Sally Murphy's Blog, page 9
November 17, 2023
Christmas is Coming (and signed books make excellent gifts)
It’s only 38 days until Christmas and if you, like me, are behind in your Christmas shopping, let me remind you that giving a young person in your life a book signed by a real author is a wonderful way to celebrate reading.
I don’t often do a direct sell through my website (or elsewhere) because I love when shoppers support book and mortar book stores. But I do have some books which are no longer available in stores, and so, if you would like one of the following books, drop me a line and we can arrange a sale. You will also be helping me to clean out my book cupboard and perhaps pay for some travel for research in the new year.
Doggy Duo. Published way back in 2003, this was my first ever trade title,
published by Banana Books, and illustrated by Teresa Culkin-Lawrence. Featuring two chapter book stories for younger readers, this has a unique format – the two stories are published back to back, so one cover says Little Dog, the other The Dog Ate My Homework, and when the reader finishes the first, they close the book, flip it and start the other. Because of its age, and the fact that I have quite a lot of stock of this one, price is $8 posted anywhere in Australia.
Snowy’s Christmas. This very Australian picture book (published by Random House and illustrated by David Murphy) tells the story of Snowy, a white kangaroo who – you guessed it – gets to help Santa pull his sleigh. Perfect for Australian kids, but also for sending overseas. Price is $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.
Pemberthy Bear. One of my earliest picture books, this hard covering offering was illustrated by award winning artist Jacqui Grantford, and published by new Frontier. What’s not to love about a rhyming tale of a grumpy bear who is gradually persuaded to sing a duet? Limited stock of this one. Price is $30 posted anywhere in Australia.The Floatingest Frog. Another picture book, illustrated by Simon Bosch and also published by New Frontier, this is a fun story about sibling rivalry, as well as a retelling of an Aesop’s fable. Posted anywhere in Australia for $25.I also have limited stock of The Sage Cookson series (8 titles) and Brace Yourself (links will give you more info on each title). Contact me for prices including postage.
Still in print and therefore hopefully available from a brick and mortar bookstore near you:
(NB – I support local book sellers by not actively hand selling my books in print. But if you can’t get a copy locally, or super duper want a signed copy, contact me)
November 9, 2023
Cheering for the Challenge Winners
This year I was privileged to play a small role in the Premier’s Reading Challenge WA – as a Challenge Cheersquad member. My job was to cheer on the readers across the state who did an amazing job of reading for pleasure – with more than 360 000 books read and logged in 16 weeks.
Yesterday I attended a ceremony at Parliament House where prizes were given to the readers in each age group who read the most books, as well as to four readers who were randomly drawn (a lovely initiative because while quantity is wonderful, simply participating is equally wonderful), and then also to the schools in different enrolment categories who had the greatest participation.
What I loved about yesterday’s event was the joy in the room from everyone from the
young readers, to the educators, members of the challenge staff, politicians, including the Premier and the Minister for Education, and other MPs who came along because a child from their electorate was there. A real recognition that reading matters – and, specifically, that reading for pleasure matters. It was also lovely to join fellow cheersquad members, Chenee Marapodi , who did an awesome job as event MC, and Norman Jorgensen.
You can see some lovely official photos on the Premier’s Facebook post about the event.
And if you are not sure why I am SO excited about the Challenge being back in WA, not only do I love reading and seeing children read, but as an educator I know that there is evidence backed research evidence that Reading for Pleasure is more significant than a raft of other factors in a child’s educational success. That is reading for pleasure leads to better outcomes not only in literacy, but across all subjects (yes, even science and maths). And, of course, not only does reading make you smarter, but it makes you nicer – ie it builds emotional regulation, empathy and more.
So, the Premier’s Reading Challenge is not just about counting books, and feel good moments like yesterday’s – it is an investment in the future of our young people, and thus in our whole society.
November 7, 2023
SLowvember: The Word
Through my Instagram account (which you will find here), I am challenging myself with something I call Slowvember. The idea is that, in the midst of what is often a very busy month in my life, I am giving myself a word each day as a prompt to stop, contemplate, and slow down for at least a moment or two each day.
