Back in the World of Children’s Books

Local Tasmanian author and illustrator, Dani Colvin provides insights into how past connections to children’s books has now culminated in the publication of her first picture book, I Believe in You.

 

My return to the world of children’s books is proving to be a fascinating one.

 

For 16 years, until 2014, I wrote a children’s literature review column in The Sunday Tasmanian. For 12 years, I was a teacher aide (for two of those years, I ran a primary school library), and for 15 years, I was mum to two school-aged boys who were voracious readers. 

 

Over these years, I was immersed in the world of children’s books, and it was wonderful. But the column ended, I changed jobs, the boys grew up, and life moved in another direction.

 

However, many years later, as a debut author and illustrator of a picture book, here I stand again, two feet planted in the children’s literature landscape, and I’m scanning the terrain to try to understand how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same.

 

I must confess that, only 92 days in, (today I celebrate my book’s 3-month birthday), I don’t have a definitive answer, but I’m very much enjoying the journey of (re)discovery. 

Some quick thoughts:

1. Over these last three months, I have visited several dozen bookshops, and found them to be busy, vibrant places full of passionate people - both the staff and the customers. Many bookstores put in a lot of effort to remain engaged and engaging in different ways, from including cafes or running craft classes, to hosting special events and participating in campaigns like Love Your Bookstore Day. This makes them feel more like community hubs than ever before. They are physically gorgeous spaces with a kind of buzz about them that is appealing and infectious. I do hope they’re doing ok.

2. Obviously a lot has happened in the tech world in recent years, and I’m reading articles like a recent Courier Mail piece pondering the impact of smart phones on children’s reading, comprehension, writing and deductive ability, with one in three students across the country still falling short of the national literacy and numeracy benchmarks.

I’m pretty sure the reasons for our educational woes are a lot more nuanced and complex than ‘kids don’t even text using words, they just use emojis and acronyms.’ Economic disadvantage, parents who didn’t complete high school, and numerous other social and systemic factors are surely at play here. But I do wonder about the impact of screen time on children’s concentration; fast-moving images, bite-sized chunks of information, and lots of bells and whistles probably make the silent practice of reading and absorbing written words on a page seem rather dull for children already struggling. I’ve been told about the rise in the popularity of graphic novels; is this because kids need the images to keep them engaged in text, or is it nothing more than kids of my generation loving Richie Rich and Archie comics - as well as books? 

3. Still on the subject of tech, I loved watching Anna Funder and Sally Rippin speaking recently to the Senate Select Committee on adopting AI, about the impact of data mining on the book industry, and on authors who are having their life’s work stolen and stripped for parts. 

I am not sure how any of this will work out, but I do know how happy I am to return to this world of writers and creators, and passionate people who still believe in the power of books to change lives.

Dani Colvin

Author/illustrator

Instagram: @danicolvinbooks

FB: https://www.facebook.com/people/Dani-Colvin-author-illustrator/61578470721165/

Editor's note: I Believe in You is a heart-warming and uplifting picture book. Read a review here. 

Book Week 2025 in Circular Head.

Book Week provides a special opportunity to connect children and authors together. The students at Stanley Primary School on the north-west coast of Tasmania were treated to a delightful visit from Debra Williams who shares some highlights in this week’s post.

 

I had a wonderful Book Week author visit on Wednesday the 20^th of August at Stanley Primary School, following their book week parade.  A small school of around 54 students, they were in one large group in the library, with the teachers on hand to help out.

I prepared a PowerPoint presentation following the theme of Book An Adventure. The first slide included Jess McGeachin’s short YouTube introducing the characters he created for Book Week 2025. 

 

I talked about being an author, and part of a team of children’s book reviewers for Buzz Words Magazine. I shared my love of dressing up, (my maternal grandmother worked in a small factory in Sydney, where they produced dress-up clothing for kids and adults) along with some pics of myself as various characters. 

Accompanying me were three of my puppets, two of whom are book characters.  One was my co-presenter, my character Harriet Cooper from my Middle-Grade time-slip historical fiction/fantasy novels. I talked about puppet-making and creating characters, both for my books and for other authors. 

The school has copies of my books, and one boy told me he had read my Junior Fiction cat detective novel and thought it was pretty good (I had my cat detective character with me as well). It's always wonderful to receive feedback from your target audience. I also shared pictures of various anthologies where my children’s short stories have been included.

Harriet and I wore matching outfits (created by me.) She had a small suitcase, and we talked about Booking An Adventure, as Harriet and her friend Will have plenty of adventures in my books! 

 

One of the slides was about fiction stories, with points for the children to think about: the characters, story setting, problem and solutions etc.

 

I chose 2 prompts, and the students were given a writing task based on which prompt they selected. The first prompt was: Your pet is in charge of you for a day. What will they make you do? The second prompt was: You've got a magic pen. What can it do and how will you use it? The teacher/librarian split the group into three, and they worked on their short stories together. They were all so creative! I had some prizes for each group to encourage them. The students were really engaged and I was encouraged myself by their participation. 

 

I am passionate about children’s reading and literacy levels. Apart from being so much fun, I hope the children were able to take away something creative out of the session. The librarian did indicate that she would print up some of the stories they had written for others to read. 

 

Debra Williams 

Debra, (pen name Debra Clewer), is an author of children’s novels and short stories, lifelong avid reader and a member of the review team for new children’s publications for Buzz Words Magazine. She was recently awarded a Highly Commended prize in an adult short story competition by the Society of Women Writers Tasmania. Debra can be found at: 

W: https://www.clewerbooknook.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/DClewerauthor

FB: https://www.facebook.com/clewer.puppets

 

Content or trigger warnings: Should books have them?

