A Land of Sweeping Plains and Flooding Rains (Part 5)

'Are we there yet?" Sound familiar?  It is a constant question we here as a parent whenever we attempt a road trip. Games, activities, books, songs, everything a resourceful parent can think of is usually needed to keep the kids occupied along the journey.

Yet oddly enough, it had been a week since departing home and I had not been tempted to say it even once!

To say the scenery so far had been nothing but spectacular is an understatement and the experiences so far had been surprising and outstanding. We had still so much more ahead of us.

It had taken seven days to travel through flooding rains, across sweeping plains and even the treeless Nullabor with its incredible rugged cliffs that drop into the Great Australian Bite, but we had finally reached Esperance in Western Australia and I had witnessed my first whale sighting. You can tell Esperance is known for whale watching, there is a fabulous sculpture in the park on the beach.

Next on our agenda was picturesque Cape Le Grand National Park. However, on the drive around from Esperance came another wonderful surprise, a must stop and see. In the middle of a farmers paddock we found a full size replica of Stonehenge. It stood complete as it once would have, some 3,000 or more years ago. We had so much fun walking between the stones, unlike the original in Salisbury, England that is roped off from tourists. This replica invites you to touch and feel the atmosphere. It is designed so that it too, can catch the summer and winter solstice. Naturally, I couldn't resist, I had to press my hands against the stones just in case I could travel back in time. (Outlander fans know what I mean.) Not that my husband would have been impressed if he lost me. Then it was time to run for shelter as the inevitable storm rolled in across the plains. We chatted inside the tourist centre to the very friendly owner while we waited for the rain to abate before continuing our journey to the cape.

Cape Le Grand National Park was everything we had heard it to be and more. Pristine pure white sandy beaches stretched around every corner and nestled in little sheltered bays. Rugged rocky outcrops of massive granite peaks rose in spectacular formation among the rolling heathlands that include an abundance of amazing wildflowers. Western Grey kangaroos are said to roam the beaches but we didn't see any while we were there. My guess is you would have to stay overnight in a camp site to see them at dusk or dawn the same as we see the kangaroos at home. There were many bushwalking trails to take advantage of to see the sights, unfortunately we did not stay long enough to take in any of the longer walks. So I have added that to my bucket list, I will return one day to do some of these beautiful walks.

That evening we were expected in the little country town of Mt Barker. Friends of hubby lived there and we were due for dinner. We enjoyed their company so much, one overnight stay turned into two nights. They drove us around town and the surrounding countryside, pointing out which farms were owned by which family members. We were convinced by the end that their families must have owned most of Mt Barker and the surrounding region. They took us up to visit a private little chapel on a hill overlooking the town, that had been there since the 1800's. The gardens looked really pretty with the canola fields in bloom as a backdrop before taking us to lunch in a quaint little winery. Until then, I had no idea this was a wine growing region of WA. I must admit, both the wine and lunch were rather yummy!

While there, we popped down to the coast to the town of Albany. I had hoped to see Albany on a previous visit to WA, we came close, but didn't quite reach it. Albany is an old whaling town, also famous as the place where our troops were sent off to Gallipoli at the beginning of WW1. On leaving here, this was the last time so many of our young men saw their home land. There is a huge museum in their memory here but we spent so long at the old whaling station museum we didn't have time to visit both. The tour of the whaling museum was fascinating. I am so glad the Australian government decided to stop the cruel slaughtering of such a magnificent and majestic mammal back in the 1970's. They are continually updating the exhibitions, adding more 3D and interactive sites. It is very informative with so much to see, do and explore, be prepared to spend a full day there. Also be prepared for the unexpected, we walked into the coffee shop only to hear my name called out and a lady rushed over to embrace me. I couldn't believe my eyes, we were on the other side of Australia and ran into someone we knew from home! How coincidental was that!

After our two and a half day visit with friends in Mt Barker it was time to start making our way up towards Perth where we would finally be able to spend some precious time with our eldest son and his wife. As we have previously visited the Margaret River region several times, (and planned to visit a bit later in this trip) we bypassed it after an overnight stop in Denmark, (the town not the country) and only stopped to take the occasional photo of wildflowers. Arriving in the south-west of WA in late September meant all the wildflowers that the region is famous for were all in bloom. The splendour of colour was everywhere.

It had now been almost two weeks on the road and I was so excited with the thought of seeing my son, yet I still refrained from asking the proverbial question, "are we there yet?" I was savouring every moment.

Have you experienced that "are we there yet?" feeling? If so, where were you heading? Did you enjoy your road trip? Please leave a comment in the comment box below.

