Fitting light to paper, hot messes, the reader effect, and snail mail 🐌
"Not reading stories is like being deprived of emotional, social and cultural oxygen."
This week I’ve been doing some work for Reading Australia behind the scenes with their fellowship program, discussing some upcoming consultancy opportunities with my local library branches in their children’s and youth space, and speaking at the ASLA conference in Geelong. I also responded to all your emails and comments about my AI despair in last week’s newsletter (thank you for your validation, we’re all scared), actually read quite a lot (after a bit of a slump), and gave an educator friend some advice on hooking her Year 9 girls into contemporary Australian fiction (which will be included in next week’s newsletter for paid subscribers). Plus, I met Jeff Kinney! I was so star-struck. So were the 1000 people in the audience. More below.
Energise, Empower, Explore
On Friday I headed to Geelong for the 2025 ASLA Conference. I have been a school librarian for over a decade, but have never been to this conference before! (I do attend the SLAV Conference most years.) I was sent along thanks to Reading Australia, and presented on a panel with Reading Australia Digital Publisher, Jenny Ryan, and Head of Australia Reads, Anna Burkey. Let me tell you, I had massive imposter syndrome talking alongside these two.
The panel went really well. We spoke about the importance of getting good Australian stories in front of our kids, how to create a really good school library collection (the key being student input) and the role of library staff in schools. We could have spoken for much longer on these broad topics! I was a bit provocative at one point, urging educators to stop teaching books like Holes when there are so many better contemporary alternatives, but had plenty of positive feedback for those strong opinions. (And any negative feedback was not relayed to me, so all good!)
Immediately prior to my panel there was another panel with Anna Burkey, author Kate Temple and teacher-librarian Amanda Craig. They were insightful in their discussions on comfort reading vs stretch reading, Jam Theory and choice overload when it comes to selecting books, the barriers to reading (motivation, opportunity, capability and confidence) and the different ways to be a reader.
According to recent research by Australia Reads, the top emotion people associate with reading is ‘comfort’.
I also managed to attend a few other sessions as an audience member. A group of children’s authors from SCBWI spoke about how to engage young people in storytelling through creative writing and reading activities. Amy Adeney gave some great ideas on how to get kids excited about writing beyond the standard Monday morning journal that starts with “on the weekend I did…”. She talked about the idea of a story roadmap, and always using ‘therefore/so/but’ instead of ‘and then’. Deborah Abela continued this idea and explored the notion of finding character through story, interviewing your characters to better understand them, and playing around with point of view. She also showed us this incredible clip which would be such a good story starter. Caz Goodwin spoke about talking to kids about storytelling by starting with the front cover of a book, using the five senses in writing, and finding satisfying endings that are not necessarily happy, but always hopeful.
Claire Saxby explored the idea of including research in fiction, and that facts can provide the pillars for a fictional story. She gave examples from her novel The Wearing of the Green. Kaye Baillie was unwell and unable to attend, but we heard about some of her books, including one I’d never come across but will now seek out, Mizuto and the Wind.
Susanne Gervay reflected on how deeply personal her writing is, and that she puts her life into every one of her books. I was a bit unsure about the way in which she spoke about putting other lives into her books, specifically other cultures, and wondered about the authenticity and ethics of that, and the delicate nature of getting it right, but she did emphasise the importance of research when it comes to this.
Marjorie Crosby-Fairall shared her debut solo picture book, Emmie Builds Something New, and spoke beautifully about composition, the design of the page, type placement, and how an illustrator chooses a moment in the story to bring to life.
Judy Watson took us through the process of an illustrator creating a character. She said that even the best stories would be boring if the characters were boring! She spoke in detail about getting it right, experimenting with mediums, the elements that don’t make the final cut, and ways to get past the dreaded blank page. I ended up buying a copy of her latest book, Jo and the No, for my daughter at the conference trade exhibition. Finally, Jess Racklyeft introduced herself which was ridiculous, she needs no introduction! She now has over 45 incredible books for children. She spoke about the concept of “we are all artists”, and especially that we create with wild abandon when we are kids, and we should try not to lose that impulse! There is research that suggests at around age 8 or 9 many people experience a ‘drawing crisis’, where we see other people’s art and compare ours negatively to it. How do we reverse this? By embracing curiosity, seeking challenges, practicing mindfulness, collaborating and communicating, and continuously learning. It was an empowering talk.
I also attended a keynote speech from the National Library of New Zealand about their Pūtoi Rito project, which is all about using reading for pleasure to target functional literacy levels in different communities around New Zealand.
The projects removed barriers and provided easy access to a wide variety and diversity of books including languages spoken at home. They supported and introduced reading role models, normalised books and reading and connected communities to existing services provided by schools and libraries.
