Stephen Sewell (Animal Kingdom) podcast

Another interesting podcast from the Radio National BookShow. This is a discussion with writer Stephen Sewell. 

Stephen Sewell is best known as a prolific Australian playwright and screenwriter. He has recently had a novel published by Pan Macmillan. It is based on the film, of the same name, Animal Kingdom directed by David Michod. Stephen Sewell briefly touches on his entry into the playwriting field and then goes on to discuss the reasons for his change of  writing direction and why he decided to write this novel. It is an interesting discussion about the setting and the characters and how he recognised them and the approach to writing about them. 

It’s unusual in the Australian scene for a novel to follow the film but not unknown elsewhere, particularly in the US. Stephen Sewell’s Animal Kingdom is the story of revenge in a criminal family, the Codys, and it’s told through the character of 17-year-old Jay Cody, appalled by the family violence but inevitably affected by it and finally trapped by it. Stephen Sewell’s second novel, Babylon, is due out later this year.

Many boys at our school watched the movie as well as being fans of the Underbelly Tv series. There has been a lot of discussion and criticism about the glamourization of criminals and the underworld they live in. Stephen Sewell, who has often portrayed a grittier side of life, is articulate and thoughtful in his discourse.

 

2010 CBCA shortlists

CBCA shortlist were announced last week. I was at the ACEC conference and the list was  put on the “backburner” as I enjoyed the conference sessions. This week we have been busy as it the first week of the term so I have not really looked at the lists until today.

Older Readers: These books are for mature readers

• Christopher, Lucy  Stolen Chicken House
• We have this book in the library however I have not yet read it. The reviews have mostly been very good but a few interesting comments from those who have not enjoyed reading it have piqued my interest.
• Clarke, Judith The Winds of Heaven Allen & Unwin
• Larbalestier, Justine Liar Allen & Unwin
• A fascinating book that has been somewhat contentious, polarising quite a few readers
• Metzenthen, David Jarvis 24 Penguin
• Set in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne there is already a “hook” for our boys. It is a love story but not the “girly” stories that sometimes get written. It is a good story for young men. Marc is a private school boy on work experience. He meets Elektra, an elite runner from Broome, who has been “bought” by another big Melbourne school. The story is about how two young people see their world and the love story is really doomed from the start. Mark realizes that Elektra will run away from him in the end. For all that I have said, the story is humorous and concerns friendship and what you can offer to others. Many of our boys could relate to the characters and situation.
• Millard, Glenda  A Small Free Kiss in the Dark Allen & Unwin
• Another book we have here and one that I must read.
• Tangey, Penny Loving Richard Feynman UQP

 Younger Readers Intended for independent younger readers.

• Fensham, Elizabeth Matty Forever University of Queensland Press
• Hirsch, Odo Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool Allen & Unwin
• Lester, Alison Running with the Horses Viking, Penguin Group Australia
• McIntosh, Fiona The Whisperer Angus & Robertson, HarperCollinsPublishers
• Murphy, Sally  Illus. POTTER, Heather Pearl Verses the World Walker Books
• Storer, Jen Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children Viking, Penguin Group Australia

 Early Childhood: Intended for children in the pre-reading to early reading stages.

• Bland,  Nick The Wrong Book  (Scholastic Australia),
• Booth Christina Kip  (Windy Hollow Books),
• Dubosarsky, Ursula The Terrible Plop illus. by Andrew Joyner (Viking),
• Gleeson, Libby Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House illus. by Freya Blackwood (Little Hare Books),
• Shanahan, Lisa Bear & Chook by the Sea illus. by Emma Quay (Lothian),
• Thompson, Colin Fearless illus. by Sarah Davis (ABC Books)

Picture Book: Intended for an audience ranging from birth to 18 years range (Some books may be for mature readers).

• Danalis, John Schumann the Shoeman illus. by Stella Danalis (UQP),
• Harvey, Roland To the Top End: Our Trip Across Australia (Allen & Unwin),
• Hobbs Leigh Mr Chicken Goes to Paris (Allen & Unwin)
• Millard, Glenda Isabella’s Garden illus. by Rebecca Cool (Walker Books),
• Oliver, Narelle Fox and Fine Feathers (Omnibus),
• Rogers Gregory The Hero of Little Street (Allen & Unwin)

 Eve Pownall Award: Intended for an audience ranging from birth to 18 years range (Some books may be for mature readers).

