Tag: picture books

authors, interviews, teachers' resources

Tracey Dembo on This Book is a Time Machine

Alphabet Soup
The cover of a children's picture book: This Book is a Time Machine
A photo of Tracey Dembo standing in front of a colourful wall.

Tracey Dembo writes books encouraging big questions, daring dreams and wild imaginations. She’s the author of two picture books: An A to Z of Dreaming Differently, illustrated by Lucia Masciullo, and This Book is a Time Machine, illustrated by Lucinda Gifford. Today we’re excited to chat to Tracey about This Book is a Time Machine!

From the publisher:

Guess what? You are holding a real-life time machine!
You don’t believe me?
I’ll show you!
For a start, I wrote this blurb in the PAST.
Yet, you are reading it in the PRESENT.
And when you finish reading the blurb, it will be the FUTURE …

The author (you!) and the illustrator are both characters in This Book is a Time Machine. Did you meet Lucinda Gifford while she was working on the illustrations?

I actually didn’t meet Lucinda while working on the illustrations – the first time I met Lucinda was before that, during the Maurice Saxby Mentorship Program in 2022 (an incredible creative development program for children’s creators that I was fortunate enough to be part of).  Lucinda was a former mentee of this program, and we were fortunate to have lunch with her and to hear all about her creative journey and processes as part of the mentorship.  I was completely in awe of her, and it was so inspiring to listen to her experiences.  So, you can imagine how excited I was to hear that she had agreed to do the illustrations for This Book Is a Time Machine!  Once she had signed up, we met early in the process, via a video call with Tash, our publisher.  This is not necessarily the conventional way authors and illustrators collaborate on a book, but because we are both actual characters in the book (which is unusual), it was really important to make sure we were all on the same page and to work closely together.  It was a great experience to be able to work like this with such an incredible illustrator and creative team, including Tash and Kristy Lund-White (the designer).

If you climbed into a time machine, would you choose to go into the past or the future?

I would probably go backwards into the past and meet some of the incredible people who are no longer with us. Frida Kahlo and Albert Einstein would be two people who I would really love to meet.

This book features so many creatures, people and events escaping from their time in history – if you were dressing up as a character from This Book is a Time Machine for a Book Week parade, what would your costume be?

The cover of a children's picture book: This Book is a Time Machine

Although this is one book I could get away with not dressing up for (as I could go as myself), I would definitely go as the mummy.* 

I just love the different facial expressions of this character throughout the book (I’m pretty sure one of those expressions is how I look before I’ve had my morning coffee).

*Check out the mummy in the letter E on the book’s cover.

If we took a time machine into the future, what would we see Future Tracey working on?

Look, I would love to be able to say that Future Tracey would be working on an international best-seller, but I guess I would need to use my time machine to find out if this is true!

In the meantime, I am writing as much as I can in the hope that a future brilliant idea will come to me.

Do you have a tip for young writers who would like to try writing their own picture books?

My tip would be to keep on going and persisting, even when your work does not turn out how you want it to.  Making mistakes and mess and improving your craft is all part of the process and so it is really important not to give up.

This Book is a Time Machine is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS:

Watch the book trailer [YouTube]

Will the book make an impact? [You Tube]

Make your own Future Teller [PDF]

Visit the author’s website for more about her and her books

Visit the illustrator’s website for more about her and her books

Book reviews by Aashi, Book reviews by kids

Book review: My Strange Shrinking Parents

Alphabet Soup
The cover of a children's picture book: My Strange Shrinking Parents by Zeno Sworder.

REVIEWED BY AASHI, 9, VIC

My Strange Shrinking Parents by Zeno Sworder, Thames & Hudson Australia Pty Ltd, ISBN 9781760761233

Aashi reviewed her own copy of this book.

My Strange Shrinking Parents is a great book by Zeno Sworder. His book Is a fantastic read with an important moral at the end.