GIVEAWAY!
All conference attendees received an Erstwilder brooch. Great freebies! I got the Rapunzel one, and am going to give it away to a paid subscriber of this newsletter. If you’d like it to be you, please comment LET YOUR HAIR DOWN below, and I’ll draw a lucky winner on Friday 6 June. Australian addresses only.
Hot Mess
Yesterday I took part in Jeff Kinney’s wacky The Hot Mess Show in Melbourne. It was held at the Convention and Exhibition Centre to a crowd of nearly a thousand enthusiastic Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans. The energy in the room was fantastic. And I was lucky enough to be the one to introduce the man himself!
This was no ordinary author talk. There was grape stomping. Mechanical rats that whizzed across the stage. A full sized fake oven with flames! An exploding microwave! A trick lemonade stand! We ran through several tech rehearsals in the hours before, and I took my metaphorical hat off to the team who created and organised all the props, which were numerous and specific. (Including several of these strange objects that I can’t believe are a real thing.) Jeff was cool, calm and collected—he’s clearly used to this level of production and fanfare—and even pranked me at one point by changing the script on the teleprompter and making me read out a self-inflicted insult before I noticed! Later, I spotted a clunky bit in the script and asked him to change it, before realising I was editing Jeff Kinney. I admitted this out loud while blushing furiously, but he just laughed (thank goodness).
Soon, it was show time! The room filled up with so many excited kids and honestly, equally excited adults. My intro went smoothly, and Jeff began by talking a little about the Diary of a Wimpy Kid journey that started all the way back in 2007. 19 books later (and no signs of stopping), he also shared some of his travels, experiences meeting fans, and creative process, which includes, if you can believe, driving to a cemetery in his hometown in Massachusetts and writing in his car on a tiny word processor. What a way to block out all distractions! And a method that clearly works for him.
He also showed pictures of his illustration process, sketchbooks, and a recent photo of himself revealing the cover of Hot Mess on The Kelly Clarkson Show. No biggie. Then it was onto plenty of audience interaction, including kids and parents invited up on stage to dance, play games, cook pasta, and serve up freshly-squashed grape juice to a very grumpy health inspector ready to close their restaurant down. Lots of silliness, big laughs and energy, including a few overexcited kids who rushed the stage. Whoops! When it was all over, Jeff stayed on to sign books and take selfies with people for almost twice the length of the actual show itself. He must have been tired! (But did not show it.)
I am so thrilled that I had the opportunity to play a very small role in such a huge event. To see a children’s author treated like a rock star, to sell out a huge venue, and for so many kids to sacrifice Saturday sport and their pocket money to buy books and get them signed by their favourite author after seeing him speak—what could be better than that?
The Reader Effect
We hear a lot about how fiction helps develop empathy, and I have always accepted that as true, but this week I’ve been doing a bit of a deep dive on exactly what that means. One article that stood out to me was this one, which is a brief reflection on Salman Rushdie’s attempted murder at a literary event in 2022, from the perspective of the person who was about to interview him on stage. There is a longer version of this story available here, too. I read (via audiobook) Salman Rushdie’s memoir on the experience, Knife, last year, and was enthralled and deeply disturbed by the account and aftermath.
I was on stage as co-founder of City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, part of an international organization inspired by Rushdie to protect exiled, endangered writers in long-term residencies. Shortly after the attack, I wrote about how the audience – an intentional community of readers – rushed to the stage to subdue the attacker. I called this “the reader effect”, a response based on empathy that comes from reading fiction.
This idea of “the reader effect” is compelling, and feels logical to me as someone surrounded by books, and by people who read. Fiction, as the article argues, builds community and creates common ground. I, too, believe that literature plays an important role in fostering understanding and empathy in this way, and as an alternative, a decrease in fiction readership could easily contribute to increased polarisation. At a time when we really don’t need any more division.
This topic was also, in a way, reflected in one of the books I flew through this week, Always Home, Always Homesick (more on it below). Towards the end of her memoir, Hannah Kent writes:
All my life I have read fiction for its proximity to truths. Deep, complex, human truths.
I believe that, wholeheartedly. And I think the closer we are to truth of some kind, the closer we are to understanding, and hopefully in turn, empathy.
Do you know any other compelling writing about empathy development in fiction? Please send it my way. I’d especially love to read some really firm research into this, rather than just anecdotal evidence.
Bridging Now to Next
We’re towards the end of National Reconciliation Week now, but I wanted to share some resources and ideas that I hope are meaningful beyond the week. I believe we need to be thinking about these things on a constant basis, and for non-Indigenous educators like myself, making sure we maintain and demonstrate true allyship in our practice at all times.