And it’s going well. I have completed the first seven days, and surprised myself with some of the connections my brain makes to each word. 
Then, this evening, I sat down to read a poem or two out of a poetry anthology I am reading slowly, How to Love the World , and coincidentally, the poem I read was The Word, by Tony Hoagland, which you can read in full here, where it appears with permission. The idea of writing ‘sunlight’ on a to-do list is very much what I find myself doing, and even more so during Slowvember, and I love Hoagland’s rejoinder that ‘among your duties, pleasure/is a thing/that also needs accomplishing.’ Amen!
You don’t need to do Slowvember to take a moment to enjoy sunlight, or smells, or sights, or whatever it is that gives you pleasure, but I do wish you moments of pleasure this month. And, if you want to follow along by completing one or more prompt, feel free.
October 31, 2023
What I Read in October 2023
It’s a new month, which means time to look at what I read last month. I was in Adelaide for the month, on a May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust Creative Time Fellowship, which meant that not only did I have lots of time for writing, I also had extra time for reading. Oh joy! And Adelaide is well provided with good bookshops, both new and used. So I had a field day! I managed 16 books in October, and brought home many more (actually I had to post them home to avoid my luggage being stupidly heavy).
Some really great reads this month, but as you’ll see I had two absolute favourites – Odder and Dog Songs, both of which filled my heart, but also made me want to keep working on my poetic craft. Here’s what I read.
Books for Children
Annabel’s Dance, by Diane Jackson Hill & Lois Bury (Wombat Books, 2021). A really cute story about a sheep who does not want to be shorn.
A Matter of Cats, by Elizbeth Hutchins (Wakefield press, 2022). I was lucky enough to meet Elizabeth during my stay in Adelaide and, by chance, we’d each brought along our cat themed book – and swapped them. Among other things, this one deals with the dilemma of being a cat lover while understanding they are bad for native wildlife.
Belinda, by Pamela Allen (Puffin, 1992). What fun to pick up a Pamela Allen book for $1 while in Adelaide. I thought I knew all of Allen’s books, but hadn’t read this one before. The Children’s Jackanapes, adapted by F. H- Lee from Julia Horatia Ewing (George & Harrap, 1937). This very old little book was picked up at a second hand bookshop. I found, from an internet search, that the story was first published, presumably in a longer form in 1884, and this version was a retelling.
Humbert , by John Burmingham (Puffin, 1965). You guessed, it another one I picked up second-hand in Adelaide. Humbert’s story is delightful.
Jenny Angel , by Margaret Wild & Anne Spudvilas (Viking, 1999). Very surprised to find this one in an op shop, but a win for me as I didn’t own a copy of this beautiful picture book, dealing with the difficult topic of the death of a sibling, in a beautiful beautiful combination of text and art.
This Book of Mine, by Sarah Stewart & David Small (Farrar Strauss Giroux, 2019). A beautiful celebration of the magic of owning, connecting, and falling in love with, a book.
The Dog That Dumped on My Doona, by Barry Jonsberg (Allen & Unwin, 2008). Another op-shop find, from an author whose work I like. this one is comedy, involving a talking dog, and a lizard needing rescuing.
Odder, by Katherine Applegate (Wellbeck Flame, 2022). I picked this one up because of the cover, but when I realised it was a verse novel there was no question of me buying it, reading it asap, and adoring it. This book is as beautiful as its cover!The Battle of the Galah Trees, by Christobel Mattingley Brookhampton Press, 1972). As part of a historical fiction book I am writing, I went looking for a book that might have been in a local library in 1978. In an Antiquarian Bookshop in Adelaide I found this one – signed by the author in 1978. It seemed a sign, so of course I bought it, read it, and enjoyed it.Books for Adults
Spring and All by William Carlos Williams (this edition 2019, first published 1923). Filling in some gaps in my reading of this modernist poet, whose ‘plum’ poem was one of the first free verse poems I ever encountered. This collection is a mix of prose and poetry, and takes some digesting, which is a good thing.