The moral of this book is the circle of love. This means that when you are younger your parents give to you by giving you good food, education, and their time. But when they grow older you give to them by giving them food, medical care, and time they need. My Strange Shrinking Parents do that. When they want their child to have something, but they don’t have enough money, they give height. An example is when the giving parents wanted their child to go to school but then they didn’t have enough money the principal said, ‘Three inches of height for each year of school’. Then there were uniforms, school books, and many more items, so again they gave away height. Once the young boy grew into a handsome man and had his children, he was responsible for looking after his parents. He used cedar branches to carve a wooden house with little furniture. His parents lived happily in there watching their son grow.

I think My Strange Shrinking Parents is a book for ages 6 to 10. It teaches you morals and important lessons. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars! It engages you through the perspective of the parents and the boy. The book makes a spectacular read.

Read some sample pages from the book.

Aashi is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read more of her book reviews here. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

authors, interviews

Kitty Black on The Starting School List

Alphabet Soup

Kitty Black has a background in psychology and teaching and believes stories are at the heart of who we are. Kitty is the author of many picture books, two of which have been translated into German and Turkish! Today we’re chatting to Kitty about her latest picture book: The Starting School List, illustrated by Cate James.

Kitty Black, a woman with red hair and glasses
The cover of a children's picture book: The Starting School List

From the publisher:

It’s Little Brother’s first day at school tomorrow. Luckily, Big Brother knows what that feels like. And what’s more, he has a list of what to expect …

You’ll learn where the loos are, and all about bugs.
You’ll learn a sad friend could do with a hug.
You’ll learn the best spot for sand that is slushy.
You’ll learn that tomato makes sandwiches mushy.

How did you come to write about starting school? 

I was actually asked if I wanted to write a picture book about starting school by my publisher, I’d never thought about it before, but I instantly loved the idea. We knew that we wanted the book to be full of good advice, and who’s better at telling younger kids what to do than their older siblings. In a loving, helpful way of course!

What’s your favourite memory about starting school? 

I wouldn’t call this my favourite memory, but it’s definitely the strongest memory I have of starting school, I got left behind on my first day. My older siblings told me to wait outside my classroom and they’d come get me on the way to the bus stop, but they forgot! A teacher drove me home, and just as we were pulling into the driveway my Mum was marching out of the house, car keys in hand, shouting at my siblings about how could they forget their little sister. They never forgot me again!

You’re the author of many picture books … and this one is written in rhyme. When you get an idea for a picture book, how do you know whether a story should be told with or without rhyme? 

This is my first rhyming book, and I was honestly surprised that I wrote it in rhyme. I tried writing the book without rhyme over and over again, but it just didn’t feel right. There was something about the first words in the book ‘Hey little brother, are you asleep?’ that just WANTED to rhyme. So, I guess I don’t know when a story should rhyme or not, but the story knows.

Do you have a tip for young writers who’d like to try writing their own picture books?

Go for it! Writing should be fun, so if an idea makes you giggle, make it into a book!

Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?

I am working on ANOTHER rhyming picture book, which was inspired by my cheeky dog.

The Starting School List is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

Awesome Extras:

The cover of a picture book The Starting School List

See some sample pages from the book at Booktopia’s site

Grown-ups can enter a competition to win a Starting School pack with QBD books, closing 31 January 2024.

Check out Kitty Black’s website for more about her and the books she’s writing.

Check out Cate James’s website for more about her and her illustrations.

authors, illustrator, interviews

Sean E Avery on Frank’s Red Hat

Alphabet Soup

Sean E Avery is a teacher, sculptor, designer, and the author-illustrator of Harold and Grace, All Monkeys Love Bananas, and Happy as a Hog Out of Mud. Today we’re pleased to chat to him about his latest picture book, Frank’s Red Hat, which is out in Australia, Korea, France and Denmark!

Image shows the cover of a picture book: Frank's Red Hat by Sean E Avery. The illustration is of a flock of penguins and only one penguin is wearing a tiny red beanie.
A photo of author and illustrator Sean E Avery. Sean is wearing a blue checked blazer, a white business shirt and a dark tie.