Next week: Perth, family, friends, Margaret River and more friends.

Don't forget, if you have missed any of the journey so far, and you would like to catch up, it's easy, just click on any of the links below.

http://www.sandrabennettauthor.com/a-land-of-sweeping-plains-and-flooding-rains-part-4/

http://www.sandrabennettauthor.com/a-land-of-sweeping-plains-and-flooding-rains-part-3/

http://www.sandrabennettauthor.com/a-land-of-sweeping-plains-and-flooding-rains-part-2/

http://www.sandrabennettauthor.com/a-land-of-sweeping-plains-and-flooding-rains-part-1/

A Land of Sweeping Plains and Flooding Rains (Part 3)

Do you have a bucket list? Have you managed to tick anything off that list?

I have been fortunate in my life, so far I can tick off a number of dreams from my list. In no particular order they are -

1. Sipped a glass of champagne while taking in the view of Paris from the top of the Eiffel tower.

2. Ridden a camel at sunset along Cable Beach in Broome, WA. 

3. Swum under a waterfall in more than one outback Australian waterhole.

4. Strolled around Monet's magnificent gardens in Giverny, France.

5. Slept in a haunted castle in Ireland.

I could go on but then this list would be far too long.

This journey,  was another memorable bucket list experience I was excited to finally achieve.

So far we had crossed through the wine and fruit growing regions of NSW, during massive floods (Part 1), the wheat belt of country Victoria and South Australia and had now reached the beginning of the Great Australian Bite. The Nullabor was in reach.(part 2.)

After leaving Ceduna we were amazed at the size of each wheat farm that stretched for kilometres.  Our first stop was Penong Windmill Museum, located in the tiny town of Penong on the edge of the Nullabor. The museum was officially opened only a week before we arrived, so it was all brand new. The towns folk were rather excited about their new exhibition. Since solar pumps are beginning to replace windmills across the Australian landscape, this community decided to salvage some of the most iconic windmills, restore them and place them altogether in an outdoor museum as a tribute to the way things once were. We had a wonderful time walking around and reading the information about them all. I was surprised at the difference in sizes of them. Included in the collection is the largest windmill in Australia that spans over 35 foot.

Just around the corner and across the road, we played our first golf hole. Yes folks, before leaving Ceduna we had paid a visit to the Information centre to pay our golf fees to play the Nullabor Links. Friends had told us about this and it seemed a great idea. The Nullabor Links comprises of 18 holes of golf that span from Ceduna all the way across the Nullabor with the final hole to be completed in the old gold mining town of Kalgoorlie,  situated in Western Australia, 1,388 km from Ceduna in South Australia. That would have to be the world's longest golf course! It is a brilliant idea to make tourists take a break along the long straight stretches of road. You will find a golf hole at each roadhouse, caravan park or town along the way. Most of them are pretty rough, dry, with a lot of dirt and overgrown scrub, but that makes it all the more fun as you tackle the unique obstacles that arise. A fair warning to those who decide to give it a go, while we had a lot of fun, be careful. I teed off at one hole and as I walked up towards my ball for my second stroke, a brown snake slithered across my path and attempted to take my golf ball. For my overseas readers, an Australian Brown Snake is one of our deadliest snakes, it will strike if it feels threatened. We decided that was enough golf for that particular hole. The snake won that particular hole that day!

How anyone can say the drive across the Nullabor is boring, I'll never know. We found it fascinating! There was so much more to stop and see than I could have ever imagined.  The word Nullabor comes from the Latin derivatives of Nullus - no and arbor - tree. It is a flat open ancient seabed with almost no trees to be seen for miles. That being said, on leaving Penong, we detoured along Point Sinclair Rd, across Lake Macdonnell all the way to Point LeHunt to find another long jetty ideal for whale watching, disappointingly, there were no whales in sight that day. There was however a great picnic spot with a shelter and wall covered in clever mosaic art pieces. I took photos of them all to show my neighbour as she is in the middle of a long term mosaic project, I hoped these might inspire her. 

On return to the Eyre Highway we continued our drive until we reached the next detour that took us to the Head of the Bite and the Great Australian Bite Marine Park for that first glimpse of whale watching. Due to the massive storms that had been through the area in recent days, the seas were churned up and it was rather muddy near the coastline. This meant the whales were further out to sea than normal. We did manage to spot one or two, but it was difficult. The boardwalk was well set up with several vantage spots to look for whales, including some sheltered areas from the inevitable biting winds and rain. That day though, my quest for whales was not satisfied. Undaunted, the search continued. 

Do you have a bucket list?

Have you ticked anything off it yet?