• Clode, Danielle Prehistoric Giants: The Megafauna of Australia by (Museum Victoria),
• M is for Mates (Department of Veterans’ Affairs in association with the Australian War Memorial),
• Macinnis Peter Australian Backyard Explorer (National Library of Australia),
• Patrick, Tanya Polar Eyes: A Journey to Antarctica by illustrated by Nicholas Hutcheson (CSIRO),
• Reeder, Stephanie Owen Lost! A True Tale from the Bush by (National Library of Australia),
• Maralinga by Yalata & Oak communities with Christobel Mattingly (Allen & Unwin)

So many books that the judges must read. I looked at the notables list and then these the shortlist and I am amazed at the reading these people get through. I will be interested to hear the Victorian Judge  speak in a few weeks at our SLAV meeting. I do not envy the task that the judges have. To try to choose winners from the many good books is not an easy job. As always it will be interesting to see the eventual winner.The winners and honour books for each category will be announced on Friday, August 20th, at the beginning of Book Week.

Melina Marchetta Podcast

The ABC’s Life Matters program today ran an interview with Melina Marchetta.

In this interview Melina explains that the story of The Piper’s Son and the character of Tom Mackee began forming in Melina’s head during an episode of Australian Story. In the interview Melina describes how her ideas formed for the story and the characters and something about the processes she used when writing this book. 

It is a 15 minute interview and well worth listening to. Budding writers would also enjoy her thoughtful discussion. 

New novel from Melina Marchetta

This week as I was rushing past a book display I saw The Piper’s Son has been published. It had not been brought to my attention by my regular book suppliers so I had not seen it before this. This is the latest book by Melina Marchetta. Two of her earlier books that have been widely read and enjoyed in our school were Looking for Alibrandi and Saving Francesca. This new novel is a companion to Saving Francesca, set five years later and the character Thomas Mackee seems to have lost the plot and his life is out of control.

I have only had time to have a quick glance though it but the story appears to be about family, grief, and love. As always the writing in the parts I have had a chance to look at make it for the reader to identify with the characters and the situations. I think this will be another book that will interest our male teenage readers and I really like the cover that has been chosen. I thought of the classic Catcher in the Rye when I first saw it! We have a 3-day weekend and so I am looking forward to reading this book properly (perhaps with coffee and cake for some of the time!)

One of my pet hates are the bad/inappropriate covers that are given to great/interesting books. This is where I then have to spend the first few  minutes convincing  our readers to pick up a book that I know they will like once they get past that cover. In our library we put up copies of the covers of many of the new novels to let the students know what new books have come in and to entice them into reading them.

Speaking of advertising books I also found out that Allen and Unwin have some author posters that you can download and/or print for your library or classrooms. 

From the Insideadog site:

If you live in Victoria you can meet Melina Marchetta, one of Australia’s very good YA authors, (and Printz Award winner) on Sunday March 14 at 2pm at Experimedia at the State Library of Victoria. (The venue has changed from the earlier advertised one - Village Roadshow Theatrette.)

The Piper’s Son, Melina’s new book, will be under discussion with Penni Russon.

Bookings here. Cost is $5 on the door and includes cake. Readings will be there for book sales and a signing session will follow the talks and questions.

Useful Links (weekly)

• Facebook Guide Book – How To, Tips and Instructions by Mashable  Mashable has put together a new Guidebook to Facebook, similar to their Twitter Guidebook, with detailed instructions for how to do nearly everything on the social network including – Facebook 101: The Basics, Managing Your Facebook Wall, Using Facebook for Business, How to become a fan of Mashable, Using Facebook Applications, Facebook 305: Advanced Topics,
• Old Photos & Old Pictures: Historical Photos at V like Vintage “This is a photo library and search engine all in one. V like Vintage bridges the gap between analogue photography and digital technology – and invites all amateur photographers, collectors and anyone interested in history on a fascinating journey through time featuring the countless faces of history. For this purpose, V like Vintage addresses all those who own historic photographs.”