From the publisher:

Frank is a penguin with ideas. Mostly terrible ones. That’s why his fellow penguins are nervous when he shows them his strange new creation. Something they’d never seen or expected to see in their cold and colourless Antarctic world — a red hat.

How did you come to set a book in Antarctica?

I wanted a black-and-white setting that I could slowly introduce colour to! Antartica fit the description perfectly. 

Do you know how to knit?

I do not. My boss (the principal at the school I work at) tried to teach me once but I gave up in a huff. I may have had a small tantrum and thrown my knitting needles over my head in frustration.

Can you tell us a bit about the illustration process for Frank’s Red Hat?

I use lots of different media – paint, crayons, pencils etc – to create textures that I scan into my computer. From there, I can cut the shapes I need from the scanned textures and arrange them to make, rocks, snow, water, seals, and penguins of course! 

Do you have a writing tip for kids who’d like to write their own books?

Write a little bit every day for a few months. It’s very hard (and not much fun) to try finish a whole book quickly in a week. If you work on something slowly, but consistently over a long period of time; the result will be better.

Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?

I have three books coming out next year. Two of those are out next year. One is called Friendly Bee and Friends – a graphic novel about an annoyingly friendly bee who tries to make friends with every bug he meets. The other is a picture book called Mr Clownfish, Miss Anemone and The Hermit Crab which is an underwater adventure. 

Frank’s Red Hat is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

Image shows the cover of a picture book: Frank's Red Hat by Sean E Avery. The illustration is of a flock of penguins and only one penguin is wearing a tiny red beanie.

AWESOME EXTRAS

Take a look inside the book!

Visit Sean E Avery’s website for more about him and his books

authors, interviews

Sharon Giltrow on Get Ready, Mama!

Alphabet Soup
Image shows a photo of Sharon Giltrow, children's author. Sharon has shoulder length brown hair, fair skin and brown eyes. She's wearing a black shirt with tan dots. She's sitting with her chin in one hand.
Image shows the cover of a picture book: Get Ready, Mama! by Sharon Giltrow and Arielle Li. The cover illustration shows a mother still in bed, cuddling her teddy. There's a child standing next to her bed in a school uniform and with neatly tied plaits. The child is holding a white button up blouse on a coat hanger. Next to the bed is a white dog with brown patches and a pink tongue lolling out. The mother in bed has tousled hair and doesn't look alert. The dog and the child look enthusiastic and full of energy.

Sharon Giltrow grew up in South Australia and now lives in Western Australia with her husband, two children, a tom cat and a miniature dog. She works in Early Childhood Education and Teacher Education Support, working with Young Children with Developmental Language Disorder. Her debut picture book was Bedtime, Daddy!, illustrated by Katrin Dreiling. Today we’re chatting to her about her new picture book, Get Ready, Mama! illustrated by Arielle Li.

From the publisher:

Getting Mama ready for the day can be a challenge… you’d better watch out that she doesn’t sneak back into bed, try to distract you with cuddles, or … wait, is Mama watching TV?! 

Your first picture book was Bedtime, Daddy! Did you have the idea for a series of books about family members when you wrote the first book or did the idea for a companion book come after the first book was out?

Bedtime, Daddy! is a role reversal book where the child (actually a bear) has to put the daddy to bed. The idea came from my own family. Once I signed the contract for Bedtime, Daddy! I thought writing a series of books using the same structure but different family members would be a great idea. I wanted one about a mum and about the other end of the day, getting up, so I wrote Get Ready, Mama! which was recently published 3 ½ years after the first book. I also wrote a story about taking a grandma shopping and a grandpa to the beach. Those two will be published in 2022 and 2023. So, my picture book family series is now complete. (Wait a minute – what about the aunty and uncle?)

Are you a morning person or a night owl? (Do you spring out of bed in the morning yourself?)