Be sure to add your list in the comments below. :) 

Next week : More discoveries along the Nullabor and we finally make it to Esperance, but do we find whales?

An Enchanting Underwater Adventure!

Kids love magic and sea creatures! Put them together and you have "The Magical Aquarium" by Cat Michaels.  An enchanting underwater magical sea adventure that is delightful, imaginative and inspiring.

I was lucky to win a copy of this wonderful ebook during a giveaway Cat ran during the launch of this latest short chapter book.

I don't want to give too much away, suffice to say, the characters are charming, the story telling is perfect for the intended age group and the illustrations are rather cute.

My first impression was this was a story that only girls would find interesting. So I decided to test my theory. I tutor a neighbour's  ten year old son after school and asked him to read the first chapter to gauge his opinion. After all, the best reviews always come direct from a child. He enjoyed that first chapter but no surprise, agreed he thought it was more suitable for the girls in his class, so I didn't press him to read further. The following week when given the choice to go back to "Zac Power, Frozen Fear" by H. I. Larry or continue with the "Magical Aquarium," to my surprise he chose .....drum roll please...... (you guessed it!) "The Magical Aquarium!" A second chapter in, we wrote a couple of sentences about the story so far, then he asked if he could download it himself so that he could finish it this week. He didn't want to wait until I returned next week with my tablet to be able to continue reading. You can't get a better reaction than that! I was very impressed. Cat's story had drawn my reader into her imaginative world and piqued his curiosity.

My theory fell flat. This is a book for all kids. They will love meeting the sea creatures in it. Some are a bit quirky, there's a vegetarian shark and a sea turtle with an itchy nose that needs to be scratched. Kids learn all about touch tanks where they can have the hands-on experience of feeling unusual creatures and walk through underwater tunnels to view all kinds of amazing underwater friends. Of course there is something quite magical that happens while the children visit this particular aquarium, but you are going to have to read the story to find out. No spoilers here!

You can tell Cat Michaels is a former school teacher like myself, at the end of the book she has included  a glossary of what she terms "Challenge Words" for young readers to check their understanding of meaning. Included with these are gorgeous photographs to further visually demonstrate comprehension. This is a perfect conclusion to a magical underwater adventure.

My only concern is that Cat has a stingray in the touch tank. I know they are generally considered docile animals and will only attack when frightened, mainly when stepped on in shallow waters when they are skimming through sand unseen. However, I think as an Australian, seeing them lurking off our shores quite frequently, I am a little more wary. The "Crocodile Hunter," Steve Irwin taught us an invaluable lesson about how dangerous a stingray can actually be if we are not careful. If you read this enchanting book with your children, maybe it is worthwhile having the discussion, a touch tank where children can feel animals under supervision is one thing, but some things are best left alone when discovered in their natural environment.

That being said, I still believe this book is worthy of 5 star(fish) for it's imagination, creativity and environmental awareness. A great way to start a discussion with the kids at home or in your classroom about looking after the world's oceans.

https://www.amazon.com/Magical-Aquarium-Cat-Michaels-ebook/dp/B01MY98FX2

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-magical-aquarium/id1173085945?ls=1&mt=11

Love is in the Air! - International Book Day Blog Hop

"Love is in the air everywhere I look around  Love is in the air every sight and every sound And I don't know if I'm being foolish Don't know if I'm being wise But it's something that I must believe in And it's there when I look in your eyes"

Sorry I'm not about to break out into John Paul Young's song, Have you started singing it in your head yet?

I'm not about to start ballroom dancing either, even though I loved "Strictly Ballroom" (maybe I'll watch that again tonight)!

Now that I have your attention!  Valentines Day is just around the corner, a day to remember our loved ones. Valentines Day is also International Book Giving Day!  Why is International Book Day held the same day? It is a day devoted to instilling a lifelong love of reading in children and providing access to books for children in need. For this reason I decided this year as a special treat I would focus on my love of reading and sharing that love with children.  

How am I doing that? In case you haven't heard by now, I have joined a group of fantastic Indie Authors to help spread the love in a Blog Hop  devoted to the love of books and a giveaway of some of their 's (and my) awesome children's books. More on that later, for now, please read and enjoy, then read the other #gr8blogs listed below for more fun loving book inspiration. Don't forget when you finish reading to be sure to enter the rafflecopter competition for your chance to win one of 14 amazing picture books and ebooks so that you too, can help share and spread the love of books with children everywhere!