Love, Dad: Confessions of an Anxious Father, by Laurie Steed (Fremantle Press, 2023). I’ve been meaning to read this one since it was released a few months ago, and took it on the plane for my flight to Adelaide. A really heartfelt, honest memoir of early fatherhood and the struggles of anxiety, a writing career and life in general.
Second Innings: On men, mental health and cricket, by Barry Nicholls (Fremantle Press, 2021). Another exploration of anxiety, different to Love Dad, but equally as heartfelt. I found them good companion reads, one after the other.
Park Ruth : Dear Hearts and Gentle People, by Ruth Park (Penguin Books, 1994). First published in 1955, this is not one of the Ruth park books I had previously come across, but I really enjoyed it. Set in 1920s rural new Zealand and telling the story of a young girl going to live with her four aunts, who adore their niece, but also work to escape the control of their cantankerous father, and find their own ways forward in love and life.
Dog Songs: Poems, by Mary Oliver (Corsair Poetry, 2013). As with Odder (above) I fell in love with this book even before I’d opened it. I adore dogs, and I adore Mary Oliver’s poetry, so this is a perfect combination. I’ll be rereading this one often, I suspect.
That brings my total for the year to 103, with two months to go. I suspect now that I’m home and back at the day job, the number won’t be as high in December, but that’s okay. What have you been reading? I’d love to hear!
October 19, 2023
Poetry Friday: Birthdays
This week, my beautiful friend Rebecca Newman celebrated a significant birthday. She has been a friend of mine for quite a long time, but I have been especially lucky to see that friendship strengthened this year when we worked together as co-editors on Right Way Down, a poetry anthology which is getting ever closer to being out in the world.
This little book had its origins when I pitched an idea at a SCBWI retreat, for an
anthology of children’s poetry by West Australian poets. Rebecca was there and she vowed to make it happen. And she did, under the badge of her company Alphabet Soup Books: getting grant funding, asking me to work with her on editing, putting a call out for poems, securing an amazing illustrator and then, when publisher Fremantle Press suggested a partnership, negotiating that, too. The final product is going to be something amazing, and I am honoured to have played a small part in it. But what a powerhouse Rebecca is – and she is an amazing poet and all round nice person, too.
So, it seems apt to dedicate today’s post to Rebecca. I went searching for poems about birthdays and came up with this one, from Christina Rosetti, which I adore.
A BirthdayMy heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a watered shoot;My heart is like an apple-tree Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;My heart is like a rainbow shell That paddles in a halcyon sea;My heart is gladder than all these Because my love is come to me.Raise me a dais of silk and down; Hang it with vair and purple dyes;Carve it in doves and pomegranates, And peacocks with a hundred eyes;Work it in gold and silver grapes, In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;Because the birthday of my life Is come, my love is come to me.Technically, I think this poem is not about an actual birthday, but the feeling of being born (reborn?) when discovering love. In Rosetti’s case, I believe this was probably religious love, as she was a devo0ut Christian. Regardless, I love the rich imagery of the poem, and hope that Rebecca enjoys it too.You might not know Rebecca, but if you’d like to give her a gift, you could do it by preordering a copy of Right Way Down, the first book with Rebecca’s name on the front cover (I suspect the first of many!). Here’s to Rebecca, and to amazing friendships, and to new anthologies.Speaking of friendships, I am off today to speak to friends old, new and (hopefully) future at a High Tea for the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust, who have so generously brought me to Adelaide. Best go and put on my party dress! But I’ll be back later to check out the Poetry Friday Roundup, which is being hosted today by Bridget who, coincidentally, is also having a birthday!
October 12, 2023
Poetry Friday: Turtle Joy
Don’t you love coincidences? On Sunday I was lunching with two lovely new friends – Mary Wilson, Patron of the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust (which brought me here to Adelaide), and fellow writer Elizabeth Hutchins. We had a lovely lunch, but I did find myself slapping away more than one mosquito and found myself reciting a rhyme from a childhood favourite rhyme: ‘She snapped at a mosquito.’
