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Ursula Dubosarsky is our new Australian Children’s Laureate.

Ursula Dubosarsky has written over 60 books for children and young adults and has won both Australian and international awards for her books.

You might know Ursula from reading some of these books:

The Australian Children’s Laureate has a special job to 'promote the importance of creativity, story and reading.' During their two years, each Laureate visits schools and libraries and attends lots of bookish events all around Australia to share their own special message.

Ursula wants to encourage more children to join their local library. She also wants to remind everyone how important it is for schools to have their own library and a teacher librarian to help children grow their love of reading.

Ursula's message is...

The best card you can own is a LIBRARY card! If you don’t have a library card (it’s free) then what are you waiting for….

Happy reading!

Wild About Books now has its own Instagram account at @wildaboutb00ks

The star of @wildaboutb00ks is Book Bear who loves to snuggle with readers big and small as they read and listen to stories... 

Happy reading!

Oh my heart! This week I was lucky to see the incredible stage show of War Horse based on one of my favourite books by Michael Morpurgo.

War Horse is the story of the unbreakable bond between farm boy Albert and his horse Joey who he has raised from a foal. Albert is devastated when his father sells Joey to the cavalry at the beginning of WWI as a war horse to be ridden into battle. Keeping his promise to Joey that they would always be together, 16-year-old Albert lies about his age and bravely joins the war to find his beloved horse. It is a story of friendship, courage and loyalty that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

The play of War Horse brilliantly takes the story from the page to the stage. No longer bound by the pages of a book, it immerses you in the story through sound, lighting, moving images, music and song. The play transports you from Albert’s family farm in Devon, England to the chaotic battlefields of France where the explosions from the cannons are loud enough to make you jump in your seat like me! The actors, puppeteers and animal puppets take you on an emotional journey as you join Albert in his mission to find Joey.

The exquisitely handcrafted life size puppet animals are the highlight of the show. Talented puppeteers breathe life into the puppets and before long you forget they are there and simply see the animals. Three puppeteers work in a team as the head, heart and hind to bring Joey and the other horses to life. Their teamwork creates the horse’s movement and emotions. From the simple twitch of his ears through to the swish of his tail, the puppeteers show Joey’s playfulness and love for Albert as he responds to his whistle, and Joey's extraordinary courage and determination on the battlefield. Both horses, Joey and Topthorn are simply magnificent! Watch this behind the curtain video to learn how the Handspring puppeteers bring their puppets to life.

The War Horse stage show was all that I had hoped for and more and just like the book it touched my heart! It will be showing at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne until February, 8th. This play is best suited for children who are 10+ and I'm definitely giving it a 'tissue alert'.

Even if you don't see the stage show, I highly recommend you read War Horse the book.

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Alice-Miranda has her own movie and it's heading to a cinema near you!

Alice-Miranda's movie will premiere in Sydney on Saturday, November 9th

Alice-Miranda and Friends is an 80-minute animated movie filled with marvellous mysteries, midnight feasts, ponies and pyjama parties...

Read Jacqueline Harvey's newsletter HERE for more details about screening locations and Alice Miranda events around Australia.

If you live in VICTORIA, the Alice Miranda movie will be screening in these Village Cinemas:
Doncaster, Rivoli, Plenty Valley, Sunshine, Knox, Southland, Jam Factory, Fountain Gate, Werribee, Geelong, Airport West, Century City, Morwell, Crown Casino, Karingal, Albury, Bendigo, Shepparton, Coburg and Warrnambool 

Click HERE to select your nearest Village Cinema to check session times and book your tickets online.

Congratulations Jacqueline Harvey and Alice-Miranda!!

Mediamodifier / Pixabay

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My little bookish piece of the internet at Wild About Books is celebrating it's first birthday today!

Thank you for following along or popping in to read my book recommendations. I hope I've helped you discover some great books to read.

TheVirtualDenise / Pixabay

Here's to another year of reading and sharing fabulous kids' books with you...

Happy reading!

 

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