Phil
Cummings taught in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide for over twenty years and has
written over sixty books for children in a career that has spanned more than twenty
five years. He is an ambassador for the Premier’s
Reading Challenge in South Australia, the Dad’s Read campaign with the Public Libraries Board of S.A, The Little Big Book Club, Raising Literacy
Australia. Phil’s latest titles include ANZAC Biscuits illustrated by Owen Swan (Scholastic 2013).
Bridie’s Boots Illustrated by Sara Acton (Working Title Press
2014). Newspaper Hats illustrated by Owen Swan (Scholastic 2015) and
Be
Brave, Pink Piglet, illustrated by Sarah Davis (Hachette 2015). Phil’s latest book, Echidna Jim went for a Swim illustrated
by Laura Wood (Scholastic Press) was released in February. Phil’s books ANZAC
Biscuits, Boom Bah! and Night Watch were presented to the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as a gift to their son Prince George to
commemorate their visit to Australia in 2014. Phil’s book Ride, Ricardo Ride! illustrated by Shane Devries, (Omnibus Scholastic 2015) was an Honour Book in the
2016 Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture Book of The Year Awards.
Introducing Owen Swann
Owen Swann was born in Sydney in 1975 and spent most of his childhood in NSW. As well as illustrating he plays the banjo and travels the world.
Introducing Shane Devries
Shane Devries is a freelance digital artist and illustrator from Adelaide. Before that he was an illustrator and storyboard designer for Showpony Advertising. He exhibits his work regularly doing many solo art shows around Australia since 2008, including the Monster Kid Exhibition at Gallery 139.
His other illustrated books include The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Never Smile at a Crocodile, Love is in the Air, Wang Wang and Funi, and I Only Like Toast.
Anzac Biscuits
ISBN: 978-1-742833477
Author: Phil Cummings
Illustrator: Owen Swan
Publisher: Scholastic
Buy Here
ANZAC
Biscuits is set during WWI and tells the story of a young girl, Rachel, and her
mother as they bake ANZAC biscuits to send to Rachel’s father who is away
fighting the war. As Rachel happily helps her mother in the kitchen, dropping
oats like snowflakes, rolling and patting the biscuits, the reader is, through
the turning of every page, taken from the safe, warm kitchen to the soldier and
what he must endure in the battlefield. The two narratives, that of the home
front and the soldier, sit side by side
to offer a glimpse of what it would have been like back then for those
fighting and those that were left behind.
Ride, Ricardo, Ride!
ISBN: 978-1-742990736
Author: Phil Cummings
Illustrator: Shane Devries
Publisher: Scholastic
Buy Here
Ride,
Ricardo, Ride tells the story a boy living in a small mountain village in Europe
during the Second World War. The book
begins with Ricardo riding his treasured bike under open skies, quiet and
clear. He leads a happy life full of joy and laughter until one day, the
shadows appear. His world is turned upside down as the friendly village becomes
the centre of conflict. The windows are closed and the sounds of war intrude as
the shadows march through the once quiet streets. Worried that his bike might
be taken, Ricardo and his father take the bike apart and hide it. The shadows
remain a constant threat and one day Ricardo’s father is lost to the shadows
and never returns. As time passes the
shadows fade and village life as it once was, returns. The war is over. There is singing and laughter. Ricardo’s
father, like so many, is gone but not forgotten. And so Ricardo retrieves the pieces of his
bike and puts it back together just as his father would have done. He has grown
and the memory of his father's words ring in his ears as he once again rides
his bike under open skies, quiet and clear.
Teaching Notes
No comments:
Post a Comment