... And there's more fantastic wraps up on other blogs!
Literacy, families and learning posted about the power of story.
and
a macgirl in a pc world posted about day three of the conference.
You can also check out #ALEA and #ALEA2011 on Twitter!
How about you? Did you enjoy the conference?
Monday 11 July 2011
Sunday 10 July 2011
Craig Smith by Jo Ryan
Sunday. Astonishing. The ballroom almost full at 8:47am when I sidle in. I feel a weight lifted from my over-stuffed head to be in such company.
Craig, charming, satisfying our voracious desire for the visual; I make a resolution to look for the books he describes and shows me how to look at with more attention.
“Under-draw” so that drawings connect better with the child. A humble resolution that we all need to make.
“Illustration rockstars.” My heart beats with anticipation. I think of the ways people can be breathtakingly creative. Also the stages of the creative life: illustrating ‘readers ‘(as in the books).
Illustrative treasures inside the everyday classroom.
Generosity in telling us how he does it. I am amazed at the exquisite timing involved.
A shiver of fear as the impact of digital technology is described. We are lucky that artists have the commitment to integrity.
Hazel Edwards - Literary Dinners
Some fantastic feedback from one of the authors of the literary dinners - Hazel Edwards:
Thank you for the opportunity to meet your conference participants at the Bok Choy Tang- restaurant last night for the ALEA Literary Dinner.
As 'mystery authors' it was an excellent opportunity to chat informally about all kinds of books and educational issues and we really enjoyed their company.
Maree Jeurissen
I was amazed when Maree started her introduction in Te Reo Maori which ended with a traditional song!
Kelli McGraw
Some fantastic round-table discussion about literacy, English, ALEA and the national curriculum.
Day Two Conference Wrap
I found another fantastic wrap of Day Two of the conference via Twitter - thought you all might enjoy looking at it!
It's a sad thing of being merely one person that means I can't get to everything I'd like to.
However, I should take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to various ALEA State Committee members who have been brilliant in taking photos and writing a few words for this blog!
It's a sad thing of being merely one person that means I can't get to everything I'd like to.
However, I should take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to various ALEA State Committee members who have been brilliant in taking photos and writing a few words for this blog!
Our Australian Girl at ALEA
I am a massive fan of Penguin’s Our Australian Girl series. I’ve reviewed it on my own blog, and also wrote about the launch and today I was estatic to be in a session listening to the background with the publisher Jane Godwin and two of the authors, Sofie Laguna and Alison Lloyd.Jane Godwin, publisher of the books, said, ‘I wanted to offer girls a more memorable reading experience’ and that she ‘wants young readers to absolutely fall in love with these characters.’
Jane said that she feels the books come at the right time with all the talk about History in the curriculum.
Sofie Laguna said that, ‘The thing that you need to do when you’re the person coming up with the character is be inside the character. Perhaps a character is defined by their struggle; that creates who they are. I had to get inside Grace as soon as I could. I heard her voice in my head, with the cockney accent, it’s going to sound cliche but I had to feel and understand her struggle and pain.’
Jane said, ‘It’s in the face of conflict and struggle that we prove who we really are.’
There are certain things that are timeless (manitcuplive girls from Letty)
Alison Lloyd said that, ‘Relationships, friendships, acceptance’ – she did research at schools and friends with kids and worked out what mattered to younger girls.
‘I wanted her to be true to the times’ as Alison has read historical fiction she felt unbelievable.
Alison talked about researching the history. She went to libraries and spoke to people and travelled.
‘It was just a history of sex slavery!’ Jane said that Sofie told her. Due to the readership age, Sofie said she couldn’t include most of those details yet couldn’t entirely wipe that history either.
Sofie said that she researched heavily too. Although she didn’t make it to London, she read widely and spoke about how bleak it was in London in that era.
She touched on writing about Aborigines and how there is always talk about non-Indigenous people writing about them.
They talked tight deadlines and word counts (most are around 15,000 and the largest started at 22,000 which was whittled down!).
Sofie said it was, ‘Ultimately a very positive writing experience.’
Jane said that the sixteenth book was just sent to the printer!
An interesting note that Jane said that was from the Aussie Bites and Nibbles that the titles that sell the best are the overly girly and overly boyish rather than the more gender neutral.
‘Companion series for boys’ Jane explains, are in the works. She says it’s in very early stages, won’t be linked novels like OAG but will be the same eras so teachers can use both series in the classrooms.
From conception of idea to published was two and a half years, the actual writing was about twelve months.
It was a fantastic sessions and personally I could have sat there all day and listened!
What You All Thought...
