Anzac Day is only a few weeks away and so this book on people who were at at Gallipoli seems like a good one to review at this time. It also marks my 70th book review for this blog.
My Gallipoli by Ruth
Starke, illustrated by Robert Hannaford (Working Title Press, 2015)
32 pages
with full page illustrations
Subjects:
World War One, France, Australia, Turkey, nurses, chaplains, war
correspondents, Charles Bean, war artists, George Lambert, snipers, Billy Sing,
Ataturk, Mule Corps, war graves, Cyril Hughes, sophisticated picture books
(Year 6-12)
Synopsis
“From the shores of Anzac Cove to the
heights of Chunuk Bair, from Cape Helles to Gurkha Bluff, the Gallipoli
Peninsula was the place where thousands of men from sixteen nations fought,
suffered, endured or died during the eight months of occupation in 1915. For
each of them, their families and their nurses, Gallipoli meant something
different. Their voices emerge from the landscape and across the decades with
stories of courage, valour, despair and loss.” (Penguin Books website)
The
title suggests that Gallipoli has some personal resonance for all of us, while
the cover, with its portraits in individual squares, gives a clue to the way
the story will be told inside. I like the way that it focuses on real
historical characters, as well as nameless Anzac soldiers and Turkish people,
and also includes women, stretcher bearers, the chaplain and indigenous
soldiers.
I
also like the fact that it doesn’t finish in December 1915, but shows the ongoing effects of the campaign, and what it might be like to revisit
Gallipoli today. There are useful extra facts at the back and a map at the
front. Each spread could be used as a springboard to find out lots more information.
Teachers’
notes are available here and include comments from both author and illustrator
about the thinking, ideas and inspiration behind the book.
Reviews:
There are plenty of
good reviews that will give you a idea of the book’s themes and
potential readership. The Readings website says that "the rich panoply of voices in Ruth Starke’s text offers upper primary and lower secondary students a broad understanding of the Anzac Campaign and the current views of those engaged in the war as well as those at home." Other reviews appear in The Book Chook and Kids Book Review.
Questions:
Which page
was the most surprising for you? Which one presented a viewpoint that you
hadn’t thought of before?
Author’s website
Ruth Starke lives in Adelaide, South Australia, and has
published more than 20 novels for young people. Before becoming an author, Ruth worked in
public relations and travel marketing, and at a great variety of other jobs -
of which the most interesting, she says, were selling French perfume in
Harrods, cooking on the radio, taking tourists to Kashmir, and interviewing
Grand Prix drivers. Ruth has also written “An Anzac tale,” a graphic novel about
Gallipoli.
This is my favourite of “20 questions with Ruth” on her website:
What is the naughtiest thing you did?
Accidentally swallowed my best friend's
brother's prize goldfish during a “dare”.
Info about the illustrator
This is
Robert Hannaford’s gallery.
In an interview in The Advertiser, he explains “How to paint a portrait” and says, “This is why
I paint. I never get sick of it. Painting for me is a learning experience.”
NZ connections:
I’m pleased to
see that Ruth Starke, included a story
told by a New Zealand soldier, “Private Andrew McBain” of the Auckland Mounted
Rifles, and his mate Frankie, in the pages on Chunuk Bair.
