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The Flower Garden – A Changi Secret

Apr2
The Flower Garden - A Changi Secret

The Flower Garden – A Changi Secret

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Flower Garden – A Changi Secret

Claire Saxby

Lucia Masciullo

Walker Books, 2026

32pp., hbk.,  RRP $A25.99

9781760657352

I have a secret – we have a secret –
in this place where secrets are not allowed.

Imagine you’re a child with all the natural curiosity, imagination, energy and exuberance that goes with childhood.  But instead of being able to wander and explore the world around you, that world is bounded by high walls and barbed wire, patrolled and guarded by brutal soldiers who do not hesitate to impose their power – even on little children.  Such was the life of many children and their mothers who were long-time residents of Malaya and Singapore but who, with the fall of both countries to the Japanese in February 1942, were herded like animals into the notorious Changi Prison, and treated as such. Days were spent tending the gardens to grow food for their captors in the morning and then on rows of hard benches learning “numbers, words and formulas” and secret songs under the watchful eyes and ears of gun-carrying soldiers in the afternoons. Not until dusk fell was their time their own.

But in that time, the women tried to make life a little more normal for the children, and one in particular, Mrs Elizabeth Ennis, an army nursing sister, began a secret Girl Guides group and taught them how to take their minds, if not their bodies, far beyond the prison walls.  So as her birthday approaches, it is time to make a special present, and in this sensitive, softly illustrated story, Saxby and Masciullo not only divulge what that gift will be but expose the lives of those who made it and the risks they took to do so.

The horrors of Changi have been on my radar since my own childhood because even though my dad was a POW in Germany and eventually force-marched across Poland as part of the Germans’ human shield, even in those days long before television, let alone the internet, the atrocities and barbarities of Changi were known, and the brutality of the captors was being revealed by those like my future father-in-law who miraculously survived the men’s camp, as well as in stories like Nevil Shute’s A Town Like Alice, and movies like The Bridge on the River Kwai (where my f-i-l ended up).  Yet from the depths of the darkest despair, the human spirit soared and stories like the making of this precious gift have emerged.

As I read this book, including the author’s note that offers a short background history of the time, I wanted to know more and a simple search brought many links including stories of those who helped make it, a history of the quilt itself, including close-up photos of it in the Imperial War Museum, as well as information about the other quilts that were made, including the Australian quilt. 

 

girl guide quilt, Changi, Far East Civilian Internee

girl guide quilt, Changi, Far East Civilian Internee Image: © IWM (EPH 9206)

However, this is not primarily a book for an older, quilt-loving  adult like me but one for younger readers – those, who, had they lived in another time and place, might have been in it – and so, once again, using her gift to use words to put real life into the realm of young readers, Saxby has opened up a whole new world that exemplifies the courage, determination and kindness of humanity even when confronted with its worst aspects, and Masciullo’s illustrations whose tiny details like the child finding wonder in the garden regardless of the overbearing soldier who dominates the image depict resilience and hope and the eternal love of adults determined to protect their children.

Some might question whether this is a topic that its intended audience need know about or, if indeed, it is one they can cope with, but whoever wrote the teachers’ notes is to be congratulated on their thoughtful approach that explores both the story and the history in a way that builds and supports the child’s historical knowledge, social awareness and emotional intelligence, even encouraging the class to create its own quilt. Probing questions that encourage them to think more deeply, understand the lives of others (which some in the class may have experienced in a different context), and focus on those human traits of hope, kindness, courage and empathy underpin an outstanding investigation inspired by the book but which have the potential to be so much broader and longer-lasting.

Among all the books I have read and reviewed over time, this is a stand-out and a must-have in any collection of those who want to better understand how a “simple” story can reveal so much more than the words on the page. 

 

The Drover’s Son

Mar5
The Drover's Son

The Drover’s Son

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Drover’s Son

Leah Purcell

Dub Leffner

Puffin, 2026

40pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9781761341977

In 1892, renowned Australian storyteller Henry Lawson published his short story, The Drover’s Wife in which, through the life of Molly Johnson, he shone a spotlight on the courage and resilience of the pioneer women who followed their husbands to the rural and remote regions of Australia – in this case, the alpine country of New South Wales – and held the fort against the landscape, the isolation, and the dangers of the country while their husbands were away for months at a time trying to earn a living.   