Mary asked what the line was from, and I recited the whole rhyme which, I was surprised, neither of my friends knew:
There was a little turtle.He lived in a box.He swam in a puddle.He climbed on the rocks.He snapped at a mosquito.He snapped at a flea.He snapped at a minnow.And he snapped at me.He caught the mosquito.He caught the flea.He caught the minnow.But he didn’t catch me.(Vachel Lindsey )And that would have been that, except that very next day I strolled through Adelaide’s parks, and came across a little fenced garden. When I entered I found a tranquil oasis, with paths and plants and grass, and a large pond. I sat for a moment – and then realised the pond was inhabited – by not just one or two turtles, but dozens of them.What a surprise and how mesmerising to sit for a very long time and contemplate their gentle movements and the way they appeared and disappeared.And, of course, this led to me pulling out not just my camera, but also my notepad. And, after a while, a poem draft.Turtle Pace
Sometimes it feels
like you must
Madly paddle
just to stay afloat.
Others as if
each stroke
moves you
s l o w l y
in the right direction.
Either way
just remember
once in a while
to pop up for air
or to check out the scenery.
(Sally Murphy, 2023)I’ve certainly been checking out the scenery here in Adelaide, but have also been making really good progress on my two novel projects. Life is good. You know what else is good? Poetry Friday. Catherine will be hosting the roundup today, and I’m off to see what other poetry goodies are on offer. See you there. Before you go, if need more turtle moments, here’s a little collation of my photos and videos.October 5, 2023
Poetry Friday: Dear Herbert
Hello from Adelaide!
I am really fortunate to be here as the guest of the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust, on a Creative Time Fellowship. These fellowships are amazing: each recipient is given the gift of time and space to write, or illustrate, for a whole month.
And what a gift that is. Like so many other creators, I have a day job which keeps me busy, and has kept me especially busy over the Covid years. So the gift of a month out of the daily routine, with accommodation and a change of location so that I don’t slip into usual routines, is amazing. Couple that with the loveliest support from the volunteers at the trust, to ensure I have everything I need, and I could well be in heaven.
While I am here, my goal is to complete drafts of two books – a verse novel and a historical. Both are projects I have planned for some time, and I am really excited to have time to get them down.
The verse novel actually started out as a picture book manuscript, which I just could not get right and so kept putting aside. But, no matter how much I neglected it, for several years the main character Herbert has been whispering to me that I needed to write his story. And, eventually, I realised that Herbert, and the other characters, were going to need more space than a picture book provided, to each tell their stories. They needed a verse novel.
So when I sat down here in Adelaide I had a plan for this story, and was ready to start writing. But something very unexpected happened. Herbert, it seemed, was not going to behave himself. While the other characters were very aware that verse novels are usually written in free verse, Herbert seemed to have other ideas. In fact, he seems to have a poetic mind all of his own!
So, it seems, I am writing a verse novel where the main character just breaks out into rhyme like a Winnie the Pooh sidekick (I half expect a tiddly-pom to appear at any moment). But, oddly, it seems to be working, so far, and I am just going with the flow. And, while I don’t generally share drafts of my work in progress here on my blog, it seemed a good exercise to write to Herbert and tell him what I think about his penchant for rhyme.
Dear Herbert
You’ve been whispering to me for years
telling me your story
dropping little reminders –
like the beautiful daffodils
that bloomed so delightfully
this Spring
and the homeless man I encountered
on my walk this morning.
You have made sure
that I won’t leave your story
to rot
in my ideas folder
or notepad.
You have whispered
plot points
at random times –
some of them most inopportune.
And I have listened
and set aside this time
to get your story into shape.
But why
oh why
oh why
did you not ever tell me
that you must speak in rhyme?
Yours in bemusement
Sally
It didn’t surprise me that Herbert decided he must write back.
Dear Sally
I have a story
that much is true
which I’ve whispered and muttered
and shouted to you.
You’ve taken your time
to pay me good heed –
the years have gone by
since I planted the seed.