This week VATE published my YA Book Stack episode with Dr Lilly Brown, CEO of Magabala Books. I found it to be a moving conversation that I haven’t stopped thinking about since. I hope you feel the same! In it, Lilly speaks so articulately about her love of First Nations literature, and belief in its power. The episode also includes some very practical and empowering tips for English teachers when it comes to getting First Nations books into their classrooms and curriculum.
This episode includes a discussion about books being more than just books, the history and mission of Magabala Books, Australia's leading First Nations publishing house, ensuring that schools are safe learning places for all kids, through the literature we teach and the values we uphold in the English classroom, racial literacy and tips for building educator confidence when it comes to teaching First Nations texts, the importance of National Reconciliation Week post-referendum, and how to meaningfully acknowledge this in schools and the difference between cultural responsibility and the colonial burden
VATE also commissioned Darby Jones to write the VATE Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Language and Terminology Guide which is an incredible resource aimed at building knowledge and awareness, and guiding language choices in teaching and learning.
This week The Kids’ Bookshop sent out an email jam-packed with great First Nations literature for children. You can see a full list of the titles they stock here.
Explore our curated selection of books by First Nations authors, celebrating their rich diversity and unique voices. Each book offers valuable cultural context, ensuring respectful and accurate representation. Immerse yourself in these stories to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of First Nations cultures and contributions.
And then, this is not a resource for you, but I guess, more of a tip. A tip from a broken record who loves libraries! This week my daughter and I, and some friends, attended a special Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country at one of our local libraries, Realm. Inside the library there was also a whole room set up with National Reconciliation Week activities, including craft, drawing, a library treasure hunt, and more. And so, my tip is: if there’s a cultural celebration, national or global commemoration, or any other kind of event or holiday… head to your local library. Chances are, they’ll be doing something inclusive and creative to honour it.
And finally, for a quick book recommendation, my daughter and I read Ninni Yabini recently, a beautiful dual-language story. It is a great introduction to First Nations stories and the Noongar language, and we especially enjoyed learning about the six Noongar seasons.
A celebration of family and belonging, the gentle narrative is perfectly matched with contemporary illustrations … a wonderful opportunity for educators and young people to diversify their bookshelves.
Fremantle Press has an excellent back catalogue of First Nations literature for young people, including ones by Helen Milroy, which we also love.
What I’m currently reading
After a slow month or so on the reading front, I am well and truly back! This week I have read a young adult novel, a middle grade novel, Hannah Kent’s new memoir, and plenty of picture books, including one from years ago that I remember hearing about through the CBCA Awards, but have now come to truly appreciate after sharing it with my daughter.
How to Be Normal by Ange Crawford
I have been meaning to read this forever, since way before it was published when I received a review copy. I think knowing how dark the subject matter is, I put it off. My threshold for reading about abuse is fairly low these days. However, I was wrong to worry this would be too much. It’s an important topic, not commonly seen in YA, and handled with care.
How to Be Normal is about coercive control—and I hope that readers understand a little more about this experience (or feel seen)—but it’s also a book about friendship and music and love and all the things that can offer us safety when we feel broken and confused. So I really hope readers leave the story with a sense of warmth and hope. Astrid will certainly have a lot of healing still to do after the end of this story, but she is going to break the cycle. Many, many others in Astrid’s generation will too. I hope my book can give a little energy in that direction. It’s one step on a long, long road.
One thing that I especially admired about How to Be Normal was the treatment of side characters, who never really felt pushed to the side at all. Astrid’s voice was strong, but so was the character development of Cathy, Leila and Connor. I loved the friendship ‘love story’ (because in my experience, this kind of love can be the strongest when you’re a teenager) and the authenticity of the writing. Author Ange Crawford has said that, like Astrid, she grew up in a household impacted by coercive control, and that living through the pandemic sparked the idea for this story, because it felt parallel to her time living in isolation. This is all explained in a note from the author at the beginning of the novel.
How to Be Normal would make a great young adult book club pick, and the discussions it could prompt would be invaluable. We all need to be able to recognise this story, and empathise. I would recommend it for those readers who read Tiger Daughter when it came out a few years ago, and are now a bit older and looking for something similar.
Another one that I feel foolish for letting sit on my bedside table for too long! Penny Tangey writes genuinely very funny stories that are quintessentially middle grade. Perfect for that ‘in-between’ stage of childhood and adolescence.
From multi-award-winning author Penny Tangey comes this funny, thought-provoking middle-grade novel about the highs and lows of music camp, and camaraderie in the climate crisis.