The original story has inspired artworks, retellings, and other interpretations including a play written by Leah Purcell, itself becoming a film, a book and an opera.   Central to Molly Johnson’s story are her love for and protection of her children, and now, emerging from such auspicious beginnings, is this new picture book that focuses on her oldest son Danny, who believes he will have no choice but to leave home and go droving with his father. But then he meets Yadaka, an indigenous man, who despite the attitudes towards First Nations people at the time, takes Danny under his wing and shows him there can be  another path – one in which a man can be wise and gentle, and a warrior too. “It’s not what you wear on your feet, Danny. How you carry yourself is what makes a decent man.”

Set in 1893, with the Ngarigo landscape and intriguing characters perfectly portrayed in Leffler’s exquisite illustrations, Purcell, herself, says, “This is a yarn about fathers and sons, a mother’s love, fierce and true, and about family in whatever form that takes. A tale of cautious meetings, bonding and the sharing of stories.  Of lessons learnt and of cultural understanding and genuine respect. This is a story about a time in our history we shouldn’t forget.”

Although the primary story is Danny’s, Molly’s also remains central as she awaits the birth of yet another child, isolated and without modern medical assistance – giving today’s girls plenty of food for thought. How would they cope with being almost constantly pregnant, the likelihood of losing the baby anyway, while all the while having to take full responsibility for the other children 24/7?

Whether it is read and shared through the lens of the power and endurance of the women of the time; the attitudes towards and treatment of First Nations peoples; Yadaka’s connection to Country and heritage and the importance of that; the difference in childhood between then and now; the relationship between Yadaka and Danny and the importance of role models; the visual literacy of Leffler’s interpretation of a landscape and history that I see daily out my window; the reimagining of a story from long ago into so many versions so that it is as powerful today as it was then; or any other perspective this is a must-have addition to the collection that will open up so much of this nation’s early European history for older, independent readers.  

The Legend of Jessie Hickman

Oct4
The Legend of Jessie Hickman

The Legend of Jessie Hickman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Legend of Jessie Hickman

Mark Greenwood

Frané Lessac

NLA Publishing, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781922507853

If you believe in legends then you will enjoy this intriguing story about Jessie Hickman, not only considered to be the last bushranger, but a female engaged in activities that have traditionally been associated with men.  

In 1898, at the age of just eight, for reasons undisclosed, Jessie joined a travelling bush circus and quickly became the star of the show with her tightrope walking, acrobatics, sharpshooting, stockwhip mastery, and trick riding on the back of her horse, Houdini. But as World War I loomed, the days of people having money and time to attend the circus were dwindling and when it finally closed, Jessie and Houdini were left to their own devices.  And so they took to the mountains, where her circus skills led her into an entirely different life altogether…

One of Australia’s foremost teams for winkling out little-known people and events in Australia’s history, and then bringing them to life for young readers through accessible text and lively illustrations, Greenwood and Lessac have once again combined to not only shine a light on Hickman herself, but also raise questions about women in our history, generally.  Were they not there or was a woman’s place “barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen” “keeping the home fires burning”? Or are their stories just emerging as a less-misogynistic look at the past comes to the fore?

While there has been and always will be debate about the rights and wrongs of bushranging, particularly at a time when there was no government support, financial or otherwise, for those who were unemployed, and women received nothing until the introduction of the War Widows’ Pension in 1942, Greenwood has managed to tell Hickman’s story objectively, without glorifying her actions but still raising questions for the astute reader about what her options might have been, making it an ideal springboard into any study about the role of women in Australia during that period. While the book focuses on her years roaming the bush of the Hunter region in NSW, including a 12-month stint in Long Bay Reformatory, Hickman’s life generally was far from conventional and for those who want to know more there is an interview with the creators here, and more extensive biographies here and here, opening up not only further insights into Hickman’s life but perhaps a new reading adventure as they investigate other females in the same game. 

What I do know is that if I see a book with either Greenwood or Lessac or both on the cover, I know I am in for both a good. enlightening read as well as a burrow down some interesting rabbit holes! 