I am a morning person or as a like to call myself an early bird, although at times I am also an exhausted pigeon. I don’t spring out as bed as quickly as I use to, it’s more of a slide, but I do like to get up before everyone else in the house. Then I can have a few minutes of ‘me’ time.

Did you work with the illustrator (Arielle Li) during the book’s creation?

Anouska, the editor at EK Books, encouraged Arielle and I to work together from the beginning of the publishing process. She shared Arielle’s initial character sketches with me and as a team we decided whether the characters would be guinea pigs or humans. We chose humans! I’m glad we did after seeing the child and mama’s amazing facial expressions in Get Ready, Mama! Then Arielle started working on the storyboard and again shared it with me. Throughout the whole process I was able to suggest changes. There weren’t many as Arielle did such a fantastic job interpreting my text. Once the changes were made, I put my text onto the storyboard to check how the story flowed. Finally, as a team we decided on a cover.

Do you have a tip for kids about writing illustrated stories or picture books?

After you have your idea, spend some time brainstorming the idea and in particular the characters. I do this for about 20 minutes every day for a week before I start writing. Here are some questions I use when I am brainstorming.

  • What does your character love or hate?
  • What is their nickname?
  • What kind of being are they?
  • What is their age?
  • What is their physical appearance?
  • Who are their family members?
  • Do they have any pets?
  • Who is their best friend/s?
  • What items do they carry in their backpack?
  • What are their hobbies?
  • What does your character want more than anything?
  • What are their fears?
  • What is their favourite food?

Can you tell us something about your next writing project?

I am currently writing my third book in my early middle grade series The Utility Belt. Books one and two release in 2022 and 2023. But I don’t want to give too much away.

I am also enrolled in a graphic novel course; I want to learn how to write (and possibly illustrate) a graphic novel. I already have a great idea, now to develop my characters – stay tuned!

Get Ready, Mama! is out now. Ask for it at your favourite bookstore or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS

Image shows the cover of a picture book: Get Ready, Mama! by Sharon Giltrow and Arielle Li. The cover illustration shows a mother still in bed, cuddling her teddy. There's a child standing next to her bed in a school uniform and with neatly tied plaits. The child is holding a white button up blouse on a coat hanger. Next to the bed is a white dog with brown patches and a pink tongue lolling out. The mother in bed has tousled hair and doesn't look alert. The dog and the child look enthusiastic and full of energy.

Take a look at some pages inside the book

Make your own Get Ready, Mama! mini colouring book

Download the Teachers’ Notes for this book

Visit the author’s website for more about Sharon Giltrow and her books

Book reviews by kids, Glenridge Elementary School

Book review: Back to School, Splat!

Alphabet Soup
Image shows the cover of a children's book: Splat the Cat, Back to School, Splat! by Rob Scotton. The cover illustration shows a black cat with a pink tummy. He's wearing scuba goggles, a snorkel, a colander for a hat, and carrying a soccer ball, & a wooden sword. There is a small grey mouse sitting atop the ball. Behind him is a small white cat in a pink top and wearing a pink bow on her head.

REVIEWED BY CALLIE, SECOND GRADE, MISSOURI, USA

Splat the Cat: Back to School, Splat! by Rob Scotton, HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 9780061978517

Callie reviewed her school’s copy of this book.

Do you like books with cats that act like humans? Then I think you should read Splat the Cat: Back to School, Splat! In this book, Splat the Cat goes to school looking happy and comes back from school looking sad because he already has homework.

I think you should read this book because Splat the Cat is so funny. In this story he has homework on the first day of school and his tail dragged behind him as he walked home. The second reason you should read this book is because his little sister is so sweet and cute, for example she gives him a new soccer ball and gives him cupcakes. The third reason you should read this book is because he goes to CAT SCHOOL! These are some of the reasons you should read this book.

I hope you read this book right away. Do you want to find out more about this book? Visit your local library. I recommend this book for kids ages 7, 8 and 9. I give this book 8 out of 10 stars.