Reading - How do I love thee, let me count the ways - 

1. I love the smell of opening the pages of a freshly printed new book.
2. I love snuggling with a child and sharing the wonder and surprise of what they find inside the story.
3. I love that stories can take you on adventures to far off places and unknown worlds of discovery and imagination.
4. I love that books are filled with endless opportunities to learn.
5. I love that you can escape everyday reality for awhile inside the pages of a fantasy, mystery or adventure.
6. I love the fact that sharing a book with a child is time well spent, a bonding time and memory building time.
7. I love reading a book to an eager class of wide eyes, and watching the anticipation on their faces as I reach the climax.
8. I love reading a book that inspires a child to write their own imaginative story or draw a wondrous illustration.
9. I love hearing a child ask to hear a favourite bedtime story read aloud "just one more time!"
10. I love it when they fall asleep clutching their favourite story and you know they are dreaming of that special world.

Can you think of any other reasons to love reading? I'm sure there are plenty more. Leave a comment below, I would love to know what you think.

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing a bit of the reading love of International Book Giving Day. Don't forget to read these other #gr8t blogs from my fab author friends.  It's not too late to join our Rafflecopter competition either. Entries close 15th Feb so you still have time to share in the love of our book giveaway. While you're reading these blogs check out these authors awesome books you might like a chance to win!

Cat Michaels, Cat’s Corner - goo.gl/QctwSl   

Julie Gorges, Baby-Boomer Bliss -http://babyboomerbliss.net/celebrating-international-book-giving-day-free-book-giveaway/

Carmela Dutra, A Blog for your Thoughts - http://bit.ly/2kUcH1F

JD Holiday: JD's Writers Blog http://jdswritersblog.blogspot.com/...

Corrina Holyoake, http://corrinaholyoake.blogspot.co.uk/...

James Milson - http://wp.me/p3RsfU-151

Tracy Bryan - http://tracybryan.com/blog/valentin...

Rosie Russell - http://booksbyrose.com/kidlit-blog-...

Terms and conditions: There is NO purchase necessary to enter or win. Eight winners (still to be determined exact amount) will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget within 48 hours and notified by email once the giveaway ends. The winners will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner(s) do not respond within 72 hours, a new winner(s) will be chosen. This giveaway is open to all who live in and outside of the US. However, as there are several sponsors of this giveaway who live both domestic and international. Print books are available only for domestic country of author origin; ebooks offered outside author's country of origin at their discretion.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

International Book Giving Day Coming Soon!

It's almost here! International Book Giving Day is the same day as Valentines Day, Feb 14! 

What does this mean?

Spreading the love of books to children everywhere!

It's such a wonderful idea I decided to jump onboard and join in the giveaways this year.

I'm trying a lot of new things this year. I started my email list, (finally), now have to start writing my first newsletter. So exciting. :)

I even joined the scary world of the twittersphere. (Wish me luck on that one, I'm a bit nervous about that).

One thing I am really excited about though is joining my author friends from all over the world to bring to you the chance to win free copies of all our gorgeous children's books. This is your chance to get books into the hands of children you love and read aloud with them some fabulous new stories. Sharing the love of books and reading on Valentines Day, has to be a great idea, don't you agree?

International Book Giving Day is a day devoted to instilling a lifelong love of reading in children and providing access to books for children in need. It falls each year on Valentines Day and what better way to say I love you than by giving your loved ones something they can enjoy reading over and over again. What better way to tell our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews we love them than with the gift of a book!

Books are a small gift that can last a lifetime and make a huge impact! You could inspire a future author, a journalist, a scientist, the possibilities are endless. Never underestimate the power of giving a book, you never know where the imagination and creativity may lead.

So, now you know what Book Giving Day is all about and you love the idea too! What do you do next?

• You can take a loved one to the library and share a book with them.
• Read aloud at home with a special someone, maybe even a neighbour's child
• Donate a much loved old children's book to a family, charity or hospital in need.
• Visit a bookstore and buy a book for someone you love.
• or you can join our giveaway.

I am so pleased and excited to be sharing in my first giveaway with some of my special author friends in this Book Giveaway Extravaganza! In total there will be 14 signed copies of our books as well as ebooks all ready to giveaway with love especially to you. The Giveaway starts Wednesday 1st February and runs through to 15th February 2017.

Marianne Dubuc – creator of the 2017’s official poster – has also created these beautiful bookmarks. Print one out and add to your book when you give it to someone you love. Don't forget to write a few special words of love in the inside front cover. The receiver will love and treasure it.