On Tony Stead:
'Absolutely fantastic. He really talked my language and expand my knowledge. Very entertaining' - Victoria
'He brought to life and awareness of non-fiction' - Susanne
'Interesting to listen to' - Cathy
'Very practical things to use in the classroom' - Suse
'Tony was great, great connections to classroom teachers' - Marie
On Glenda Millard:
'Fantastic and interesting' - Jane
On Gay Su Pinnell:
'Absolutely fantastic and inspiring. Great insight into guided reading' - Jane
On Debbie Miller:
'Greater reminder for reading workshops that children need to read. Importance of students thinking about what they're reading' - Margaret
'I thought it was really useful and supports what we're doing in the classroom' - Virginia
'Affirming that we're all on the same page. Great ideas to develop' - Jac
On Susan Hill:
'Great to hear her talking. Affirming and thinking about her research as practice' - Kate
'I really enjoyed her. Very informative' - Amelia
'I use her textbooks all the tine. Great to see teachers as researchers too: to know the change is happening at grassroots level' - Carmel
'Absolutely fantastic. He really talked my language and expand my knowledge. Very entertaining' - Victoria
'He brought to life and awareness of non-fiction' - Susanne
'Interesting to listen to' - Cathy
'Very practical things to use in the classroom' - Suse
'Tony was great, great connections to classroom teachers' - Marie
On Glenda Millard:
'Fantastic and interesting' - Jane
On Gay Su Pinnell:
'Absolutely fantastic and inspiring. Great insight into guided reading' - Jane
On Debbie Miller:
'Greater reminder for reading workshops that children need to read. Importance of students thinking about what they're reading' - Margaret
'I thought it was really useful and supports what we're doing in the classroom' - Virginia
'Affirming that we're all on the same page. Great ideas to develop' - Jac
On Susan Hill:
'Great to hear her talking. Affirming and thinking about her research as practice' - Kate
'I really enjoyed her. Very informative' - Amelia
'I use her textbooks all the tine. Great to see teachers as researchers too: to know the change is happening at grassroots level' - Carmel
Saturday 9 July 2011
Digital Age ACMI Institute Wrap
Twitter is a wonderful thing, isn't it?I personally love it (and you can follow me here :P).
So via Twitter, I discovered this great wrap of the ALEA conference at ACMI on Friday for the Institute 2.
Check it out - it was one of my regrets that I couldn't make it to ACMI on Friday as the program sounded amazing.
Junior Bookseller + Publisher and The Wheeler Centre
To finish off your day today I thought I'd let you guys know about this new newsletter from Bookseller + Publisher.
The official spiel is:
Junior is a great resource for teachers interested in children’s books, which includes news, interviews and reviews of the best children’s books from around Australia and New Zealand, from picture books to young adult. Junior is published three times per year as part of Bookseller+Publisher magazine and is now available as a free e-mag. Click here to view the Junior e-mag.
Teachers can also sign-up to The Junior Newsletter on this page to receive a monthly newsletter of interviews and reviews, as well as the next Junior e-mag as soon as it is published.
The unofficial spiel is that I myself have been subscribed since it started, and must say I really love it.
There's reviews and interviews and industry news and lots of literary goodness.
Another newsletter that might interest you - which I also subscribe to - is The Wheeler Centre.
If you don't know, The Wheeler Centre is A Victorian Government initiative and the centrepiece of Melbourne’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature and it holds various events all through-out the year (most free and all fantastic).
They're actually having a promotion right now to win a trip to Bali if you sign up to their e-newsletter!
What are some newsletters you get?
The official spiel is:
Junior is a great resource for teachers interested in children’s books, which includes news, interviews and reviews of the best children’s books from around Australia and New Zealand, from picture books to young adult. Junior is published three times per year as part of Bookseller+Publisher magazine and is now available as a free e-mag. Click here to view the Junior e-mag.
Teachers can also sign-up to The Junior Newsletter on this page to receive a monthly newsletter of interviews and reviews, as well as the next Junior e-mag as soon as it is published.
The unofficial spiel is that I myself have been subscribed since it started, and must say I really love it.
There's reviews and interviews and industry news and lots of literary goodness.
Another newsletter that might interest you - which I also subscribe to - is The Wheeler Centre.
If you don't know, The Wheeler Centre is A Victorian Government initiative and the centrepiece of Melbourne’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature and it holds various events all through-out the year (most free and all fantastic).
They're actually having a promotion right now to win a trip to Bali if you sign up to their e-newsletter!
What are some newsletters you get?
Welcome to Melbourne drinks at the Arts Centre - Friday 8 July
Debra and Lynne, conference organisers, open the drinks
Deborah Cohen from The Australian Children's Television Foundation
Robin Penty from the Arts Centre
Literary Dinners No.2: Paul Collins and Anna Pignataro
There were many new friendships formed through lively chats about fashion, food, families, travel and of course work. As the night went on the odd dinner party game entertained and helped break the ice, not to mention provide lots of laughs!
Author/publisher, Paul introduced everyone to the wonderful world of FORD Street Publishing. While author/illustrator Anna delighted everyone with her award winning books. They were eagerly read by all around the table, as Anna was proudly showing us her latest release hot off the press.
Everyone left the dinner eager to meet up again and chat further across the Conference weekend.
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