Out of the blue his parents sit him down and tell him they are getting a divorce and mum is moving out tomorrow. James had no idea this was coming. His life and whole world are thrown into disarray. Something is going to happen though because each chapter is in the form of a countdown (you knew this from the title) to "launch" but a launch of what. Interspersed between the countdown chapters James shares his precious memories of all the good times with his mum and dad. He shares six wonderful family events such as climbing a steep hill together to see the view; dinner at a revolving restaurant; going to the movies and the day it rained so much that they all stayed together and built a blanket fort in the lounge room.
"Time and place and circumstances are complicated. The future is too huge and unknowable. Even the present is overwhelming. It would be much easier to go back to one moment in the past and exist in that forever. Safe and predicable and perfect."
Memories, though, are slippery things. James has a new friend named Yan. She asks him to recall the pattern on the little tickets that go with cakes from the famous Birthday cake book. James made these tickets and they are used as part of a school fund-raiser where parents select one cake from the book to make for a display and a competition - the prize is a gold apron! James is sure the pattern on these little cards is of cupcakes but when he looks at the cards again he discovers it is a pattern of cake slices. His memory was faulty.
Yan is a very clever girl. She has a keen interest in learning and also in old technology. I laughed over some of the titles of the books she borrows from the discarded section of her school library. Yan calls this the Book Departure Lounge. Some of these titles even seemed familiar to me because in the 1980s I worked for a company that sold computer reference books. Here are a few Program Catalogue for your TRS-80 Colour computer, 1980; Practical interfacing projects with Commodore computers, 1985; Start programming with the electron, 1983; and The Book of Atari Software, 1983. Yan also talks about the way computers used to come in colours - I remembered that when she explained:
"Did you know computers used to come in flavours? ... Blueberry, grape, tangerine, lime and of course strawberry."
I think Yan is my favourite character in this book. It made me laugh to read that she loves the typewriter cake. It is interesting the way her manner changes, though, when she is with her mum - this simple plot point could make an excellent class discussion topic. (The same thing happens to James' mum when she speaks Chinese). Yan is also a wise girl. Here are a few of her words of advice:
"Life is about choices. Once you figure that out, things get easier."
"You know I was saying the mind is a mysterious machine."
"Sometimes you need fresh eyes. A different point of view."
"As I have said numerous times, James, knowledge is interconnected ... Just like life and the world and the universe and the metaverse and you and me."
"I've also learnt it pays not to be predictable."
"... the biggest poverty in the future will be time poverty."
I need to make a special mention of the wonderful school secretary - Mrs Tagliatelle. I would love to know more about her.
"Mrs Tagliatelle always has her lunch at twenty minutes after twelve. She puts the phone straight to voicemail and lets me follow her to the staffroom, where we sit down at the corner table. I always have a sandwich and Mrs Tagliatelle always has leftovers from last night's dinner. She brings in extra so that I can taste her home cooking."
I loved all the references to this classic book birthday cake book. I have never owned a copy but I have certainly enjoyed perusing it when visiting friends. I well remember a teacher making the koala cake for a colleague and for myself I really wanted the castle with the ice cream cone towers. Another friend recently sent me a photo of the train cake she made decades ago side by side with the one made last year by her daughter. In this story they talk about the rocket cake (but I couldn't find a photo); the rabbit cake; and the wonderful oven/stove top cake.
I wrote this story for my son, a child of divorce and for all the children out there going through a similar situation. And of course I put in lots of nice cheery things like David Bowie and strawberry mochi and The Women’s Weekly Children’s birthday Cake book! Shirley Marr
In the US this book has a different cover and I read one reviewer who mentioned a QR code at the back of the book so you can find out more about the cakes - sadly this was not part of the Australian copy I borrowed from a school library.
When you share Countdown to Yesterday with your class of upper primary students you will want to include the David Bowie song Major Tom. Here is one possible video version. And if you are reading this book at home you will most certainly want to make one of dad's deconstructed desserts - they sound wonderful. Here are the Scholastic teachers notes for Countdown to Yesterday.
I seem to have saved one of the best books from the 2025 CBCA Younger Readers Notable titles for last. The storytelling and plot structure in this book has blown me away. At about page 250 of the 276 pages I wondered if everyone/anyone else had stood on their own mountain of books and wanted to shout out about Countdown to Yesterday so without planning to read the reviews I Googled the title and the words 'book review' and YES this book has travelled far and wide to huge acclaim including a Kirkus Star review and a glowing one in the School Library Journal and also one from the UK reviewers at LoveReading4Kids. Surely this book will be included on the 2025 short list which will be announced later this month.
Here is a quote from the CBCA 2025 Younger Readers Notable titles judges' comments:
A stunning novel that will resonate with anyone navigating change in their life.
Shirley Marr is another wonderful writer with an amazing talent who deserves to be celebrated and awarded heaps of prizes. I loved her previous books:
Glass house of stars was the winner of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year for Younger Readers in 2022 and the WA Premiers Book Awards for Writing for Children 2021. It was also nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2022 and shortlisted for the
Queensland Literary Award - Children’s Book 2022
All Four Quarters of the Moon was awarded a CBCA Notable Book in 2023
I am so excited to see this new picture book coming in May, by Shirley Marr published by Walker Books Australia and illustrated by Michael Speechley.
1 comment:
Shirley Marr commented on Instagram: "Gosh Momo, this is the most amazing reaction I have ever read! Thank you for reading my work and taking the time to write these words, I am truly humbled!"
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