman Streckfus Persons. He changed his name to Truman Garcia Capote in 1935 – from his stepfather, Joseph Capote, a Cuban-born New York businessman.
• Capote’s parents divorced when he was very young, and he was subsequently primarily raised by his mother’s relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. He formed a special bond with his distant relative, Nanny Rumbley Faulk – ‘Sook’.
• Truman Capote’s best friend in Monroeville was the girl-next-door, Nelle Harper Lee, who later based the precocious character of Dill Harris on Capote in her famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Similarly, Capote also used Harper Lee as an inspiration for the character Idabel Tompkins in his debut novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms.
• Truman was classified as a “lonely child,” and before he even entered formal schooling, he used that loneliness (along with his obvious smarts) to teach himself how to read and write. By 11, he was already writing his first short stories.

About Nelle:

• Harper Lee was born Nelle Harper Lee. Her first name is a backwards spelling of her grandmother’s name—Ellen. When pursuing her writing career, Lee dropped her first name because she didn’t want people misprinting or mispronouncing it as “Nellie.”
• She did not seem to have many companions during her childhood except her neighbor and friend Truman Capote. 
• Lee met Truman Capote when they were both around five years old, and she was his protector from neighborhood bullies for much of their early years.
• Lee’s mother probably had some psychological ailments and this left a profound impact on her. Truman also faced domestic problems and the two found an outlet in each other to pour out these grievances which later came out through their writings.
• The plot and characters of To Kill a Mockingbird are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family and neighbors in Monroeville, Alabama, as well as a childhood event that occurred near her hometown in 1936. The novel deals with racist attitudes, the irrationality of adult attitudes towards race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s, as depicted through the eyes of two children.
• Her father was a former newspaper editor, businessman, and lawyer, who also served in the Alabama State Legislature from 1926 to 1938. ... Before A.C. Lee became a title lawyer, he once defended two black men accused of murdering a white storekeeper. Both clients, a father and son, were hanged.

G. Neri skillfully weaves all of these facts into a brilliant story for readers aged 11+. I do need to give a warning - there are two very confronting scenes from Chapter 24 through to Chapter 26 - one involving the Klu Klux Clan and the suggestion of a lynching and the other is a dreadful staged fight between two enormous snakes where men bet on the outcome. Read this sentence - king = snake, moccasin = snake, green backs = money, hood = the Clan.

"Meet me this afternoon at the snake pit ... Indian Joe done got a king and a moccasin goin'. We gonna make enough green backs to cover my hooch costs. And bring my hood, boy. We got fireworks tonight."

Listen to an audio sample and here is the publisher blurb: Long before they became famous writers, Truman Capote (In Cold Blood) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) were childhood friends in Monroeville, Alabama. This fictionalized account of their time together opens at the beginning of the Great Depression, when Tru is seven and Nelle is six. They love playing pirates, but they like playing Sherlock and Watson-style detectives even more. It’s their pursuit of a case of drugstore theft that lands the daring duo in real trouble. Humor and heartache intermingle in this lively look at two budding writers in the 1930s South.

Every time I go to our local charity Lifeline Book fair I seem to pick up a truly surprising book. How did this book published in the US in 2016 end up in a book fair in Sydney, Australia? There is a clue on the back cover. This book was purchased from an Australian independent book seller (now closed) for $25. It was added to their shop shelves in November 2016. Who purchased this book? There is a clue inside the front cover. Very very childish writing says "This book belongs to Leda". If the writing matches the age of this child then I am certain Leda did not read this book - so of course it is in mint condition with the dust jacket intact. On the final day of the fair every book is half price if you spend over $30 so I picked up this book for $1.50 - amazing. You can read more plot details here.

Betsy Bird shares two videos made by G (Greg) Neri about Monroeville and his book. These will give you a fabulous insight into the background to this book. 

Here are a couple of text quotes to give the flavour of the writing:

"They decided to pay a social call on Mr Yarborough (owner of the drugstore) to straighten out the facts. The plan was to just sit there and chat away, enjoying an ice cold Catawba Flip or a fluffy Cherry Dope at the soda fountain. Then using their wiles and charms, they'd get Mr Yarborough to reveal some crucial bits of information which would solve the case."