Join the Giveaway - entries open 1st Feb 17

For more information on how to enter for your chance to win see the details below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and conditions: There is NO purchase necessary to enter or win. Winners will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget within 48 hours and notified by email once the giveaway ends. The winners will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner(s) do not respond within 72 hours, a new winner(s) will be chosen. This giveaway is open to all who live in and outside of the US. However, as there are several sponsors of this giveaway who live both domestic and international. Print books are available only for domestic country of author origin; ebooks offered outside author's country of origin at their discretion.

Now you know how I plan to spread the love on Valentines Day, how about you?

Let me know in the comments below.

How to Make a Magical Fairy House for Your Garden

Do you have fairies at the bottom of your garden? Do the fairies help clean your house? Pick up after the kids?  Or perhaps hide the odd sock or two? 

Have you ever thought about building a house for the fairies in your garden?

A few weeks back I began to embark on a new project for our garden. Little did I know at the time that it would become a joint project between my husband and myself. He became so excited about my little project that he almost took over and before I knew it, my little magical fairy house was an enormous family project bigger than "Ben Her!"

My advice before you start, plan your strategy wisely. If you want to build something as grand as ours then be my guest and follow my instructions. You can always choose to simplify it and build a fairy house with not quite as much decoration. Whatever you decide, it will still be magical and delight all who set eyes on it. That is, friends, neighbours, and family with imagination. But be warned- be prepared to put in quite a lot of time! It is worth it in the end and we did have a lot of fun and laughs along the way. So worth every minute. It is a great way to spend quality time together and after all, shouldn't everyone have a little magic at the bottom of their garden?

Note: Most of the materials we used were gathered from around our house. So the fairy house was made at very minimal cost.

Step One: Select a suitable plastic container of a size you would like the basic structure to be. We chose an old bucket that had a split in the bottom, useless for water now, but ideal for a fairy house. Use a felt tip pen to draw a plan on the bucket then cut out the windows and door.

Step Two: Cover the bucket with a collection of flat stones. River stones work well, we collected ours from the beach. (It was a great excuse for a day out at the beach by the way.) They are in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours. You can use craft glue to stick them on however this takes awhile to dry and they tend to slide if you don't hold them long enough. I found the best tool was a hot glue gun, just be careful not to burn your fingers while manipulating the smaller stones. I admit I had a few blisters!

Step Three: We added an entryway. This is an additional feature of our choice. You can choose to leave off and keep things simple. My husband screwed timber walls to the bucket before adding the roof.

Step Four: Add a roof to your fairy house. Again we used left over timber from the construction of our house. We are lucky to be owner builders so have plenty of material available. We then added packing timber to the roof and spray painted it dark grey to look like shingles.

Step Five: The walls of the entryway are made from paddle pop sticks to resemble timber. I painted them brown.

Step Six: We added a door with a miniature hinge to be able to open and close it.

Step Seven: Cover the windows to help make the inside weather and spider proof with plastic. The plastic is glued on from the inside.

Step Eight: Add any desired additional ornaments. In our case we added a weather vein, spray painted gold. A crooked pipe chimney and a silver satellite dish. To complete the look I added tiny flowers under some of the windows to give the illusion that the fairies had planted their own garden and sprinkled gold fairy dust across the roof. We also found some tiny items from a model ship we had never found the time to construct, so added the lantern, windows and shields. It is amazing what you can find around the house to use to decorate if you have a bit of a rummage. 

Step Nine:  Make sure it is sealed from the weather by spraying completely with a varnish.

Step Ten: Add a couple of fairies, select a position in your garden and enjoy the delight on visitors faces.

Here is the finished magical fairy house in our selected spot under our Chinese Elm near my bird house and emu statues. One day I will have the rest of the garden completed around it and hopefully it will be filled with lots of fairies including some of the blue fairy wrens that currently nest in the garden near my kitchen. Perhaps when there are enough small shrubs in this garden they will feel safe to move across.

Do you have a spot to put a fairy house in your garden?

If you build one, send me a photo and I'll add it below. Maybe we could start a collection.

I'm thinking about writing a story about an Aussie fairy family. If you would like to hear more or have any ideas, join me in my awesome readers newsletter group. I'd love to discuss any idea you might suggest.

How to Bring Diversity to the Classroom.

As we approach Australia Day, a day where we celebrate all things fabulous about being Australian. It is also a time to reflect on our beginnings. Where have we all come from? Over the years we have grown into a melting pot of so many wonderful cultures from across the globe that we truly are a multicultural society. I remember back in my university days some 30 odd years ago how the importance of multiculturalism in the classroom was emphasised. Since that time, we have only grown more diverse than ever, making it even more important to celebrate our differences and our similarities.