I would have loved this book when I was in middle grade, and I can’t wait to put it in kids’ hands. It’s the kind of comedic story that meets young people where they are: it doesn’t dumb anything down, and it treats them and their lives seriously. Shades of light and dark, but never condescending or too much. I think we could use more of that in children’s literature in general, especially for this age group. You only have to look at this year’s CBCA Shortlist for Younger Readers to contemplate whether we are giving our middle grade readers enough substance. That sounds a bit harsh, and I genuinely don’t think that silly or lighthearted stories should be looked down upon, but I am starting to wonder if there has been an overcorrection to the media hype of ‘children’s literature is too serious’ from a couple of years ago. Anyway! I digress! The main thing to take away here: read Music Camp, and share it widely. It’s wonderful.
Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent
Always Home, Always Homesick is Hannah Kent's exquisite love letter to a land that has forged a nation of storytellers, her ode to the transcendent power of creativity, and her invitation to us all to join her in the realms of mystery, spirit and wonder.
This has easily slotted into my top ten (top three?) best books of 2025 so far. Looking back at my Goodreads (I still have not switched to The StoryGraph…), I realise I have given Hannah Kent’s three novels five stars each, so I am clearly already a fan, but this memoir is something else. Beautifully written without being pretentious or excessive, I struggled to turn off my lamp at night this week because I didn’t want to stop reading. My partner can corroborate this—he was not pleased.
I think that this book has special personal meaning to me, as a Rotary Exchange student myself, at a very similar time to Hannah, and also in Europe. Unfortunately my experience was nothing like hers and I spent the whole book feeling quite selfishly mournful of that, but also unable to look away from the pages. The descriptions of writing as a calling, of the connection to landscape and culture, the isolation and the relationships, and the ultimate creative project (Burial Rites) that came from her time in Iceland, were captivating to read about. I left this book feeling envious, dazed, and deeply impressed.
In my brief breath of life, might I find a way to fit light to paper?
I recommend Always Home, Always Homesick to those who have read and enjoyed Hannah Kent’s fiction, or anyone who experienced a transformative (for better or worse) exchange program as a young adult.
Three by Stephen Michael King and Meatball Goes to School by Tom Jellett
In my picture book reading this week, there has been a focus on dogs. Which is funny because we are all firmly cat people in my household. In fact, and this is controversial, I’d go so far to say I really don’t like dogs. Luckily, literary dogs don’t jump or slobber.
Three by Stephen Michael King is quite a few years old now, but I remember hearing about it when I was a CBCA judge back in 2020, and it was shortlisted. I didn’t have a toddler then, and my expertise was really only in the world of young adult fiction, so it slipped me by. I’m glad that these days I have a child and a good excuse to hunt down these gems at our local library together! Three is a sweet and moving story about being yourself, whatever that looks like. And it’s a real tear-jerker.
Three doesn’t have a giant (big explosions & scary monsters) narrative arch because most dogs in real life don’t. They may face danger and there are things that they need, but mostly dogs adapt to their conditions while continuously wagging their tails.
Our other one this week is much less profound, but just as special. Meatball Goes to School is one of those rare picture books that is actually very funny, even for adults. Just look at the expression on Meatball’s face on this page:
Maybe you have to read the whole thing to get it, but let me tell you, I cackled. This is a story of a very clever canine, and of being careful what you wish for. Hilarious stuff.
And finally, some snail mail
My lovely friend and colleague (who I’ve never actually met in person), Alex Wharton, sent me some snail mail this week. What a delight! I am and have always been a big fan of sending and receiving things via post. I used to be a lot more diligent about sending things to friends, and have recently gotten a bit slack on that front, but still write to my grandparents once a week, try to remember to buy postcards to post when I’m on holidays, and send out Christmas cards every year. It takes work and time, but it’s such a lost art—one I don’t think we should have ever let go!
So, this is all to say thank you to Alex for the parcel (which included some CBCA merch, hand-picked newspaper cuttings, tea, and some drawings from his kids to my kid) and I think everyone reading this should send at least one ‘just because’ letter or parcel to a friend or family member this week. I feel like we could all use a little snail mail right now. Please comment below if you decide to take me up on this optional I Read A Lot homework, and let me know what you send.
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Let your hair down. So sad I didn't make it to the ASLA conference, your notes make it sound very interesting. I will have to follow up on the new zealand reading program. And your panel would have been very interesting as I'm currently working through all our old english reading sets trying to weed and store. Such a hard job for my brain, the encouragement to throw would have been well received. Good to know you enjoyed How to be Normal, I will request it again from the library, I stopped reading when I realised the themes, as I wasn't sure I would cope.
Let Your Hair Down - Hi Karys - loved reading about the writers' and illustrator's tips and processes. Your conference notes were fantastic and generously shared.