• Hints & Tips For Doing A 365 Day Photo Project @ Dawnstar Australis As 2009 draws to an end and 2010 gets ready to spring into being the question many photographers are asking themselves is: Do I want to do a 365 day photo project? Peter Carey recently provided an article to the Digital Photography School website on the many benefits of doing a photo365 project. Dawn thought she would add to this work by listing some of lessons she has learnt from doing the 365 Before Thirty Project so far.

• Classroom 2.0 LIVE! Classroom 2.0 LIVE is an opportunity to gather with other members of the community in real-time events, complete with audio, chat, desktop sharing, and sometimes even video. For the weekly Saturday show you click on the words ‘Welcome Video Screencast’ to view a short screencast about the website and tutorial on accessing our Elluminate sessions.  

• Teachers Report Assistant – FREE time saving utility for teachers The Teachers Report Assistant is a free source program that aim to make the reporting process easier and cut teachers’ reporting time down. It creates a report card that is easy to follow and easy to make adjustments and correct mistakes. It is only available for Microsoft operating systems.

• How to Setup a Virtual Private Network (VPN) in Windows – Step by Step Guide How to Setup a Virtual Private Network (VPN) in Windows – Step by Step Guide

• Online Book Collections & Libraries: LibraryThing, Shelfari, & Goodreads | In All Reality A post comparing the pros and cons of each of the above

• 7 Things You Should Know About… | EDUCAUSE The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative’s (ELI’s) 7 Things You Should Know About… series provides concise information on emerging learning technologies and related practices. Each brief focuses on a single technology or practice and describes how they might be used.

• in education | exploring our connective educational landscape 

• 10 Must-Read eBooks for Social Media Lovers Christina Warren at Mashable has compiled a list of 10 Must-Read eBooks for Social Media Lovers. Each list entry includes a brief synopsis, cover art, and format details. The World According to Twitter by David Pogue looks interesting.

• 69 Coolest Web Apps Of 2009 @ SmashingApps Those at Smashing Apps have put together a list of the 69 Coolest Web Apps Of 2009.

• About | storyLines Open to contributions, this Australian blog was created to give support to high school literature programs. It features everything from book reviews to critiques on new Web 2.0 technology.

• CaptionTube: Home Create captions for your YouTube videos.The interface is very simple to use and it offers several alternatives for saving and exporting your captions. Captions can be done in owned or third party videos, and if you are not the owner it offers alternatives for publishing your captions in someone else’s creation.

• 9 Ways to Visualize Proportions – A Guide | FlowingData With all the visualization options out there, it can be hard to figure out what graph or chart suits your data best. This is a guide to make your decision easier for one particular type of data: proportions. 

• Home – Trove Trove is focused on Australia and Australians. It supplements what search engines provide with reliable information from Australia’s memory institutions. If you are researching in the fields of the social sciences, literature, local or family history, or need inspiration for your school assignment, then this is the tool for you.

• Web design | Create Free websites Web design with Wix.com Flash website builder. Choose your free web design from thousands of free Flash templates (Websites, Widgets, Newsletters, Banners, Flyers)

• YouTube – SafetyCenterVideos’s Channel 

• Featured Articles USDLA article. Content and technology are continually changing. This article reminds us that learners are also changing. For the past decade, faculty who won awards for teaching expressed concern that they could no longer hold the attention of their students. John Seely Brown, Chief Scientist at Xerox and director of its Palo Alto Research Center, hired 15 year olds to design future work environments and learning environments. He observed that the students did not conform to the traditional image of learners as permissive sponges. It requires us to rethink and redesign education for the Digital Age.

• Assorted Infotoons – a set on Flickr 

• Creating Resources / Resources & CPD / YHGfL – YHGfL 

• Cyberbullying / eSafety / YHGfL – YHGfL 

• How To Use An Apostrophe – The Oatmeal A simple (and comic) guide on when and when not to use an apostrophe.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.