A. WINTER 2010 WRITING COMPETITION – WIN A $20 BOOK VOUCHER!
Entries close 12 JULY 2010
Write a short story up to 350 words (shorter is FINE!). Your story must include the word ‘ice’. Include a competition entry form. This may be printed from the website .
Your entry can be handwritten or typed. Make a copy of your entry as we cannot return entries. (Make sure you read the competition rules.)
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B. DESIGN-A-COVER COMPETITION – SEE YOUR ARTWORK ON THE COVER OF THE SUMMER ISSUE!
2009 winning design by K Larson, 9
Using any materials you like, design a cover for Alphabet Soup magazine. Your artwork must be on one side of a sheet of white A4 paper. Make sure the paper is portrait orientation. Do not include the Alphabet Soup logo.
You may enter as many times as you like, but each entry must have a competition entry form with the declaration signed by you and a parent. (Entry forms may be printed from the website or contact us to have one sent to you.)
The winner will receive one copy of the summer 2010 issue (out November 2010), and art supplies worth $20.
The theme for the 2010 cover is: wetlands.
There will be one winner chosen. By entering the competition, you agree to us using your artwork on the cover of the summer 2010 issue of Alphabet Soup magazine. We will publish the winner’s name, age, suburb and state, unless you advise us otherwise.
If you live near Shenton Park, WA, you can buy a copy of issue 7 at The Well Bookshop‘s Shenton Park store. You’ll find The Well at 148 Onslow Rd, Shenton Park.
The store has a gorgeous children’s book section – happy browsing!
We have added a new page to Soup Blog called ‘Activities’ (you can find it on the menu across the top of the blog, under the header picture). If you click on it, you will find a list of activities to go with the theme of each issue (starting from issue 7), and a music listening list – compiled by Danielle Joynt of Cantaris.
Check out what’s new for issue 7!
Issue 7 – winter 2010
ACTIVITIES
1. Visit the Classroom Antarctica site! It’s an online teaching resource produced by the Australian Antarctic Division, with activities suited to upper primary school classes.
2.Create someicy paintings. Add some food dye to water and freeze in an icecube tray. Once frozen, use the ‘paint blocks’ to create watery, icy paintings!
3.Hand sculpture. Fill a rubber washing-up glove with water and put it in the freezer. (Check with a parent first!) When frozen, peel or cut away the glove and you have a frozen hand! (It looks good as a centrepiece for a winter-themed party.) How does it feel? How do you think it would feel to be an ice maiden (or an ice boy)? Perhaps you could write a poem or a story about it? When you are finished admiring your ice hand, leave it in the garden to melt away.
4. a) Create your own paper snowflake: Younger children
Cut a circle out of white paper.
Fold your circle in half, and in half again and snip tiny shapes along the folded edge.
Then fold it one more time (still keeping a flat ‘cone’ shape) and cut out some more tiny shapes.
Open the circle out and admire your patterns. You can cut shapes along the outside edge of your circle to make it more like a snowflake if you like.
Glue your snowflake onto some dark-coloured cardboard.
4. b) Create your own paper snowflake: Older children
Visit the WikiHow site for instructions on how to create your own 3D snowflake!
MUSIC LISTENING LIST
Our listening list is compiled by Danielle Joynt, from Cantaris. Danielle has also included comments for some of these pieces. (Tip: Ask about CDs at your public library – libraries often have a good collection of CDs for loan if you prefer not to buy.)
1. ‘Antarctica’ by Nigel Westlake, Australian composer (1958 – ).
He wrote two versions – both beautiful:
‘Antarctica (The Film Music)’ for the IMAX film of the same name and
‘Antarctica – Suite for Guitar and Orchestra’ (a reworking of the film music)
found on the CD Out Of The Blue(ABC Classics, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Timothy Kain-guitar)
Nigel Westlake was born in Perth and is a very fine clarinettist as well as composer. He has written music for many films including Miss Potter and Babe.
2.‘Winter’ from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, Venetian Composer (1678 – 1741).
‘Winter’ is one of a set of four violin concertos called The Four Seasons. They were composed in 1723, and the concertos vary in texture, according to the season each represents. ‘Winter’ contains lots of high, sharp notes, evoking icy rain.
Each of the four concertos is based on a sonnet describing a season. No-one knows who wrote the sonnets – but it is widely held that Vivaldi was the poet. You can find an English translation of the sonnets online (scroll down to find the ‘Winter’ concerto and sonnet.)