 

Soaring with the Sugarbird Lady

Mar25
Soaring with the Sugarbird Lady

Soaring with the Sugarbird Lady

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soaring with the Sugarbird Lady

Dianne Wolfer

Fremantle Press, 2025

160pp., pbk., RRP $A17.99

9781760995270

Robin Miller is one of Australia’s unsung heroes.  

Born in Perth in 1940 to pioneering parents – her mother was Dame Mary Durack of Kings in Grass Castles fame and her father the co founder of MacRobertson Miller Airlines which serviced the vast expanse of land between Perth and Darwin when Australian aviation was in its infancy, particularly in that region – it’s no wonder she grew up with a love for both the region and flying.  While the clacking of her mother’s typewriter was the music of her childhood, as more and more siblings were born, Robin spent a lot of time with the father doing the “milk-run” route visiting those isolated towns of the Pilbara and the Kimberley.

But when it came time to leave school and take on work she met the patriarchy and misogyny that thwarted so young women’s  many dreams. While women worked before the inevitable marriage and kids that was a woman’s lot in those times, they didn’t fly aircraft with passengers, despite the breakthrough of those like Millicent Bryant and Nancy Bird Walton.  Even her father said it was not something for a woman to do, despite knowing his daughter’s dreams and capabilities. So she took on nursing training instead, but as the scourge of polio spread through the country in the 1950s, it seemed like only those in the cities would have access to the life-saving Sabin vaccine until it was decided to send “vaccine caravans” to some of the more remote areas.  But these could take months to get to their destinations and even then, so many were still missing out,  despite their communities being impacted by the disease.  Until Robin Miller saw a solution…

This is the biography of this remarkable woman, written for younger independent readers, that tells the story of how thousands of lives were saved because of “The Sugarbird Lady.”  It tells of her perseverance and persistence as she lobbied the powers=that-be to let her take the vaccines to those beyond the city limits; her determination to gain her commercial licence so she could fly with passengers and patients even though she had to purchase her own plane and maintain it; the resistance to her doing any nursing beyond administering the vaccine because she might “overreach ” herself’; and the remarkable breakthroughs she made for nursing. aviation and women generally before her life was cut short by cancer in 1975.

 

Inspired by Miller’s own books, Flying Nurse and The Sugarbird Lady, which are now out of print, Dianne Wolfer says she “wanted to bring Robin’s story to a new generation of readers.” describing her  as “a trailblazer for women, winging through “glass ceilings” in a miniskirt and impressive bouffant hairdo”.  She has done this in a most engaging way, bringing to light and life another hidden woman of history.  There is an interview with the author at Good Reading Magazine, and teaching notes probe the story and Miller’s impact not only on women’s history but the liveability of  the remote regions of WA itself, more deeply, inspiring readers to hold on to their dreams and make them come true. 

Hester Hitchins and the Falling Stars

Oct2
Hester Hitchins and the Falling Stars

Hester Hitchins and the Falling Stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hester Hitchins and the Falling Stars

Catherine Norton

HarperCollins, 2024

256pp., hbk., RRP $A22.99

9781460763179

London. 1866. And Hester Hitchins’ life has been turned upside down.  Her mother has died while giving birth to twins, and her father is “Missing, presumed dead” when the ship he served on burned and sunk on the high seas.  So Hester, the twins, and her brother and sister have been sent to live with their unmarried Uncle Henry, not for altruistic reasons but because he sees the older three as free labour.  Her older sister Joyce is immediately made the housekeeper including raising the babies, Horace becomes his apprentice in his rope-making business and Hester, herself, is pulled from school which she loves, to spend her day braiding the dreaded whip known as a cat-of-nine-tails.  (She is so disgusted and fearful of them that she only makes them with eight lashes, but that proves to be her downfall.)

Life is so different and not easy for the children and Hester is convinced that her father is still alive – after all, “presumed” does not mean definitely.  As a young girl he taught her about the stars and their movements, particularly the Pole Star, and told her that as long as he had a compass, a telescope and could see the Pole Star he could find his way home to her. And so Hester believes that with the same tools, she should be able to find her way to him.  Under scary circumstances she gains a lodestone,  but her life changes again when she surreptitiously enters a test for admittance to Addington’s Nautical Navigation Academy, and wins a scholarship – at the same time that her deception with the whips is discovered and Uncle Henry decides to send her to be a scullery maid – the most a girl of her age and position can hope for in those times.

