And the children's choice is...Zobi and the Zoox

We're delighted to announce that Zobi and the Zoox has won its first ever award!

Our illustrator extraordinaire - Aviva Reed was on hand to collect our Puggle (Children's Choice) award, in the Picture Fiction category of the Environmental Award for Children's Literature (EACL).

Thanks to all of the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and teachers (did we miss anyone?) who encouraged the kids of Australia to vote for our book. Thanks also to the Wilderness Society for running this important award and Creative Victoria for their ongoing support!

A list of the winners in the other categories can be found at Science Book a Day and EACL websites...

 

We're looking forward to placing our new sticker artwork onto the cover of the next edition of Zobi and the Zoox.

Next up, the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year awards...

The Squid, the Vibrio & the Moon eBook Launch: A Poem

Making an eBook is really quite tough,

there are so many stages between finished and rough.

But with so many people willing to help out,

we have finally made it to the part where we shout.

 

First of all, I will thank the microbes,

without whom our story would not have grown.

There are scientists, writers and artists to mention,

all inspired by invisible micro-dimensions.

Symbiotic relations between small and big,

in this case between Vibrio and a much larger squid.

 

When the storybook was printed, we made it a square,

but this is not a good shape for iPads to wear!

So Mark our designer took a good hard look,

and lo and behold, a rectangular eBook!

 

Next comes the task of spreading the word,

thank you to Cameron who has helped make us heard.

And to everyone who has and will share our tale,

thank you for acknowledging the smaller scale.

 

The role of our small friends and the part they play,

is too large to mention in one book or one day.

One thing however I'll say in this post,

they can sure work together...that's what I like most.

 

http://www.smallfriendsbooks.com/squid-vibrio-moon/

Researching "The Invisible War": Dear Mrs. Roadknight

I think to tell this story I need to be connected to it. To know about people and what their lives were. So, as a way in, I’ve been looking up my own family history. Walter and James Roadknight were my Nana’s uncles. James was injured trying to invade at Gallipoli and then killed in Belgium. Walter died in France of gunshot wounds to the chest almost a year later. They grew up around the Gippsland lakes. I know that country, from gazing out the car window at the old white weatherboard house on the edge of Johnsonville where my great-great grandmother lived.

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