"Because it was Halloween, the Boular house reminded Nelle even more of an old graveyard. Surrounded by spooky trees and a rusty bent fence, the house was built of dark wood and was rumored to be haunted. It was foreboding and sagged in the middle like it was on its last legs. The yard was an overgrown tangle of scuppernong arbors and wild pecan trees. If you hit a ball into ol' man Boular's yard and he was home, you could consider that ball lost forever."

The charming and elegantly written novel doesn’t shy away from issues of mental illness, child abandonment, and racism, but they are woven neatly into the fabric of the characters’ lives in the tiny Southern town. Kirkus star review

Many readers are given To Kill a Mockingbird as a High School text. Tru and Nelle could be an interesting way to explore the background to that famous book. Take a look at this page on the author website. Here is the sequel to Tru and Nelle which I plan to read as a ebook:

Companion reads:

How High the Moon

Stella by Starlight

The Stories Behind the Stories by Danielle Higley

"In my research of these authors, I began to see that our most treasured children's books weren't just built on creativity and imagination - many were born from an extraordinary persistence and grit."

I thought I knew many of these back stories - but I didn't. Reading this book I made so many delightful discoveries.

Did Clement Clark Moore really write The Night Before Christmas? 

Why is there a black telephone in the room (Goodnight Moon)? After all this is perhaps supposed to be a bedroom.

Do you recognise the name Bennett Cerf?  I had no idea he was the co-founder of Random House who published books by Dr Suess (Theodor Geisel). He is also the man who set Dr Seuss the 50 word challenge which led to Green Eggs and Ham.

"When CS Lewis (The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe) was sixteen, a image of a faun carrying parcels and an umbrella through a snowy wood popped into his mind."

Wilson Rawls (Where the Red Fern Grows) loved Call of the Wild which his mother read to him. He had very little education, could not spell and had no idea about punctuation or paragraphs. His burnt all his work which he had spent years writing. Luckily his wife encouraged him to rewrite his stories and she helped him with the paragraphs etc. 

Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) lived in Stuttgart, Germany during World War II. "There were no colours. ... Everything was greys and greens and brown greens and grey greens. ... (with the Very Hungry Caterpillar) the child inside me - who had been so suddenly and sharply uprooted and repressed - was beginning to come joyfully back to life."

When he was a young school boy Cadbury had a chocolate factory near Roald Dahl's school. The children were sometimes asked to taste the new chocolate creations. Have you made a link here?

I do like the way the Table of Contents page is presented.  The art in this book has been created using collage and fragments of book covers.  You can see inside this book on the publisher page. 

There are twenty-nine books explored here and nearly all are titles I am sure you would expect to see. Here are a few:

• Charlotte's web
• The Lion the Witch and the wardrobe
• Green Eggs and Ham
• A Wrinkle in Time
• Where the Wild things are
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit
• Peter Pan and Wendy
• Winnie-the-pooh
• Goodnight Moon
• Curious George
• The Hobbit
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Harry Potter 

And then there are other books which, while very familiar, may surprise you:

• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Henry Huggins
• Where the Red Fern Grows
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid
• Percy Jackson
• A series of Unfortunate Events
• The Boxcar children
• Nancy Drew mysteries
• The Giving Tree
• Roll of Thunder hear my Cry
• Captain Underpants
• The Magic School Bus

I have had this book on my "to buy" list for over a year. Last week I decided this could be my Book Week gift to myself even though the books inside are not Australian. 

There is a detailed bibliography at the back of this book which you could use for extra research.

A visually stunning look at how timeless stories are made. Baby Bookworm

The publisher Bushel and Peck Books donate one book to kids in need for every book they sell. They give books to schools, libraries, shelters, and other organisations. Isn't that wonderful!

Wondrous Rex by Patricia MacLachlan illustrated by Emilia Dziubak

 

We can find magic in the sunrise,

the full moon, a kindness,

someone's laughter, and

even in a dog who doesn't talk.

Aunt Lily is a writer but her desk is a mess and she is struggling with new ideas so she advertises for an assistant. 

"A writer of books needs an assistant, a coach, a helper, for inspiration and some magic!"

Grace, her niece, comes to visit her aunt and discovers the new assistant has arrived - a Labrador retriever called Rex. Grace watches, amazed, as Rex immediately goes over to Lily's desk where he carefully sorts and straightens her messy papers. Then he does something even more amazing. He sits at the computer and types in the words - "If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." Toni Morrison.

What a discovery! Rex can write, Rex can use a computer and Rex and read. Lily is inspired and she takes over the keyboard and writes and writes. His other wondrous talent is his ability to know when to act like a dog and when to reveal his magic. And maybe this magic can spill over to Grace.