With the help of her sister Joyce, Hester dues find herself at the Academy but the problem is – it is only for boys!  

This is a glorious adventure story for independent readers that has a cast of intriguing, well=crafted characters, each of whom shines a spotlight on the customs and conditions of the time, not the least of which is the circumstances of girls, oppressed by their gender.  Many will see themselves in the resourceful, problem-solving, never-say-die Hester as she encounters problems and obstacles that only her determination and her new friends Nelson (despised by others at the school because of his Asian heritage) and Pru (a nature-loving girl who collects insects to draw), not to mention the wise Marguerite,  and will want to keep turning the pages to see if she does indeed discover what happened to her dad. 

Loosely based on real-life characters of the time including Janet Taylor  an English astronomer who was an expert in nautical navigation, and Mary Ward  whose stories are outlined in the author’s notes, this is a story that will lead the reader down many rabbit-holes (as it did the reviewer) not the least of which is a reflection of how life has changed so much for girls, particularly, in 150 years.  Once again we give thanks for the courage and determination of those on whose shoulders we stand.  

South With the Seabirds

Sep5
South With the Seabirds

South With the Seabirds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South With the Seabirds

Jess McGeachin

A & U Children’s, 2024

40pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9781761068645

Far to the southeast of Tasmania, halfway to Antarctica, where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate meets the Pacific plate, a tiny island pokes its head above the windswept Southern Ocean, pounded by waves on their relentless westward journey.  Two hundred years ago, it was discovered and named by a sealer to impress the Governor of New South Wales and for another century it was known only to the sealers and whalers who prowled the southern seas in search of prey rich in the blubber that kept them warm and made oil for humans; one hundred years ago Sir Douglas Mawson established the first scientific station to study its unique flora and fauna; and fifty years ago it was added to the World Heritage List. 

Just  34 kilometres long and 5.5 kilometres wide at its broadest point, nestled amongst its peaks, unique in themselves because  it is only place on earth where rocks from the earth’s mantle are being actively exposed above sea level are four lakes – Gillham, Bennett, Macpherson and Ingham – each commemorating the women who are the subject of this new book from Jess McGeachin.

Just a generation ago, just being a female scientist was cause for comment if not concern,  but being one who wanted to break the “petticoat ban” imposed on the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic by the male-dominated thinking of the time was unheard of and so it took many letters and much patience for Mary Gillham, Isobel Bennett, Hope Macpherson and Susan Ingham  to independently campaign and then collectively be successful in getting permission to join the 1959 Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) – now the Australian Antarctic Program -expedition south on the MV Thala Dan, one of four ships especially built for the program to navigate and survive the conditions but offering little creature comforts.  (My mum also broke the petticoat ban going south to the Antarctic mainland itself in 1968 in the  MV Magga Dan.)

MV Thala Dan (left) and MV Magga Dan, ships specially built for ANARE to withstand the Antarctic conditions.

MV Thala Dan (left) and MV Magga Dan, ships specially built for ANARE to withstand the Antarctic conditions.

Each with a common but specialised interest in the wildlife that abounds on the island, they explored the cliffs, beaches and rockpools as they studied the seals, seabirds and other creatures, particularly the hundreds of thousands of penguins, that sought refuge there. Yet, even though they would contribute significantly to the knowledge of the wildlife, including the eradication of introduced rabbits that were creating so much destruction (a project that took another 50 years to get started), their return to Australia was more about their being women in a man’s world.

However, they paved the way for other women to follow, and in this book, McGeachin has not only introduced the reader to four remarkable women whose stories need to be known, but also laid the groundwork to inspire today’s young girls to aspire to similar heights starting by being curious, having a keen eye, and simple tools.  Even more importantly though, it reinforces that gender should not be a barrier to following your dreams, wherever they may take you.  

Perfect for the 2025 CBCA Book Week theme of Book An Adventure! 

