event news from the kennel

Last night we had out first event for the year here in the kennel and it was (if I do say so myself) quite a success. We had three very excellent speakers in Ananda Braxton-Smith, Judith A. Simpson and Tony Thompson who all provided us with some interesting perspectives on how to engage children with the humanities.

After the speeches were over and the wine began to flow we were discussing the differences in writing and whether or not kids should be taught twittering and blogging in the classroom. Lo and behold I’m reading the paper this morning and what headline grabs my eye but this one: British pupils to get lessons on Twitter: report

We live in interesting times.

Thanks to everyone who attended last night and I hoped you enjoyed the night and can make it to the next one. It is really wonderful that you take time out of your schedule to attend these events so I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all on behalf of black dog books. Without the continued support of people like you we would not be able to publish the titles we do or hold events like this.

Special thanks to the authors who presented Ananda, Judith and Tony – you guys did a great job. Thanks also to the other authors who attended last night Nicolas Brasch whose book Gallipoli: Reckless Valour was launched last night and Amy Hunter whose book Great Aussie Inventions was also launched. And thanks to Corinne Fenton and Bernadette Kelly who came along to show their support.

Remember also that all of our authors and illustrators are available for visits to your school. The details are on the Teachers page of the black dog books website or you can drop me a line if you are so inclined!

Stay tunes to find out who won the door prize – a school visit with Tony Thompson.

Carole Wilkinson on Spicks and Specks!

I love Spicks and Specks and especially Substitute – it is way too much fun to try and guess the song before my housemates. And, from my previous posts you know how excited I get when I see our books out in the real world.

So, imagine my delight when I saw Carole Wilkinson’s Dragon Companion being used on Substitute!! Woo-hoo, go Carole! Carole hasn’t seen it yet because she is at a literature festival but has received a flurry of phone calls and was (her words) “astonished”!

Carole is in WA at the moment as a guest of the All Saints Literature Festival in Bulls Creek along with another doggie Mike Lefroy who is the author of HMAS Sydney.

If you have ever wondered what it is like to be at a literature festival then stay tuned. Carole and Mike will be our very first guest bloggers and are going to be talking about their experience at All Saints. To make sure you don’t miss it drop me an email kristen@bdb.com.au and I will let you know when they will be posting.

I think I will be singing Spicks and Specks all day!

Sue Lawson causing trouble on a tram

I was sitting on the tram this morning when I noticed that a girl was reading Sue Lawson’s Allie McGregor’s True Colours which is published by us here at black dog books. It always gives me a bit of a thrill when I see kids actually reading our books out there in the real world so what happened next was even more fun!

The girl reading (girl A for convenience) was standing with her friend Girl B. Girl B turns to Girl A and says (mildly) “oh, I didn’t like that book.” Girl A turns on her friend with a look of absolute disgust and screeches (yes, she is a teen so screech she did) “Oh my God, you are so stupid! I can’t believe you just said that. This is, like, the best book ever!” Girl B is looking a bit stunned and says “I can’t believe you just said that. I am allowed to not like it.” Girl A was furious! She waved the book in her friends face and says “THIS. IS. THE. BEST. BOOK. EVER. EVER! And if you don’t think so you are sooooooooooo stuuuuuuuupid!” The rest of the tram trip they were pretty quiet. But I gotta tell you, if looks could kill Girl A would have killed Girl B, dug her up and killed her again.

The whole incident begs the question “What book are you prepared to fight for?”

CBCA Clayton’s awards

We had a black dog road trip last night as Melissa, Audrey and myself went along to the CBCA Claytons night in Victoria.
First of all congratulations must go to Pam McIntyre who was this years recipient of the Leila St John Award. Well done, Pam!

Events like this are always interesting – any time that people are prepared to stand in front of a group and offer up their opinion on something is always going to be interesting. And, generate some comment I guess.

I find it fascinating how different people interpret different things and last night left me with a lot of questions. For example, does a book that is nominated in the information category necessarily have to be an academic tome? Can it have a bit of colour and movement and (dare I say it?) story? And is it ok to give an eight-year-old a book that they may find unsettling? Do we sometimes not challenge our kids for fear that their feelings will be hurt? And are we ever going to decide exactly what a picture book is and who they are aimed at?

I don’t know the answers and I don’t pretend to but I would love to hear your thoughts.

Kristen

Another fantastic black dog event

How do you get kids excited about the Humanities?

How do you engage kids with the humanities subjects? How do you show them that history can be exciting? How do you convince them that classic stories are worth reading?

Join the team at black dog books to hear three of our authors give their perspective on using different methods to engage children with the humanities.

Ananda Braxton-Smith is the author of The Death: The Horror of the Plague, part of the award-winning Drum series. The Death brings the 14th Century to life and the descriptions of the devastating effects that the plague had on all walks of life will shock and inform.

Judith A. Simpson has written a rollicking adventure tale The Princess of Pushkar: In the Shadow of the Palace that will grip kids from the first page to last – while teaching them about Indian history and culture along the way.

And, last but not least, will be Tony Thompson whose book Shakespeare: The Most Famous Man in London is perfect for every kid who has ever had to read Shakespeare and wondered why. Tony’s book will be available in May.

Then join us for a glass of champagne to celebrate the launch of our latest fabulous books.

Books will be available for sale on the night at a 20% discount!

AND one lucky person will win a fabulous prize on the night – Tony Thompson!

Give is your business card as you come through the door and you could win a half day school visit by Tony Thompson.He will come to your school and do two 45-minutes sessions with your students. That’s over $500 of value absolutely free!

The details:
WHEN: Thursday the 26th of March at 5pm for a 5.30pm start
WHERE: black dog books 15 Gertrude Street Fitzroy
The event is free but RSVP’s are essential by March 24
RSVP: Kristen Young
P: 03 9419 9406
E: kristen@bdb.com.au

chimpanzees – apes like us

Hi all

So, by know we all know the story of the missile-throwing chimp, right? No? Well follow this link and then you will know what I am talking about.

It has been the topic of much discussion here in the kennel and had us all scurrying out to the storeroom to grab a copy of The Chimpanzee Book by Dr Carla Litchfield to see what else we could find out about chimps.

And what did Dr Carla Litchfield have to teach us about chimps? Amongst other things we learnt from her book that not only can they come up with war strategies, they create ‘mental maps’ of places to help with directions, they use tools to help them get to food supplies, they apply caution when crossing roads and they use kisses and cuddles to ease family tension.
Evolution, anyone?

Hello world!

And welcome to the all new black dog book blog!

Here you will find information about the team at black dog books, what books we have coming up and what fabulous events we will be conducting.

Got a question for us? then leave it here.

read one of our books and loved it? well, let us know here!

want to know about one of our authors? ask me and I will tell you everything!

Thanks for dropping by!

Talk to you soon

Kristen