I’ve waited, impatient,
for my day to come
and meantime it seems
I have mastered the drum
of rhythm and rhyme
and all it can do
so pick up the pace
and carry it through.
You’ll see that my story
will work out this way
with your free verse sincerity
and my sense of play.
Love, Herbert
Somehow, I think Herbert is right. The little pockets of rhyme are very fun to create and, hopefully, will give a sense of play in the midst of more serious moments. Time will tell.
I’m getting back to work now, but not before I head over to see what my fellow Poetry Fridayers are doing today. The roundup is hosted by Matt. And, if you’d like to keep up with what I’m doing in Adelaide, I’m posting daily glimpses on Instagram .
October 2, 2023
What I Read in September 2023
September is done which means it’s time for another round up of what I read last month. I managed nine books, with old treasures being a recurrent theme here. Here’s what I read.
Books for Children
Farmer Schulz’s Ducks, by Colin Thiele & Mary Milton (Walter McVitty, 1986). Look at this stunning cover! The inside is just as lovely. I love Colin Thiele, and was delighted to pick up this first edition hard cover from a local second hand booksale.
Please Mrs Butler, verses by Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Fritz Wegner (Puffin Books, 1983). Another treasure from the booksale. Ahlberg’s verse is funny, clever and sometimes poignant.
Staying Alive in Year 5 , by John Marsden (Piper Books, 1989). Another from the booksale. You can see what a real treasure trove it was! A fun, but also touching story, about the excitement of a teacher with seemingly magical abilities.
How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen (Walker Books, 2023). Not from the booksale – this one came in the mail as a review copy from the publisher. And how glad I was. I LOVE Christmas books, and I love the illustration work of Jon Klassen. Funny text, funny illustrations, sure to be a favourite with my grandies and with you.
Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles , by Margaret Mahy (Puffin, 1981). Yes, you guessed it, another from the booksale. I thought from the title this might be a collection of short stories but is indeed a junior novel about the children of two twin uncles – one who is as saintly as can be, and the other who is wicked and villainous. A whimsical read that I really enjoyed.
The Aboriginal Children’s History of Australia, Written & Illustrated by Australia’s Aboriginal Children (Rigby, 1977) . Another second hand book, though not from the local sale, but tracked down and bought online after I saw a reference to it somewhere. I wanted to see what how first nations children who were at school when I was a child saw Australia and its history. Well worthwhile reading and contemplating.Books for Adults
Yellowface, by Rebecca F. Kuang (The Borough Press, 2023). A critique/satire/exploration of the publishing industry through a dark drama. June Hayward, the viewpoint character and struggling author, steals the unpublished manuscript of the far more successful Athena Liu when the latter dies suddenly. When June rewrites the manuscript it is snapped up by a major publisher – and her career takes off. Except that she is accused both of cultural appropriation and of stealing the manuscript – and events start to spiral out of her control. It feels kind of meta to even review this book, as it is largely played out through social media from reviewers, readers and others, but I both enjoyed the read and found myself thinking about the issues it explores.Mao Tsetung Poems (Foreign Languages Press, 1976). An interesting find at the booksale – a first edition of the poems of Chairman Mao .Rottnest Island Sketchbook, drawings by Paul Rigby, text by Kirwan Ward (Rigby, 1969). Another second hand book – though I bought this one online. Doing a little research on the history of Rottnest (more appropriately named Wadjemup, as that is the traditional name) and while this only a brief overview, it still makes for interesting reading, in spite of its oversight of both the pre-colonial history and some of the terrible history during its time as a penal settlement.That brings my total for the year to date to 87 books. Far fewer than last year, but the goal this year has been to read more for pleasure, and less for getting through them. I think I’m managing that.
What have you been reading? I’d love to hear.
September 28, 2023
Poetry Friday: Kookaburras Revisited
Last Friday I shared, among other things, an image and poemling about kookaburras. At the same time, I felt a twinge of regret because I knew that when those kookas had visited me, not only had I snapped some quick photos on my phone camera, including the one I shared last week, but I had also got my bigger camera out and taken some better shots. But, as I prepared my blog post, I could not find them no matter how much I searched my computer. So, I gave up, and used the photo I had.