"Dogs know secrets. Dogs keep secrets."

When I saw a new Patricia MacLachlan book (2020) in my local book store (Beachside Books) I grabbed it with both hands.  

Wondorous Rex is a tiny book (86 pages) with a big heart and it contains many of the themes you will know from previous books by this award winning author such as dogs, writers, and magic. You can listen to the first chapter here. I highly recommend this tiny gem of a book for readers aged 7+.

Sweetly magical. Kirkus

Newbery Medal-winning author Patricia MacLachlan has written a magical and funny tale about the joy found in using words, sharing stories, and loving a wondrous dog named Rex. Children's Books Heal

I have mentioned Emilia Dziubak in a previous post. Here are some other books by Patricia MacLachlan:

My Father's Words
The Truth of Me
White Fur flying
Waiting for the Magic
The Poet's Dog
Just Dance
Fly Away
Sarah, Plain and Tall

Astrid Lindgren by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara illustrated by Linzie Hunter

 

"At an early age Astrid fell in love with stories. Growing up in nature, she lived, just as a wild, young girl should, exploring the forest, playing games with her siblings and making mischief. Pippi Longstocking emerged from these experiences and, today, reminds us of the joy of childhood."

Some interesting things about Astrid:

• Her name, before marriage to Sture Lindgren, was Astrid Anna Emilia Ericsson.
• Her first story was published when she was just thirteen.
• Astrid had two children her son Lars a daughter named Karin (my Aunt - Anne Lindgren - named her daughter Karin too)
• Pippi Longstocking was published in 1945.
• Astrid won two Hans Christian Andersen (IBBY) medals.
• There is a planet named 3204 Lindgren!

Have you discovered the Little People Big Dreams series?  There are so many titles. 

"At the beginning the series was first published in Spain as Pequeña & GRANDE by Alba Editorial, and now Little People, BIG DREAMS is translated into more than twenty languages. Maria Isabel likes to think the success of the series relies on the fact that children love to read real stories about other children achieving great things. It gives them the strength and the courage to believe in themselves and dream BIG. As The Independent once said: “What a cool way to drift off to sleep.” Now with more than 3.9 million copies sold worldwide, the series continues to grow and expand, introducing children around the world to artists, trailblazers, and dreamers who each made a big impact in the world around them."

Here are a set of questions to use with Astrid Lindgren and here is a video where you can see the new titles to be released later this year. Read an interview with Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara.

Little People Big Dreams are an excellent and important series of books which are easy to read, colourful, inspirational and accessible for very young readers. Every school library should try to add as many books from this series as their budget will allow. Some new titles to look for include: Iris Apfel; Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Michelle Obama; and Marilyn Monroe. There are so many titles in this series so I picked out a few that interest me:

I am keen to explore the different illustrators who have contributed to this series. Australian illustrator Sophie Beer worked in the book about Elton John. Here are web sites for some of the illustrators:

Zafouko Yamamoto (Greece)

Natascha Rosenberg (Germany)

Beatrice Cerocchi (Italy)

Maxine Lee-Mackie (UK)

Sveta Dorosheva (Ukraine living in Israel)

Margaret Power illustrator 1953-2019

Margaret was a wonderful draftsperson who worked with a gentle realism, depicting the humanness of people and the animalness of creatures with amazing accuracy and sensitivity - particularly horses and cats which she knew well and loved passionately. Books Illustrated

I well remember reading Creatures in the Beard (Margaret Wild) in 1987 when it was shortlisted for Picture Book of the Year by the CBCA. Then in 1988 we had another book illustrated by Margaret Power - The Long Red Scarf (Nette Hilton) and one of my wonderful class teachers volunteered to knit us a very very very long red scarf which everyone loved to drape around our school library.

Margaret Power was also the illustrator of several titles in the Aussie Bites/Nibbles series which you can see here. I just talked about Christobel Mattingley who also died this week. Here is an interview with Margaret from 2013 about Oliver's Egg.

Here are some other older titles and book covers illustrated by Margaret Power:

Here is some more recent work by Margaret Power:

I remember titles like Spider in the toilet by Edel Wignell, And Grandad sat on Friday by Val Marshall, Daisy Drew and elephant by Michael Dugan and The Ghost in Abigail Terrace by Robin Klein. Finally here is a PM reader which may look familiar.