Over my years as a teacher, I was fortunate to be able to teach in several schools with great diversity. My first being an International school in Thailand, the second, a Primary school here in Canberra. As an ESL/LOTE teacher I have been fortunate to work with some absolutely fantastic kids from all corners of the world and been involved in the planning and preparation of several Multicultural or Harmony Days at school.

When the classroom is filled with a diverse range of students it is exciting to bring in their backgrounds as part of their education. One of the things you can do to begin a classroom discussion is to start with a take-home survey.

For example: As we live in Canberra I titled this - My Canberra Survey. 1. Name 2. Age group (circle) 18-25 26-40 41-55 56+ (Note: This survey is for an adult to complete, you can alter to include the kids in the class) 3. Where were you born? Country City 4. What year did you move to Canberra? 5. Why did you and your family move to Canberra? 6. What do you like about living in Canberra? 7. What do you think makes Canberra unique and why? 8. What do you think is special about living in Canberra?

Once the class has collected the information you can - 1. Set up a class graph to see where in the world they have all come from. 2. Graph how long each family has lived here? 3. List all the reasons people like living here. 4. Compare/contrast similarities and differences.

This leads into organising a Multicultural Day. 1. Invite parents into the classroom to read stories from their country of origin. 2. Talk about their favourite places and memories of their birth country. 3. Share information on bulletin boards/project sheets about each country. Maps, climate, population, national dress, customs etc 4. Dress up in National costume. 5. Have a Multicultural Feast!

6. If you would rather spread the classroom diversity throughout the year rather than one special day, I suggest cooking a dish from each country once a week. If this is too difficult, ask a parent to supply a traditional dish to share with the class once a week instead.

I remember my first Multicultural Day Feast in Thailand. It was a magnificent day full of so many special experiences, laughs and wonder. I did learn one important thing about living in Thailand though. I tried to make lamingtons for the Australian tables food selection. They were not so successful. I discovered it was almost impossible to buy desiccated coconut in Pattaya and bought shredded coconut instead. My lamingtons tasted great, but did not look quite as good as I had hoped. Turns out shredded coconut soakes up chocolate. Who would have thought?

A few years later I had the chance to redeem myself while teaching back home in Canberra. As the ESL/LOTE teacher I was teaching Indonesian at the time so wore my Indonesian traditional dress and cooked a wok full of Nasi Goreng, much more successful. Lesson learnt, stick to savoury dishes!

Now if I were still teaching I have the perfect Australian picture book to bring to the table. Emma the Eager Emu is a different kind of bird to all the other birds at flying school. At first she doesn't like the fact that she is different, but with the help of her friends, Emma learns to embrace those special qualities that make her stand out from the rest. It is a wonderful book to help teach children the importance of their similarities and the uniqueness of their differences. A classroom discussion can follow the reading including the diversity in birds as well as humans and ways in which we can celebrate those special different qualities in us all. Children can then make their own books titled "I am different, I am the same."

How are you planning on celebrating your cultural diversity in your classroom? Leave a comment below. I'd love to know.

Inspire Kids to Read and Write Together.

November is a great month to encourage writing, (as is any month). It is Picture book month and NanoWriMo (National Writing Month). Why not combine the two with your class and enjoy a reading and writing session using your favourite picture books as stimulus. Reading and writing go hand in hand. One is always helped by achieving the other. Reading is improved when children read something they have written themselves just as writing improves the more they can read. Kids succeed with both these skills when brought together to share ideas, inspire, encourage and work as a team.  

There is no need for a child to struggle alone in the classroom. As part of a team, they can develop their strengths as each member brings significant individual qualities to the group. One may have amazing creative ideas as a story starter, while it may take another to bring the story to conclusion. One child may be a great reader but need inspiration for ideas of their own.  Teamwork can supply the support and encouragement for all to succeed. Together they can find the confidence to write and read a story that they may not be able to imagine individually.

This is particularly useful with multi-age groups where younger children have amazing imaginations but need the help of older kids to read and write. In turn, older kids who struggle with the lack of creativity or imagination are stimulated by their younger group members to develop ideas further, therefore together they are able to create a much more interesting story.

When put to work together it is surprising what ideas a group of children will come up with to produce a diverse range of stories taken from the same stimulation.

Take for example a group of children in varying ages from 6 to 12, brought together to write a Fractured Fairy Tale.

We began by reading aloud together the very familiar story of The Three Little Pigs. Everyone loves a fairy tale and all the colourful pictures that go along with the book. As you read together, even those who can't yet read along, can still participate with the well known repetition. "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!" 

After the initial story, we discussed the characters and stories of a few more rather familiar fairy tales - Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood. Again, this allows all age groups to participate, it is not necessary to read all the stories as they are so well known.