For those wanting to know more about Macquarie Island itself, seek out the award- winning One Small Island by Alison Lester and for those wanting to know more about my mum’s own ground-breaking trip you might be able to find a copy of her book The Abominable Snow-Women.

Find out more...

Find out more…

When Grandma Burnt Her Bra

Aug28
When Grandma Burnt Her Bra

When Grandma Burnt Her Bra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Grandma Burnt Her Bra

Samantha Tidy

Aska

EK Books, 2023

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781922539465

Maggie’s grandma is so old, she must have surely lived in the days of the dinosaurs!  Because the stories she tells Maggie about women not being allowed to vote, or have a job outside the home, or being expected to do all the cooking and cleaning and look after the children could only have been true in the times of the cave-people.

But no. These attitudes towards the value and place of women are much more recent than that – indeed, in my own lifetime – and still continue in many minds as female oppression is still prevalent in many situations, sections of the communities and even countries, including Australia. Just today, August 28. another scandal in a private school has exposed a culture of misogyny and sexism that involves a rating and ranking system developed by boys based on physical appearance and “kissability” – and, as in previous situations like these, it is the girls who are being told to take action to protect themselves, rather than the boys being held accountable.  

1916 and 2016

1916 and 2016

Using the humour of a child’s perception of time, this is an introduction to the struggle that has been undertaken to give our girls the life they have today with its freedom of choice and thought, a fight that has been fought for many generations as courageous women dared to push the boundaries and break “glass ceilings” (and continue to do so) but which came to the fore mid-20th century as women were pushed back into the kitchen, “barefoot and pregnant” despite having had such important roles during World War I and World War II. The game-changer was the development of the contraceptive pill in the mid-50s so that women finally controlled their own fertility and women like Germaine Greer  Gloria Steinem, and Dale Spender  not only became household names but role models.  Even my own mother played her part as being the only mother in my class who not only worked outside the home, but was in a professional role, earning me the disdain of teachers and parents alike but ensuring that housework would never be enough for me..  Physical and metaphorical bra-burning became a symbol of being freed from the male-imposed restrictions of the past, the bra being the most significant item of clothing that women wore that men didn’t.  (Even though wearing trousers was tolerated, office dress-codes mandated that it be a “trouser suit” with matching top and bottom until some of us rebelled and dared our male supervisors to remove our clothing.)  

But while it is critical for our girls to know on whose shoulders they stand through books like this as a general introduction and others like The Doll Box as part of their personal stories, , Grandma also urges Maggie to “keep that fire alight” because there is still much to be done, particularly in the current climate of conservative, right-wing politics dominated by white men in suits that is sweeping the globe and epitomised by the overturning of Row vs Wade in the USA. Australia’s own domestic violence crisis and the mandated Respectful Relationships curriculum are testament to that.  

IMO, as one of those “dinosaurs” who did burn her bra and lived through the most turbulent times that mean my granddaughters can have the life they now do, and if we are to continue to fight the scourge of gender-based discrimination, this is one of the most significant books that I’ve read and reviewed and is a must-have as the starting point for any study of history focusing on the importance and impact of women, as well as any investigation of social justice, gender equity, respectful relationships and inclusivity. Parts of the extensive teachers’ notes can assist in the investigations but perhaps it is timely for our students to get to know their own grandmothers’ stories before it is too late and to spark the flame that keeps the fire alight. 

The Girls Who Changed the World (series)

Aug13
The Girls Who Changed the World (series)

The Girls Who Changed the World (series)

The Girls Who Changed the World (series)

Ming & Flo Fight for the Future

9781460760208

Ming & Marie Spy for Freedom

9781460760215

Ming & Hilde Lead a Revolution

9781460763445

Ming & Ada Spark the Digital Age

Jackie French

Harper Collins, 2022-2024

288pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

If ever there were a series that encapsulated the 2024 CBCA Book Week theme of Reading is Magic, then this would be it.  By opening any of these books and reading the stories, the reader is transported to a different place and time in history to meet real people, largely unacknowledged because they are female, and to learn about the significant contribution they made then that still impacts our lives today.  What could be more magical than that?

When Ming Qong puts up her hand in Mr Boors’ history class and asks him why they only ever learned about men in history, never girls, she has no idea the chain of events that she was about to set off.