3.‘German Dance’ K605 No.3 ‘Sleigh Ride’ by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian Composer, (1756-1791)
Mozart began writing dances when he was five years old. There are over 200 dances written by Mozart that are still preserved.
4. ‘The Snow Is Dancing’ from Children’s Corner by Achille-Claude Debussy, French Composer (1862 – 1918). Children’s Corner is a suite of six movements for solo piano written by Debussy in 1908 for his daughter Chou-Chou, who was three years old at the time.
5. ‘Water Under Snow Is Weary’ by Eha Lättemäe and Harri Wessman.
This beautiful choral piece is based on the Kalevala melody in the Finnish folk tradition and was especially written for Finland’s famous Tapiola choir. The Kalevala is a book and poem compiled from Finnish and Karelian folklore – it is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature.
6.The Snow Maiden by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer (1844-1908).
Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the music and libretto (words) to this four-act opera in 1880 and 1881. The ‘Dance Of The Tumblers’ is a famous piece of music from this opera.
7.Ngo Wak Tö Wal-lah Yah – Alaskan Eskimo Chant
8.Winterreise (Winter Journey) by Franz Schubert, Austrian Composer (1797-1828)
This is a song cycle of 24 poems by the German poet Wilhelm Müller set to the music of Franz Schubert .
Author, Sandy Fussell. Photo courtesy of the author. Artwork by Sarah Davis
Our author Q&A in issue 7 features Sandy Fussell, author of the Samurai Kids series, Polar Boy, and Jaguar Warrior. We could only include a selection of questions in the magazine, so we thought we’d post the full interview on Soup Blog. Enjoy!
Where do you live?
I live on the south coast of New South Wales, on the escarpment, which means I live between the mountains and the sea. What I like best is the wildlife we find in our backyard – possums, pythons, parrots, blue tongues, tree frogs, water dragons, a wallaby and once, even an echidna.
What made you become a writer?
My 10 year-old-son stopped reading overnight. One day he was an avid reader and the next day he was insisting ‘all books are boring’. Nothing I tried would change his mind so I suggested he write a story that wasn’t boring. It was my job to write his words down. I found that by the time the story was finished, I really wanted to write one of my own.
What do you do when not writing?
I love reading. Being a reader is an important part of being a writer. I also like to do puzzles like crosswords and sodoku. At the moment I am learning to draw manga. I never get bored because there are so many things I want to do that I will never even get close to starting.
Was it easy to get your first book published?
I was lucky. A commissioning editor at Walker Books heard me read a few pages at a workshop and she liked it enough to ask to see the complete manuscript. Two months later it was accepted and I was on the way to becoming a published author. I did however have wait two years before the book was finally available. Part of the reason for the delay was the beautiful illustrations by Rhian Nest-James. Definitely worth waiting for!
What was your favourite book as a child?
I didn’t really have a favourite as a child although I have many favourite children’s books now. As a kid, I spent a lot of time in the library but I didn’t own many books. The only ones I had were birthday and Christmas presents. When I was nine I was given a set of two books for my birthday – one was stories about wizards and the other stories about witches. I don’t remember the titles but I remember how magical it felt to be reading them.
My current favourite children’s books are The Tale of Despereaux (although I didn’t think the movie was half as good as the book), The Graveyard Book, The Ranger’s Apprentice series and The Dragonkeeper series.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Everywhere. Sometimes it’s a strange word I hear, like ‘snizzle’ (I used that one in Polar Boy), sometimes it’s an overheard snatch of conversation, a picture or a snippet of history. When something sparks my interest I think about it for a while and the story starts to tell itself. In the beginning, the only idea I had for White Crane was one sentence: My name is Niya Moto and I’m the only one-legged samurai kid in Japan. But I loved that sentence because it asked so many questions: about samurai, about Niya and about being a kid with one leg. And when I started to answer the questions, I found a story I really wanted to tell.
Do you have any advice for young writers?
(1) Read a lot. It’s no co-incidence that successful writers are keen readers. Not only do you learn from the work of other authors, reading encourages you to dream and imagine.
(2) Write a lot. Being a successful writer is like being a soccer player or a netballer – you have to practise.
(3) Have a go. Now, more than ever, with the help of the Internet and some wonderful recent books by teenagers, there are opportunities for early publication. Magazines. Websites. Blogs,
Of your own books, which is your favourite?
