Musical Picture Books

Just a little taste of an extraordinarily beautiful adaptation of "The Night Garden", by Elise Hurst and "The Rainbirds", by David Metzenthen (illustrated by me.) This will be a wonderful family-friendly event held during the September school holidays, combining animation with live and recorded classical music.

So far I have only seen snippets of what will be the whole performance, but it has been incredibly exciting to see two of my favourite picture books brought to life. I can also tell you that this is a true labour of love by MRC education co-ordinator, MaryRose Harrison, musical director, Jo Beaumont and animator, Diana Ward, yet, at this stage there will only be one Melbourne performance - September 26th, at the Melbourne Recital Centre. So make sure you get your tickets! I will be there with as many children as I can drag along with me. I can't wait to see it all come together on the big screen!

Picture Books and Picasso

Earlier this year, I was asked to write a short picture book text for an illustration competition run by the State Library to coincide with their children's book illustration exhibition: "Look! The Art of Children's Picture Books Today".

Each month, a new section of the story was released and children were invited to send in their interpretations of the text. It goes without saying that it was VERY difficult to choose the winning entries as the work was so diverse and so lovely and sometimes the other judges: author/illustrator Anna Walker and author/publisher Jane Godwin and I would disagree. But I think you'll agree that the finished books in all three age categories are simply stunning.

Click on this link to look at the e-book, and make sure you read all the way through as the different age groups are all bound up together.

As an illustrator, I find children's artwork constantly inspiring: the spontaneity of their line work, the freshness of their ideas. Looking at children's drawings helps loosen my rigid adult way of seeing the world. As Picasso once famously said: "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."

Reasons We Lie

Speaking of lying, click here for a fascinating interview with psychologist Dorothy Rowe, recorded earlier this year at the Perth Writers' Festival.

The summary reads: "From everyday fibs to grand-scale public deception, renowned psychologist Dorothy Rowe explores the reasons we lie and constructions of truth."

It's an hour long interview but absolutely worthwhile and Dr Rowe is an inspirational woman.

Honest!

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

Here is Aki's latest blog post about illustrating The Little Lie.

Some of these Billie stories stray so close to home it's almost embarrassing. Yes, I once cut my own hair, yes, I craved to be a teacher's pet, and, yes, I was known to make up the odd story once in a while... My poor parents. I can't tell you how many times they pulled out that old "Boy Who Cries Wolf" story in the hope of curing me of my... tendencies towards an overactive elaboration.

How could they have known that one day this is how I would make a living?

So, what's the biggest fib you've ever told?

A Week in Shanghai

Well, I had all good intentions of posting lots of photos and updates while I was in Shanghai but of course had forgotten one teensy problem. Blogger, Facebook, Google, Youtube - all no-goes in China, despite the fact that anyone can pay for a computer program to circumnavigate the government's strict censorship laws. It still astonishes me that this country, so modern in so many ways, can still be so archaic when it comes to freedom of speech and access to information. But that's another day's rant... So, here are a few belated updates on my week in Shanghai.

Firstly, I spent three full days at Yew Chung International school, giving talks and running workshops with their primary students who were delightful. Yew Chung is completely bilingual, with all subjects being taught in Chinese and English. All the same, it was lots of fun to get kids drawing - a language that crosses all cultural boundaries.

Thursday morning was the official opening of the Australian Illustrator's exhibition at the Shanghai Children's Museum, where Ann James and Alison Lester were presented with portraits by an enthusiastic group of kindergarten students who had sat impressively still and quiet all throughout the long and formal speeches.

Then the weekend was busy at the Children's museum: Ann Haddon giving tours of the exhibition, Leigh Hobbs running Old Tom drawing classes, Ann James running painting workshops and me running collage workshops with local children and their parents, amazed that I still had enough rusty Chinese to get by.

After long days, evenings were spent wandering along the Bund, sipping cocktails at the Peace Hotel or gorging ourselves at restaurants, and we still managed to squeeze in some shopping whenever we had a free moment. So much so that I could hardly close my suitcase to come home.

I feel extremely lucky to have been a part of this wonderful exhibition and, judging by the enthusiasm of local parents, teachers and publishers, let's hope it paves the way for many more Australian-Chinese cultural exchanges to come.

Swimming With Stories

This time next week I hope to be munching on dumplings in the steamy city of Shanghai with Leigh Hobbs, Alison Lester, Ann James & Ann Haddon (the fabulous Books Illustrated crew). It will have to be very quick munching though, as Ann and Ann have jam-packed our week with school bookings, teacher information evenings and, most importantly, lots of workshops with local kids at the Shanghai Children's Museum. Over the weekend of the 4th and 5th of June, the Anns will be showcasing a broad range of Australian illustrators at an exhibition at the museum called Swimming With Stories, while Leigh, Ann J and I run illustration workshops. Shaun Tan's 'The Lost Thing' will also be showing at the museum, just in case the Shanghainese weren't already impressed enough with all our Aussie talent on display. Goodness, I almost feel an oi! oi! oi! coming on! If I can squeeze in a free moment between dumpling-gorging and work, I'll try and post some pics.

A Father's Plea

Last night, along with 700 others, I braved the rain and the cold to go to RMIT's Storey Hall to hear Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish interviewed by Jon Faine. Dr Abuelaish is a Palestinian doctor who was living in Gaza and practicing in a hospital in Israel treating both Israelis and Palestinians. In January 2009, three of his daughters were killed when Israeli tanks shelled their upstairs bedroom. (Click here to read more).

Despite his personal tragedy, Dr Abuelaish is a passionate advocate of peace. Listening to his heart-breaking story, this is the part that was the most profoundly moving. As my sister and I made our way out of Storey Hall to our tramstops in the cold wind and the drizzle, we agreed the most important message we could take away from Dr Abuelaish's powerful address was that the wish for peace wasn't a naive one. Despite feeling overwhelmed and powerless in the face of war and all the hate that rages throughout the world, Dr Abuelaish called on every one of us in that hall to hope for peace and to spread this message, to educate ourselves and our children and to make our votes count.

As Dr Abuelaish signed my book, wanting to find some small way to connect with this awe-inspiring man, I asked him if he would manage to squeeze in a little bit of a holiday while he was here. He looked up at me with weary eyes and said no, all he wanted was to get back to his children. Back home, walking quietly through my sleeping house, I lingered longer in the doorways of my own.