Suddenly the class is silent and still, as though frozen in the moment, except for a strange, almost ethereal woman dressed in purple sitting in the window sill -someone Ming feels she knows but doesn’t.  The woman introduces herself as Herstory, the sister of History, a woman passionate about the part women have played alongside men as the centuries have rolled past and is as frustrated as Ming that those stories have not been told because “men wrote the history books and they mostly wrote them to please kings or generals or male politicians.” Even though the women’s stories are there in letters, diaries and even old newspapers waiting to be discovered, the past has always viewed through a male lens.  She then offers Ming a way to travel back to the past for just 42 days, to see it for herself (even though it wouldn’t always be pleasant, pretty or comfortable) and be part of it although she, herself, would not be seen or heard and she couldn’t change anything that happened.

And so the reader is transported back into times past to experience what life was like for girls and women when men were viewed as superior beings in all ways, and females were merely appendages to cater to their whims.  Few had the courage, the independence of spirit, the opportunity and the wherewithal to stand up to make a difference but when they did, they began the changes that have led to the life we lead today.  Whether it is having a say in the governance of the country; putting the contribution and sacrifice of women in war in the spotlight; the contribution that they made to developing Australia’s  wool industry allowing the nation to “ride on the sheep’s back for so long; fighting the scourge of racism and letting a female’s intelligence shine, this series tackles so many issues that women have been confronted with and challenged over centuries. And, just as we are currently discovering the stories or hardship, perseverance and endurance behind our Olympians, so the reader learns that there is much more to the stories of the women that we hold as heroes – it is their hidden histories of facing and fighting convention, prejudice, opinion and oppression, that helped them become who we see them to be today.  

However, as well as telling the stories of these remarkable but very ordinary (in the beginning) people, there is also Ming’s own story unfurling and there is a sense that for her too, there is something more to come, that these adventures and revelations are all leading to something momentous for her.  

Jackie’s meticulous research and her ability to tell a story that is so engaging that the reader wants to learn more once again shines a spotlight on the women on whose shoulders we all stand and for whom we owe a strong debt of gratitude.  

And there is still one more to come in the series.  Bring it on.  

 

The Doll Box

Jul20
The Doll Box

The Doll Box

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Doll Box

Deborah Kelly

Joanna Bartel

EK Books, 2024

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781922539700

Amongst the many treasures on Mama’s shelf, there is a small blue tin.  It’s not flamboyant like the shoes and hats and other things that Mama has chosen to keep but inside it has riches indeed – three little dolls that Isla loved to line up and play with.  Even on bad days like today, when she fell from the climbing frame in the park and despaired of ever reaching the top, they brought her joy.  But it is when her mother sits down and tells her the story of each of the dolls that she finds not only joy, but the courage, strength and self-belief that she needs to try that climb once again.

For there, in that tin are her great-great grandmother who couldn’t swim but still boarded a ship to cross the seas to give her children a better life; her great grandmother who worked tirelessly on the family farm to grow food for the soldiers when her husband was sent to war; and her grandmother who broke down the gender barriers to become an engineer in a world to which only men were allowed entry…

Decades and generations were encapsulated in that one conversation and Isla began to realise their significance in shaping who she is, and that she is so much more than the here-and now.  

Inspired by the author’s own family history, this is the most wonderful story that honours those women, particularly, who have gone before today’s generation of girls and especially those who would be considered “ordinary housewives” – a history that is only just emerging through books like this after being actively denied by the males who have recorded significant events in the past, even deliberately hidden by them as we learn in The Secret Sparrow.   Just as Isla learns that even though they might not have done things that were so important they earned an entry in a book of “famous women”, nevertheless their contribution to an evolving society was critical on a smaller scale, so can this generation of girls look back to what their own female role models braved, achieved and mastered so that they have the life they have today,

Regular readers of this blog will be aware of the barriers that my own mother overcame particularly in the field of women in journalism, from starting children’s pages in a daily newspaper during World War II when she not only supplied her own typewriter but also the paper she wrote on, but before her was her own mother who reported on shipping movements  on and out of a busy New Zealand harbour in the led up to that same war.  Unremarkable but important to the bigger picture, and typical of the stories of so many families if they take the time and trouble to delve into the past.  Hopefully, The Doll Box will inspire other girls to be Isla and want to know more about those stories before they are lost forever.  The teachers’ notes could guide this exploration and then perhaps Joanna Bartel’s technique of telling those stories in monochromatic vignettes could inspire their presentation.  