That’s a bit like asking me which of my children is my favourite *smile* I would say something different every day of the week but in the end, I love them equally. Same with my books. With the Samurai Kids series and it is wonderful to be able to spend so much time getting to know my characters and to take them on so many different adventures. But I also like to explore in a completely different direction and am looking forward to writing a story idea I have about Africa.
What are your hobbies?
I like scrapbooking. I often joke and say the most useful skills I learned were in kindergarten – cutting and pasting. But those same skills give me hours of fun sorting family and holiday photos and organising them with a few words to hold the memories in place. I try lots of new things even though I’m not very good at most of them. When I was researching Samurai Kids I went to sword fighting classes and I was hopeless at that. Still had a lot of fun and now I have a practice sword I take on school visits. My newest hobby is manga art and the next item on my wish list is learning computer animation.
Do you have any pets?
Our family has two Burmese cats. One is a huge sook and launches himself from the top of furniture to get a cuddle. The other is very affectionate but not quite so acrobatic. We also have a snake, frogs and tropical fish. In the past we’ve had mice, deerhounds, parrots, a cockatoo, lovebirds, budgies and guinea pigs. Soon we’re getting a rabbit. I belong to a family of animal lovers.
Are there any writers who influence your work?
I am influenced by everything I read in one way or another. That’s why writers need to be avid readers.
I have also been lucky to have had the support of a number of excellent writers for children and young adults. Di Bates, who wrote Crossing the Line which was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Award for Young Adult Literature in 2009, was my mentor for many years. I am in a writer’s workshop group which includes twice CBCA Honour book author Bill Condon. I could easily write a list a page long of writers and aspiring authors who have helped and encouraged me.
Have you been to all the places where your books are set?
Only in my head! I haven’t travelled much at all. People are always surprised to find I wrote Polar Boy having only been to the snow for a few days. But I have a good imagination. I watch documentaries, read books, look at pictures and then I close my eyes. I write historical fiction. I can’t go back in time but that doesn’t stop me writing about hundreds of years ago. In the same way it doesn’t matter to me whether I’ve been to the places I write about either. In my imagination I can go anywhere. Any time.
What are you working on now?
My newest book is Jaguar Warrior. It’s the story of Atl, a young Aztec slave boy, waiting to be sacrificed. Atl is a fast runner so when the Spanish invade and messenger is needed to take a plea for help to the nearest city, Atl is released. It’s about choices. Will Atl run for himself or the city who wanted to kill him? Or will he just hide from the Captain who hunts him? It’s an adventure but a very dangerous one.
I am currently editing Samurai Kids 5: Fire Lizard which will be released in September 2010. Yesterday I saw some wonderful illustrations for the first few chapters. And I am writing Book 6, which might be called Bat Wings. In my To Do pile is the manuscript for my first picture book, Sad the Dog. It’s a busy time for me but I feel very lucky to be working at something I love.
If a young writer or reader wanted to contact you, where could they find you?
I can be contacted by email at samuraikids@people.net.au I always respond and love to get emails from young people. I am also in the Samurai Kids forum every day, so anyone interested can talk to me there about writing, my books, ninjas, samurai and all sorts of things. Sometimes we have competitions and members get a coloured belt and samurai (or ninja) weapon based on the number of posts they make.
Meet Sandy Fussell, author of the Samurai Kids series, Polar Boy, and Jaguar Warrior
stories and poems by adults and children
inside a hotel made of ice
writing tips for kids, from The Book Chook
book reviews
writing competition – win a $20 book voucher!
We’ll also have details of the 2010 design-a-cover competition. The winner will have their artwork featured on the cover of our summer 2010 issue (out in November 2010). For details, check inside issue 7, or visit the competitions page on the Alphabet Soup website on Monday 17 May 2010.
Are you a subscriber? Subscribers are entered into a draw every season – this season’s winner receives a $200 book pack from Walker Books! (Books may differ from those pictured.)
Today is ‘Poem in Your Pocket Day’! And we’re thrilled to have a wonderful poet visiting the blog today: Jackie Hosking. You can find one of her poems in the current issue of Alphabet Soup magazine (issue 6).
Welcome, Jackie! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I am a Nigerian born, Cornish, Australian. How can that be? Well, my parents are Cornish, they were living in Nigeria when I was born, they moved to Victoria, Australia when I was ten where I became an Australian Citizen. I left my parents’ home with my kitten, Gizzy when I was 18 years old. Gizzy lived to be 21 years old and I wrote a poem, ‘My Cat,’ in her memory. Now I live in a beautiful seaside town with my puppy Rex. Rex is a Blue Staffy and he wrecks (Rex) everything. I love walking by the sea and in the bush and discover many of my poems this way. I also love to read.