Second grade students at Glenridge Elementary School (Missouri, USA) are guest reviewers at Alphabet Soup. Click here if you’d like to read more book reviews by Glenridge Elementary School. To send us YOUR book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

authors, interviews

Jeanette Stampone on Shadow and the Girl

Alphabet Soup
Shadow and the Girl by Jeanette Stampone and Demelsa Haughton. The cover illustration shows a girl with plaits, wearing a white dress and a red cap, sitting back to back with a shadowy figure. They both have their feet in water. Behind them are alpine-looking mountains with snow on their peaks.
Jeanette Stampone, children's author. This photo is a head and shoulders shot. Jeanette has long straight blonde hair with a fringe, blue eyes and pale skin. She is smiling at the viewer. She is wearing a black and white patterned top, sleeveless. She's standing in front of a leafy green shrub.

Jeanette Stampone was born and raised in a spooky three-hundred-year-old English house. Jeanette now lives in a small country town in Western Australia with her husband and two boys. Shadow and the Girl is her debut picture book, illustrated by Demelsa Haughton.

From the publisher:

A giant girl towers over Shadow. Driven by fear, Shadow runs. And so does the girl. But can they really run from each other?

How long did it take to write Shadow and the Girl?

Nearly five years!

I first had the idea back in 2017. It was about a monster living under a child’s bed. I decided to change the monster to a shadow, but still had lots of trouble getting the story to flow.

So, I then completely changed the scene and took Shadow outside to a park. That’s when it really began to work. I sent the manuscript to a few publishers, but not many because I was worried the story was a bit too different. I eventually put it away and worked on new ideas.

But then in 2019, I saw Red Paper Kite were open for submissions. They were looking for quirky and unusual stories. I sent it in and … YAY! It got accepted. I feel like my story was just waiting for the right publisher.

Shortly after I signed the contract, coronavirus hit and the book release got delayed, which meant more waiting. But finally, in 2022, it was ready for print! It’s taken a long time but every stage has been exciting.

Did you have contact with the illustrator, Demelsa Haughton, while the book was being illustrated?

We really only made a few comments on each other’s social media posts. But other than that, no direct contact. My publisher worked closely with Demelsa and occasionally I was asked my opinion on her work, but that was very rare. I actually loved having no contact with her because it meant she was free to use her own creativity without me influencing it too much. She ended up making the book even better than I imagined!

How do you go about writing the first picture book draft?

So this is what normally happens:

  1. Random idea pops into my head.
  2. Idea swirls around my head, getting in the way of anything else I am trying to do!
  3. Get out my notepad and write a summary of the idea.
  4. If I am happy with the summary, I hop onto the computer and ‘grow’ the idea. I add more sentences and not worry too much about it being perfect. I just want to get the basic story down at this stage.
  5. Read through my story and chop, change, and polish until I’m reasonably happy.
  6. Finally, take the story to my critique group for feedback!

Do you have a tip for kids who‘d like to write their own picture book?

Imagine the illustrations as you write but try not to describe exactly what would be happening in the drawings. Let the illustrations tell one story and your writing tell another story.

So instead of saying something like, It was sunny and Ella smiled, you could describe her physical and emotional feelings like this: The sun warmed Ella’s face and her heart sang with joy.

Can you tell us a bit about what you!re working on next?

I have a book coming out with Wombat Books, The Dragon Guest Handbook. It’s a fun but meaningful story and I’m really looking forward to seeing it in print. I have been so busy with the release of Shadow and the Girl that I haven’t had a lot of time to work on new stories, but I do have a big list of ideas. Hopefully I can start working on a few of those soon because they’re all in the swirling around my head stage!

Shadow and the Girl is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS

Shadow and the Girl by Jeanette Stampone and Demelsa Haughton. The cover illustration shows a girl with plaits, wearing a white dress and a red cap, sitting back to back with a shadowy figure. They both have their feet in water. Behind them are alpine-looking mountains with snow on their peaks.