IMO, this has CBCA Book of the Year nominee written all over it, and my review copy will be going to my own granddaughters to not only inspire them but to remind them never to forget whose shoulders they stand on.

 

Secret Sparrow

Nov29
Secret Sparrow

Secret Sparrow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secret Sparrow

Jackie French

HarperCollins, 2023

256pp., pbk., RRP $A17.99

9781460760468

September 1978 and Arjun is walking to the local mall when he hears the roar of a flash flood approaching and sees the river become a turbulent mass of brown, white-flecked water with cars bobbing along like plastic bath toys.  Miraculously a motor bike appears and he is urged to climb on, as the rider heads to the only high part of this flat landscape that should never have been built on – a grassy knoll that boasts only a small carpark and a rubbish bin on a pedestal. 

As surprised as he is by the ferocity and the swiftness of the flood, he is even moreso when he discovers his rescuer is an elderly woman! And that she is  a woman with an amazing story to tell as the waters rise and she makes him climb in the rubbish bin and use old newspapers for warmth and has the wisdom to know his thoughts need diverting from both the  current situation and the fate of his mates trapped in the mall.  It is a story of going from growing up in an English village during World War I to being commandeered into serving her country despite being only 16;  to being torpedoed by a German U-boat while crossing the English Channel to living and working in the hell of the trenches of France… all because she learned Morse Code while competing with her older brothers and became so fast and accurate her skills had been noticed.

But this is not just Jean McLain’s story told to keep a young lad calm and distracted – this is the story of at least 3600 women who were used as signallers as she was during World War I who not only signed an oath that they would never divulge their role even decades after the war was over but whose service was never formerly recognised and so they received only their Post Office employee pay while they served and had to pay for their own medical treatment if they were injured, and whose army records were deliberately destroyed by the authorities because of their embarrassment at having to admit that they not only had to rely on women to serve, but the women had excelled. To have to admit that so many had been able to step up and cope in situations that required “physical strength, mechanical knowledge and the courage to work under fire” when such physical and emotional circumstances as war and its inevitable death were seen as “unwomanly”, was an anathema to many men and so not only were individual stories never told, they were lost altogether.

But, using her usual meticulous research, author Jackie French has brought it to light, as once again she winkles out those contributions of women to our history that seldom appear in the versions of history told by men.  So as well as Arjun being so intrigued by Jean McLain’s story as the night passes, dawn appears and she teaches him to use her long-ago skills to summon help, our more mature, independent readers (and their teachers) can also learn something of that which we were never told.  Because, apart from those in the roles like Jean McLain who could be prosecuted for sharing their wartime adventures even with their family, there was an unwritten code of the survivors of all wars that the horrors would not be shared because, apart from being horrific, unless you were there you would never understand.  But now at the age my grandfather was when he died, I have learned a smidgeon of what it must have been like for him on the notorious Somme and can only wonder at how he went on to become who he did.  

It is estimated that World War I claimed the lives of some 16 million people worldwide, 9.5 million of which were military deaths. It is also estimated that around 20 million were wounded, including 8 million left permanently disabled in some way. Of those lives lost, 54 000 were young Australian lads who were so eager to sign up for this grand new ‘adventure’ that they lied about their age and 18 000 young Kiwis who, like my grandfather, believed it was their duty to fight for “King and Country”. But only now, through stories like this and The Great Gallipoli Escape, are we learning the real story and through the questions she has her characters ask and answer are we being encouraged to question things for ourselves, not just about the war but also what we stand for. Often in the story Jean McLain is spurred on by her belief in her need to  “do her duty” and that her actions are saving lives, but then she poses the same situation to Arjun. “What are we worth if we don’t do our duty to each other? What kind of life is it if you don’t love someone or something enough to die for them? What matters to you, eh?’ 

As well as teaching us about the past, French inspires us to think about the future – and that is a gift that only writers if her calibre can give our students.