How long have you been writing poetry?
I have been writing poetry for about 25 years. I wrote my very first poem when I was 17. I have been writing for children for about 5 years.
You seem to love rhyming poetry in particular. Can you tell us why?
I grew up reading poems by A.A. Milne. He wrote the ‘Winnie The Pooh’ books, and I always enjoyed discovering when a poem rhymed. I thought it was really clever and so doubly satisfying. Even though I love rhyme, I like the rhyme to be incidental, a bonus, not the whole focus but the icing on the cake.
Do you prefer writing poems to writing stories?
I much prefer to write a poem. I think it might be because I have a short attention span. I love how a poem can condense thoughts, feelings and descriptions into a powerful piece of writing. Poems are bite sized stories to be consumed greedily.
Why do you like writing poems for children?
I think because I never really grew up. Also I think when I write a poem, I try to write with a fresh eye, a child’s eye. Instead of having a bird’s eye view, I write with a child’s eye view. I have also written poems for adults, a few serious ones but mostly funny ones for parents with small children.
Did you like poetry as a child?
I didn’t really enjoy reading adult poetry as a child but I always enjoyed the children’s poets. I’ve mentioned A.A. Milne and there’s also C.J. Dennis, Dr. Seuss, C.S. Lewis and Roald Dahl.
Who are some children’s poets you admire today?
Of course, all of those mentioned above, as well as – Lorraine Marwood, Meredith Costain, Claire Saxby, Sally Murphy, Janeen Brian, Stephen Whiteside, Sherryl Clark and Edel Wignell, just to name a few.
Do you have a favourite style of poem when you are writing?
I like to think about my poetry as an artist might think of a painting. Poetry, to me, is painting with words. I’ve written all types of poetry, funny, sad, pretty, long, short, limericks but what is most important, for me, is the rhythm or the meter. It has to be perfect and I enjoy the challenge of getting it that way.
Have you ever done anything unusual with one of your poems? (e.g. purposely left one on a train … )
Funny that you should mention a train. Two of my poems are travelling around Melbourne on the trains as part of the ‘Moving Galleries’ project. It’s such fun when someone contacts me to let me know that they’ve seen one. I also entered a very personal (and a little bit rude!) valentine’s poem into a competition where it ended up being included in the anthology.
Do you have any advice for kids who want to write poetry?
Think of poetry like making gravy – it needs to be reduced. It needs to be the essence of what you want to say. Less is always more where poetry is concerned. Use strong, sparkly words, become friends with metaphor and simile and don’t be afraid to be unique. Never use clichés – never say that something was ‘as cold as ice’. Find a new way like … the water was as cold as money.
Ideas can come from anywhere. Walking stirs up lots of ideas, as do my pets. Nature is a favourite, the flowers, the birds, the beach. I love to capture all of these things and display them on the page.
Today is ‘Poem in Your Pocket Day’. Would you share one of your poems with us today?
Here’s one I prepared earlier …
‘I had a little poem’
I had a little poem
I held it in my hand
It whispered muffled secrets
Only I could understand
I had a little poem
I kept it in a locket
And every time I went outside
I popped it in my pocket
ENTER OUR AUTUMN 2010 WRITING COMPETITION – WIN A $20 BOOK VOUCHER!
Entries close 5 APRIL 2010
Choose a painting by Frederick McCubbin, and write a poem about it. Your poem can be up to 10 lines long. Include a competition entry form. This may be printed from the website, photocopied, or contact us to have one emailed or posted to you.
Have you heard that Alphabet Soup magazine is starting a Junior Reviewers Club for kids aged 6 to 12?
You can write reviews of books you love, and go on our list of club members who would like to receive free books to review. Your reviews will be published in the Write On section of Alphabet Soup magazine, or occasionally here on Soup Blog.
Membership to the Junior Reviewers Club is free, and club members can be individual children, or a primary school class. (In the case of a class, we will send one book for the class to read together, and class members can write a collaborative review, or individual reviews).
While club membership is open to Australian and overseas children, currently we can only send review copies to Australian addresses due to the high cost of postage. (But members outside Australia are welcome to submit reviews of their own books, and receive the members’ newsletter.)
alphabetsoup.net.au 