We discussed the possibilities of what might happen should all these characters come together in one story.  As a guidance I helped structure a beginning and middle of their stories before sending the groups off to work and discuss how they might bring their fractured fairy tale to a conclusion. They drew story boards for their ideas to help reach a satisfactory ending that they all agreed upon. This requires a lot of chatter, but it is busy, happy talking as they draw, read, discuss and write down ideas.

Here is an example of a story that one group worked together to encourage each other to read and write. 

The Wolf Attack.

In a little cottage in the woods lived three bears.

One day they invited Goldilocks and her Grandmother for lunch. Little Red Riding Hood was also on her way to visit.

Meanwhile, the Big Bad Wolf was hungry. He was trying to catch the three little pigs for his dinner. They ran to the house of the three bears for safety.

The big bad wolf found some other evil wolves to join him and they followed everyone to the cottage in the woods.

The wolves banged on the door but they could not get in. So they disguised themselves as pigs and tried again.

But their growly voices gave them away and unknown to them, the pigs also had security cameras  on the outside of the cottage.

The Three Little pigs, the Three Bears, Goldilocks, Grandmother and Red Riding Hood could not be fooled.

The bad wolves gave up and went away leaving everyone to enjoy their lunch.

What picture books would you use to help bring a group of students together to read and write?

6 Tips to Help Get Your Indie Books in Stores.

Struggling to find book shops that will order your books? Need help with ways to make this dream a reality?

It is possible, and my books are the proof that you too, can do it!

1. Produce a quality book. One that any store would be happy to have on display on their shelves among the traditionally published books. The old cliche "You can't judge a book by its cover," unfortunately is not true. Your book has to be visually appealing. It has to entice buyers to pick it up off that shelf so that they will browse through it and make a decision. If a shop owner believes your book has this charm, they are more willing to take a chance and place an order. I was once told by the manager of one gift shop that my books were "so beautiful they would sell themselves." That manager had no hesitation in placing an order.  
2. Do your research. Does your book or books fit into a specific niche? Think outside the square, other than book shops, can you think of other places that might be interested? There are many different and selective gift shops you can target. I have two totally different series of books that I am marketing, so they require different scenarios. My Australian picture books are ideal for many tourist gift shops, Information Centres and National Parks, however my Alien short chapter books do better in places like museums of Science and Technology. You may find garden centres more suitable, coffee shops or other places of interest. You are only limited by your imagination.
3. Start local. Look around your local area. Many shops are prepared to support a local author. One of the first questions I am often asked is, "Are you local?" If I answer yes, they are far more interested in considering what I have to offer. Sometimes when I have been further afield they are still willing to take a chance, it all depends on the particular store. You have to gauge what their reaction may be when you look around. Sometimes it is evident that the store stocks local products only. Don't waist your time even asking. Sometimes it's more a case of "you never know, unless you give it a go." I  have been to places where emus are found naturally roaming the streets and thought the gift shop there would be interested for sure. As the area was targeting tourists that come to see the dolphins, their shop consisted only of dolphin and other sea creature products. Not an emu in sight! "Emma the Eager Emu" was evidently not wanted. Yet another gift shop in a similar area was more than pleased to take an order of both 'Emma" and "Frazzled Freya."
4. Make a connection. Once you have discovered where your books are a best fit, check out their websites. Plan a visit. I always enter a store and take a good look around to see what they have on offer. If there are books similar to mine, that is Australian picture books, then I'll usually ask to speak to the manager or whoever is in charge of stock purchases. If I am lucky, they are available, we have a chat, I show them my books and they make a decision. It's not always that simple, they may have to take the books to a committee and reply to you in a week or two. Other times, if the person is not available, I suggest leaving a complimentary copy for them to peruse at a more suitable time. I always leave an information sheet that includes all my contact details, the Recommended Retail Price and the wholesale price. Be sure to get their contact details before you leave. A business card you can swap is always handy. 
5. Introduce yourself. Either in person or via an email. You can't get to every store you want to target, sometimes an email is the only option. Some retailers only want to be contacted by email, not in store. Don't forget the follow up emails also from those contact details you picked up in the stores you left your books in. Always be polite with your introduction and attach a copy of your front cover. Add any links to your website, Facebook author page or Amazon links, anything that might help them gain further information if interested. If I haven't left a copy of my books in-store, then I also offer to forward a pdf copy for them to see if interested.
6. Never give up. I started out with my first book in 2012, it hasn't been until this year, 2016, since I have had four books published, that I have begun to have more success with selling my print copies to more stores. Stores often look for more than one book they can sell from you. In fact I have even been asked if I have any others! Naturally I am working on this. For every yes you will receive two or three "no's." Don't let it worry you, move forward and look elsewhere. There is always another opportunity around the corner and another store that will appreciate what you have to offer. It may take time, but persistence does pay off. It took me four months to land an order from Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre here in Canberra. I initially dropped copies of all four books in there back in July after another gift shop that placed an order not only made the suggestion that I try Questacon, but also gave me a contact name. After various emails back and forth an order was placed this week for my Bradberrie Brothers Alien Adventure series. I am so excited and honoured to be given this fantastic opportunity. It isn't every day you get a couple of your books into one of the busiest and best places for kids visits in our Nation's Capital city. Questacon is in the heart of Canberra and is a place where school children visit from all over the country. It is known Australia wide as a great hands-on science and technology museum. To have my science based children's books included in their gift shop is amazing and I am so thankful.