Peek inside the pages of Shadow and the Girl on the publisher’s website.

Watch an animation by Jana Kaminski (this is a video on the publisher’s Facebook page)

Visit Jeanette Stampone’s website for more about her and her writing.

Book reviews by kids

BOOK REVIEW: The Colour of Music

Alphabet Soup
Image shows the cover of a children's book: The Colour of Music by Lisa Tiffen and illustrated by Matt Ottley. The cover is predominantly yellow and the illustration shows a child with brown skin and wearing headphones and dancing with eyes closed . At the bottom of the cover is a close up view of the scroll-end of a violin.

REVIEWED BY JAMIE, 8, WA

The Colour of Music by by Lisa Tiffen, illustrated by Matt Ottley, MidnightSun Publishing, ISBN: 9781925227871

The publisher provided a review copy of this picture book.

The Colour of Music shows us what music can be like for people with synaesthesia.  When some people listen to music they just enjoy the beautiful sensation, and other people see colours and pictures in their imagination. Reading the book has meant I can listen to music in a new way. 

The illustrations are colourful and have lots of feeling.  I recommend this book for any kids that love music. 

This is Jamie’s first book review for Alphabet Soup. To send us YOUR book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Book reviews by Iona Presentation College, Book reviews by kids

Book review: When We Say Black Lives Matter

Alphabet Soup

REVIEWED BY CHLOE, YEAR 6, WA (IONA PRESENTATION COLLEGE

Image shows the cover of a picture book: When We Say Black Lives Matter by Maxine Beneba Clarke. The cover illustration shows a black mother and child against a blue background. The child is carrying a handmade sign taped to a stick. The sign is facing against the child's leg, so we don't know what's written on it yet.

When We Say Black Lives Matter by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Hachette Australia, ISBN 9780734420428

Alphabet Soup provided a review copy of this book.

I enjoyed this colourful book. The topic is important and current as it talks about how black lives matter.

This story is told by a black child’s parents and reminds us all how important it is to consider everyone the same way and how sad and painful it can be for people when they are not treated as everyone else is. 

The colours and pictures in the book draw the reader’s attention, as they tell a story and show life in every illustration. Each page of this book has one word in a different colour and it underlines important values such as respect, knowledge, joy.

This book will surely spark a lot of conversations in every family. I rate this book 5 stars as it approaches the ‘black lives matter’ topic gently and positively.

Preview some pages from When We Say Black Lives Matter at the publisher’s website.

Iona Presentation College students are members of Alphabet Soup’s review team. This is Chloe’s first review for Alphabet Soup. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Rory

Book review: Stellarphant

Alphabet Soup

REVIEWED BY RORY, 9, WA

Stellarphant by James Foley, Fremantle Press, ISBN 9781760990732

The publisher provided a review copy of this book.

Stellarphant is an inspiring story to teach young children about persisting. Stella the elephant wants to become an astronaut but there are many things that hold her back such as she needs a spacesuit, a rocket, space education and crew!

It’s an ordinary Monday at 9am when suddenly an elephant bursts into Space Command asking to be an astronaut! Stella doesn’t understand when the recruiter says she can’t. Stella then sets to work trying to become an astronaut but along the way she faces many challenges. Once again, she asks the recruiter one more time to get his response …

My favourite part in Stellarphant is when Stella is determined to become an astronaut by working hard because if you work hard, you can get anything! Also, I liked the timeline at the end of the book listing all the animal things that have been into space. Did you know that in my birthyear (2011) a bobtail squid was sent into space! Also, the weirdest one I read was in 1989 fertilised chicken eggs were sent into space!

Overall, I’d rate Stellarphant ten out of ten because it’s inspiring, funny and reaching for the stars!

Take a sneak peek inside Stellarphant!

Read our interview with the author-illustrator, James Foley

Rory is a regular reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read more of his reviews here. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!