For kids in Western Australia – Spare Parts Puppet Theatre is doing ‘The Man from Snowy River’ in the July school holidays. They are also running puppet-making workshops!
For more information, visit their website: www.sppt.asn.au.
Book review: The Hero of Little Street by Gregory Rogers
This is a graphic novel – it has no words and tells the story in a kind of comic-book 
style. It’s action-packed and fun to read!
The boy in the story (our future hero) is out for a walk and is surprised when a ball hits him on the head – and he kicks it into a fountain. The ball owners are a gang of bullies, and (not being pleased about the wet ball) they chase him, until he escapes by hiding in an art gallery. The boy wanders through the gallery until a dog in one of paintings comes to life and leads him into a famous painting by Vermeer.
Inside the painting, he finds he has gone back in time to 17th century Holland (in fact, to Little Street, in Delft). The dog runs off , and the boy has to rescue his doggy friend and avoid being caught himself. Delft is a dangerous place!
There’s a surprise ending to this story. The pictures are fun, there’s lots of action and you get to see what it would have been like to live in Holland back in the 17th century. (It involved a lot of fast running if you were a dog on the streets of Delft!)
This is the third adventure in the ‘Boy Bear’ series but you don’t need to read the others to enjoy this book. (You might want to read them though! Look for The Boy, the Bear, the Baron, the Bard, and Midsummer Knight.)
The Hero of Little Street, by Gregory Rogers, Allen & Unwin, 2009
Our review copy was sent to us by Allen & Unwin
Competition for young poets in Western Australia
If you are 25 or younger, live in Western Australia and like writing poetry, 
you could enter your work in The Roland Leach Poetry Prize.
Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third in each age grouping. Winners receive book vouchers, a trophy and a certificate. The Roland Leach Poetry Prize is presented to the writer with the most outstanding entry.
Entries must be received no later than 5pm, Friday 4 September 2009.
For more information and an entry form, see the Nedlands Library website, or call them on 9273 3644.
Review: winter 2009 issue of Alphabet Soup
Over at the Book Chook website, you can read a review of our winter issue!
Read on!
Book review: How to Write Stories by Celia Warren
Do you want to write your own stories but you need a bit of help to get 
started? Or perhaps you want some tips to make your stories even better. How to Write Stories is a very helpful guide for any story writer!
Make sure your story has an attention-grabbing beginning, an entertaining middle and a satisfying ending (so your readers want to read right to the end). There’s also information about what sort of story to write (the ‘genre’), how to gather ideas for your stories, and tips about the setting and characters.
Have you ever had writer’s block? I really liked the use of a ‘never-never’ list to start your creative ideas flowing again – like ‘Never go through the green gate’ and ‘Never touch the red button.’ You decide what happens if someone does what they should never never do, and you’re sure to be off and writing again!
At the back of the book you’ll find a glossary where you can look up any ‘writer’s’ words you might not know.
How to Write Stories is one book in a set of ‘How to … ‘ writing-themed books. Other books in the series include How to Write Letters & Emails, How to Write Reports and How to Write Poems.
We found How to Write Stories at our local library – ask for it at your closest library or school library. Then get writing, and enter our current competition, or send your story to us and it might be published in Alphabet Soup magazine!
How to Write Stories by Celia Warren, QED Publishing, London, ISBN 978 1 84538 740 2
This book was selected for review from the Editor’s own collection.
How a Book is Made
Have you ever wondered:
- what happens to a story before you buy it as a book?
- who are the people involved in publishing a book?
- how long it takes for a book to be published?
You can find the answers to all these questions (and more!) by visiting ‘How a Book is Made‘ on the Penguin website. The step-by-step drawings take you through a book’s journey from author’s desk to bookstore shelves. There’s also a glossary so you can look up words from the world of publishing (like ‘page proofs’ and ‘manuscript’). If you’re hoping to be a published author some day, you might like some insider info!
The Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek
Look at this promo video from Spare Parts Puppet Theatre! This puppet show is based on The Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek, by Jenny Wagner. (It’s one of our favourite books!)
New stockist: Trover Learning
UPDATE 18 AUGUST 2009 – we regret to advise that Trover Learning is no longer stocking the magazine.
But you can still find Alphabet Soup at our other West Australian stockists: Westbooks, and Zero to Ten.
Competitions for kids aged 12 and under
Are you under 12? Do you like writing your own stories? Or are you a budding artist? Alphabet Soup magazine is currently accepting entries for two competitions:
1. WINTER 2009 WRITING COMPETITION entries close 3 JULY 2009
Win a $20 book voucher! Write a SHORT STORY up to 350 words (shorter is fine). Stories must include this line: ‘The paper aeroplane was gone!’
Please remember to include a COMPETITION ENTRY FORM for each entry. This may be printed from the Alphabet Soup website, photocopied, or contact us to have one emailed or posted to you.
2. DESIGN-A-COVER COMPETITION entries close 16 SEPTEMBER 2009
See your artwork on the cover of our summer 2009 issue (and win a pack of quality colour pencils too)!
Using any materials you like, design a cover for our summer issue. You may enter as many times as you wish but each entry must have a separate COMPETITION ENTRY FORM. This may be printed from the website, photocopied, or contact us to have one emailed or posted to you.
See the ‘competitions’ page of the Alphabet Soup website for the rules and conditions, and to print an entry form.
The place to be in Perth city!
On Sunday 24 May, we went to the launch of the new children’s library at the State Library of WA. The new library is called ‘The Place’, and on Sunday it really was the place to be! 
On our way in, we passed a butterfly stiltwalker. The three year old with us was mesmerised. (Later, the stiltwalker was her pick for ‘best part of the visit.’)
First we visited the music library – as part of the launch celebrations there were energetic music sessions run by Danielle Joynt (of Cantaris and Cottage Music fame). There were posters up to say we could find children’s music at the library, and borrow it too. So we walked along the shelves looking for books of folksongs (we’re rather partial to folksongs) – to the rhythm of Danielle’s maraccas, which were being shaken by an enthusiastic group of kids.
On another floor we came across a glass display case with the smallest book and the oldest book in the library. The smallest book was very very small. Someone nearby asked ‘how would you READ it? It’s so small you’d need a magnifying glass!’ One book on display had been munched by termites. The munching was actually done in a rather artistic way, but we all felt very sorry for that book (and its owner!).
We arrived at the mezzanine level (the children’s library itself), and found ourselves in the middle of a story-reading session. It was Harry by the Sea by Gene Zion, an old favourite of mine. All around us there were kids playing games and doing puzzles on the computers, reading books inside ‘book cubbies’, playing with large puppets, checking out the totem book sculpture, and reading the displays of certificates showing the favourite childhood books of some well-known Australians. (Enid Blyton was very popular. We were pleased to see the Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek by Jenny Wagner got a mention too!) We looked up Paul Jennings and the Prime Minister’s favourite books among many others! 
We also loved the exhibition of children’s picture book artwork, and a display with the puppet from Cat Balloon, on loan from Spare Parts Puppet Theatre.
There were balloons for everyone on the way out – and as we were leaving we ducked into the State Library shop to look at the pre-read library books which were so cheap. We love second-hand books!
‘The Place‘ is definitely worth visiting! There are heaps of books, and lots of space to find a comfy spot to read. And you can see the ‘favourite childhood books’ display until 19 July – so we won’t tell you what the Prime Minister’s favourite is, in case you want to find out for yourself! It’s very easy to get to by train, as the State Library is only a short walk from the train station. Check it out!
alphabetsoup.net.au 