And I told myself it didn’t matter if I had lost those photos – the memory was magical, and it was real, and I didn’t need photographic evidence. I even wrote a little poemlet to explore this realisation:
Who’d have thunk
a memory
does not need to be captured
on camera
to have been real?
(Sally Murphy, 2023).
But, as is often the way, a few days after I had stopped looking, the photos turned up – while I was looking for something completely different on my computer. And the photos were as lovely and clear as I remembered. There was this one:
and this one
and also, one that was almost a perfect shot – a snap of one kooka flying away. I love the detail of the feathers, but wish I had got more kookaburra, especially the top, and less fence. Except, maybe I don’t really wish that – because the perfection isn’t in the image, it’s in the memory of these three birds visiting me in a way I had never experienced before. Who needs a photo? Still, I wrote another little poemlet about this moment.
Fleeting moment
almost perfectly captured.
(Sally Murphy, 2023).
Speaking of fleeting moments, I can’t hang around today because I am off to a wedding. My lovely niece and her fiancé are to be wed this afternoon, and so I am flying off (see what I did there) to get ready.
Before I go, here is an excerpt from a bush ballad titled The Kookaburras, by John O’Brien, published in 1921:
Fall the shadows on the gullies, fades the purple from the mountain;
And the day that’s passing outwards down the stairways of the sky,
With its kindly deeds and sordid on its folded page recorded,
Waves a friendly hand across the range to bid the world “good-bye.”
Comes a buoyant peal of laughter from the tall, white, slender timber,
Rugged mirth that floods the bushland with the joy of brotherhood,
With the rustic notes sonorous of a happy laughing chorus,
When the kookaburras bless the world because the world is good.
(You can read the rest of the poem here).
And, if you have never heard a kookaburra chorus – or if you just need cheering up today – there’s this:
Jama will be hosting today’s Poetry Friday Roundup. Check it out here.’
September 25, 2023
Hooray for Australia II
I have been trawling through lots of memories and memorabilia from my childhood, looking for items from a particular year for a book I am planning (more on that another time) and came across a poem I wrote in 193. Coincidentally, today marks the 4oth year of the event which inspired me to write the poem.
I was 15 when Australia II won the America’s Cup, very early in the morning of September 27 Australian time. – and I have a confession to make: while my poem shows just how excited I was by this feat, I actually slept though it. My mum tried to wake me to watch it on television, but, while I did wake up, I also decided against getting up – partly because I had got up for at least one other race in the preceding weeks and, most likely, the cancelled decider a few days earlier.
Of course when I DID get up, much later, it was too late and i was disappointed that I hadn’t made the effort. But I was still just as excited as, seemingly, the whole of Australia that ‘we’ had won the cup.
Anyway, here is the poem I wrote in honour of this event. Note especially that the boat and crew are ‘they’ to start with, but the closer they get to winning, the more I, apparently, was part of it and ‘we’ won. Story of my life when it comes to sport!
The great Australian hero:
The boat so highly praised –
Australia II who won the challenge,
And left the Americans dazed.
They left Perth filled with courage,
Determined they would win,
Needing to fill the yearning
They were feeling within.
They made it to the final round
By defeating the English crew,
Then began racing Liberty –
Hooray for Australia II!
After only four finals races
Us Aussies were down, three to one,
But still there was courage left
In the hearts of everyone.
We fought back, bravely, strongly
And levelled the score three to three,
And fear was beginning to spread
Among the crew of Liberty.
The final race grew closer,
The Atmosphere was great,
For all true-blue Australians
September 27 was the big date.
We proved that we could do it,
We beat the Americans well,
As Australia II crossed the line
American spirits fell.
Great joy spread throughout Australia –
The cup was finally won!
John Bertram and his crew were satisfied,
Their glorious deed was done.
(Sally Adam, 1983)
If you want to know more about the story behind the win, visit the post at the National Museum Website here