Just like Emma the Eager Emu, I have followed my dreams, set my goals and been persistent. If I can do it, you can too! Good luck and best wishes for your successful journey whatever path you decide to take.

Have you managed to sell your indie books in stores? Drop me a line in the comments section below. I'd love to know how you also achieved it. If this post helps I'd also enjoy hearing how you go.

Six Strategies for a Successful School Visit.

Last week was Book Week. I visited four schools and did six readings. It is a busy time yet one of my favourite times of the year as I love being invited into schools to read to so many wonderful little children. The delight and excitement on their faces makes every moment so worthwhile. I am happy to visit school anytime throughout the year, it just so happens that Book Week seems to be a particularly special time. This year the theme was Australian Stories, so Emma the Eager Emu and Frazzled Freya were a perfect fit. Here are my six tips or strategies I would like to share that help make a school visit so successful.

1. Be Organised Ahead of Time. Never underestimate little people. If you think you can just go in and read your book, think again! Kids expect to be entertained. You need a plan. A well thought out lesson plan. Teachers and parents like a reason for your visit. They anticipate some kind of learning to be taking place during the session and afterwards too if you can organise it. Teachers always appreciate a good follow up activity. Part of my package is to send them an idea of what I plan to be speaking about as well as a couple of possible follow up activities. The complexity or simplicity of these depend on the level of the students. It can be as simple as a colouring in page, a craft activity or a comprehension page. 
2. Send the school a Pre-Order Form. If you hope to gain a few book sales while you are there, then the best marketing strategy is to forward a pre-order form to the school at least two weeks prior to the visit. This way the school has time to send the form home in the newsletter and parents have time to respond. I always add a note about the benefits of reading at home, reading a book from an author the children have met, books make great presents etc. Include your website so that parents can make an informed decision. I also usually give a discount for an author visit as an encouragement to purchase a signed copy of the book on the day.
3. Have a Poster for the School to Display. You want to advertise your upcoming visit. Don't expect the school to make up a display for you. Schools are very busy places so they will appreciate the effort you make in having a poster ready for them.  It should include a photo of yourself so the students can see who the author is coming. A copy of the cover of any of your books. The date of your visit and your website information. Forward it along with the pre-order form at least two weeks in advance of your visit.
4. Be Prepared to Mix it up a little. When reading your book vary your pitch, tone and expression. Use puppets where you can. Kids love puppets! Ask questions, involve the kids, encourage participation. If there is repetition in your story, (as in Emma The Eager Emu) the kids can join in and help you recite certain lines. Have a discussion at the end. What did they learn from the story? Was there a moral? In my case, my books are about unique Australian animals, so that allows for an opportunity to discuss the nature of these amazing creatures, what makes them special and even what their habitat is. I have a video of a frill-neck lizard in the wild that the children find fascinating and a video about an emu that we can all sing along to. 
5. Be Flexible. Sometimes not all goes to plan and you may have to change things. Kids can get restless. Don't persist if something isn't working, don't stress, move onto something else. This is where another activity can be useful, that video or craft. Sometimes things might be going so well, that they may ask for more! Last week I planned to read and do my lesson around my latest book, Frazzled Freya, each session lasting only half an hour. The children in several groups were listening and responding so well that I was asked to continue. I pulled out my emu puppet and proceeded to read Emma the Eager Emu.
6.  Finish on a high. Sometimes I use the video of the emu song to finish. It's a great way to end a session. The kids are laughing and are happy. Now I have Freya to add to the mix, I remind them of the games they can now go outside and play just like Freya does in her story, (Shadows and Hide and Seek) then we all finish with a special frill neck lizard wave.

Do you have any other ideas that help make a school visit successful? Share them in the comments below.