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Richie's Picks: Ten Reasons Why I Like Talking About Books from Australia
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From: BudNotBuddy at aol.com <BudNotBuddy>
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 22:04:04 EDT
Richie's Picks: Ten Reasons Why I Like Talking About Books from Australia
1. JINX by Margaret Wild
2. DON'T PAT THE WOMBAT by Elizabeth Honey
3. MAGIC BEACH by Alison Lester
4. A LION IN THE NIGHT by Pamela Allen 5. MY CAT MAISIE by Pamela Allen 6. FANCY THAT! by Pamela Allen
7. BOO TO A GOOSE by Mem Fox, ill. by David Miller 8. WILFRED GORDON MCDONALD PARTRIDGE by Mem Fox, ill. by Julie Vivas
9. LET'S EAT! by Margaret Wild, ill. by Julie Vivas 10.THE VERY BEST OF FRIENDS by Margaret Wild, ill. by Julie Vivas
I've got a confession to make. It concerns the oldest of these ten books, and it involves one of the aspects of Australian books I'd like to discuss.
In the mid80's, when I was first teaching preschool, I'd go to a branch of our public library in the evening, sit on the grey carpeting, and read through dozens of stories. I'd carefully pick out the maximum 30 books I was permitted to borrow and then read them aloud during circle times.
I was horrified to learn in those first years that books could suddenly disappear--if they were worn out they'd get pulled off the shelf and sold at library sales around the county for fifty cents each. And if they were out of print then neither I nor the library could get a hold of them again.
My confession: I didn't really "lose" that worn-out copy of A LION IN THE NIGHT a decade ago. I paid the fifteen dollar replacement fee so that I would be able to read it monthly for ever and ever. That beloved copy made its most recent public appearance during my marathon reading for this past spring's Read Across America.
Sadly, virtually all of Pamela Allen's work is out of print in the States. The same goes for Allison Lester's 1990 ('92 in the US) gem, MAGIC BEACH, which Australian bookstores have continued to sell. And--I'm shocked to have just this moment discovered--Penguin Books Australia currently lists SIXTEEN Pamela Allen books that I've never even heard of, in addition to all of my old favorites!
Then there's JINX.
Unlike many so?lled verse novels being published these days, JINX, which will be released here in August, and which is currently shortlisted in Australia for Young Adult Book of the Year, is truly poetic. You can open it to any random page and each poem, while part of the overall story, stands well on its own. The book is so consistent in quality that it took me all day to finally choose which handful of verses to use as examples in my recent review. (http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/jinx.html)
But I fear that many great Australian books--like those of Pamela Allen--either don't appear or don't remain in print in the US. Isn't it time then, if the American publishers can't consistently see the value in great Australian books, to consider networking with Australian publishers when augmenting and updating collections?
Richie Partington http:richiespicks.com BudNotBuddy at aol.com
Received on Tue 02 Jul 2002 09:04:04 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 22:04:04 EDT
Richie's Picks: Ten Reasons Why I Like Talking About Books from Australia
1. JINX by Margaret Wild
2. DON'T PAT THE WOMBAT by Elizabeth Honey
3. MAGIC BEACH by Alison Lester
4. A LION IN THE NIGHT by Pamela Allen 5. MY CAT MAISIE by Pamela Allen 6. FANCY THAT! by Pamela Allen
7. BOO TO A GOOSE by Mem Fox, ill. by David Miller 8. WILFRED GORDON MCDONALD PARTRIDGE by Mem Fox, ill. by Julie Vivas
9. LET'S EAT! by Margaret Wild, ill. by Julie Vivas 10.THE VERY BEST OF FRIENDS by Margaret Wild, ill. by Julie Vivas
I've got a confession to make. It concerns the oldest of these ten books, and it involves one of the aspects of Australian books I'd like to discuss.
In the mid80's, when I was first teaching preschool, I'd go to a branch of our public library in the evening, sit on the grey carpeting, and read through dozens of stories. I'd carefully pick out the maximum 30 books I was permitted to borrow and then read them aloud during circle times.
I was horrified to learn in those first years that books could suddenly disappear--if they were worn out they'd get pulled off the shelf and sold at library sales around the county for fifty cents each. And if they were out of print then neither I nor the library could get a hold of them again.
My confession: I didn't really "lose" that worn-out copy of A LION IN THE NIGHT a decade ago. I paid the fifteen dollar replacement fee so that I would be able to read it monthly for ever and ever. That beloved copy made its most recent public appearance during my marathon reading for this past spring's Read Across America.
Sadly, virtually all of Pamela Allen's work is out of print in the States. The same goes for Allison Lester's 1990 ('92 in the US) gem, MAGIC BEACH, which Australian bookstores have continued to sell. And--I'm shocked to have just this moment discovered--Penguin Books Australia currently lists SIXTEEN Pamela Allen books that I've never even heard of, in addition to all of my old favorites!
Then there's JINX.
Unlike many so?lled verse novels being published these days, JINX, which will be released here in August, and which is currently shortlisted in Australia for Young Adult Book of the Year, is truly poetic. You can open it to any random page and each poem, while part of the overall story, stands well on its own. The book is so consistent in quality that it took me all day to finally choose which handful of verses to use as examples in my recent review. (http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/jinx.html)
But I fear that many great Australian books--like those of Pamela Allen--either don't appear or don't remain in print in the US. Isn't it time then, if the American publishers can't consistently see the value in great Australian books, to consider networking with Australian publishers when augmenting and updating collections?
Richie Partington http:richiespicks.com BudNotBuddy at aol.com
Received on Tue 02 Jul 2002 09:04:04 PM CDT