Adult readers of children’s and young adult fiction are likely to have found instances of confronting and concerning issues in books that they have read. Should consumers be alerted to content that may trigger a negative or emotional response? Maureen’s post explores some of the issues around this topic and poses questions to prompt deeper discussion. 

A small group has been discussing this topic, in the light of the grittier subject matter which is appearing in children’s books, for younger readers as well as young adults. Though I am part of the discussion group I continue to waver. I sometimes think adding warnings will increase censorship, but it also might prevent a reader being influenced or traumatised by the content. It should allow parents to be more aware of what their children are reading, but some parents may start to ban books, which could reduce discussions. 

Here are some questions, hopefully which will prompt discussion and thoughts.

CBCA supports the best children’s literature each year through our Book of the Year Awards. Our organisation has a stated aim to connect, communicate, celebrate and advocate stories across Australia, giving readers the opportunity to be challenged with alternative points of view. Can this be done without warnings?

How do we define what subject matter needs a content or trigger warning, and can it satisfy all situations?

Recently, Behind the News, an ABC current affairs program aimed at years 7 and 8, had a segment focusing on the need (or not) to include an age range, especially for books which cross between young adult and adult fiction. Would this make choosing books too prescriptive as it doesn’t take into account the emotional maturity of the reader?

Would this change or reduce the number of titles being mismarketed with young readers being exposed to pornography at younger ages. Readers who enjoyed the Harry Potter series look for similar titles. Publishers know this and direct their marketing towards similar genres, but not necessarily the right levels.

Dr Emma Hussey of the Australian Catholic University is calling for ratings so that readers are not exposed to scenes of explicit sex and/or violence. Hussey argues that many of the behaviours warned about in domestic violence education are normalised in fiction for the young. Social media such as BookTok is encouraging readers as young as 12 and 13 to read books more suited to readers at the upper end of the YA range. 

Should we include ratings similar to those used by film, television and games? This would allow parents to check on their children’s choices. 

Should printed books undergo a similar critical review as digital productions do?

Would this change be regarded as censorship? Or would it make reading too restrictive and prescriptive?

Should book sellers and publishers be actively encouraged to become more responsible for what they sell?

Should all book reviews, especially those under the auspices of CBCA, include trigger warnings? If you are a Reading Time reviewer, what do you think?

We’d love to hear what our readers think about this subject.

Further reading:

See Appendix 7 outlines the BOTY Awards category criteria in:
The Children’s Book Council of Australia. (January 2025). The Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Policy (2025). https://cbca.blob.core.windows.net/documents/BookOfTheYear/AwardPolicy/PL_007_012_CBCA_BOYA_POLICY_2025.pdf

Australian Catholic University. (July 21, 2025). Child protection expert calls for rating system for YA book [Media release]. https://cathnews.com/~documents/media-releases/media-releases-2025/250721-acu-child-protection-expert-calls-for-rating-system-for-ya-books/?layout=file

Hari, N. & Wokciechowski, A. (February 1, 2025). Content warning: The rise in misleading marketing of books with adult content towards children. Elestoque. https://elestoque.org/2025/02/01/opinion/content-warning-the-rise-in-misleading-marketing-of-books-with-adult-content-towards-children/

Duggan, S. (July 25, 2025). ‘BookTok’ is pushing novels with sexually explicit and violent cont to kids: Expert. EducationHQ. https://educationhq.com/news/booktok-is-pushing-novels-with-sexually-explicit-and-violent-content-to-kids-expert-196841/ 

Maureen Mann
Retired teacher librarian and avid reader

Editor's observation:

A recent read/listen Wandering Wild, by Lynette Noni (2025, Penguin) started with a note to the reader that provided some forewarning of content without giving away the plot. A transcribed quote follows - What do you think?

"Dear Reader, for the most part this book is intended as a romantic misadventure through the wilderness but please be aware that it also contains themes regarding mental health and personal drama that may be triggering for some readers (prior to title page)."

Stories in the Dark

This week, guest author and illustrator Christina Booth, reflects on the effect of global events and media broadcasting on young people to consider the importance of telling and sharing stories as a way to help navigate this challenging world. 

I’m going to be honest. I’ve written a few blog posts for CBCA Tas before, and usually my biggest issue is choosing from the ideas I had. This time, as the deadline looms closer, I’m in a quandary. What do I write about? And now, I seem to be writing about my lack of ideas which is not what you want, nor subscribe for, and it isn’t what I want either, but what do we do when the events of the world feel like they are engulfing us? What do we do when life events swallow us whole and leave no time or energy to be creative? And the events of the world are very much in forefront of our lives at the moment. The events of today will be the inspiration for literature of the future. They say the victors get to write history, let’s hope the victors are the ones who are truth tellers. 

I’m back at school, working mostly with secondary students. I have to pay for my ‘habit’ somehow, plus, I’ve missed it, some of it at least, especially interacting and engaging with students. It has made me think deeply about how we encourage them, lift them and support them as they try to make sense of this insane world and the crazy humans who appear to be in control. We are watching a generation grow up in and through the tail-end of a world-wide pandemic, the threat of war in numerous places on the planet, escalating wars that are decimating entire cultures and societies, projected twenty-four seven across the globe. If we are fearful of our future, how does our fear, anger, and anxiety feed to the younger generation, and how do we guide them through it without condescending their genuine fears and reactions. I often catch conversations in the classroom and on yard duty about what was in the news, about why should we be in school anymore if the world won’t exist when they are adults. It takes me back to the eighties, when we feared the ‘big button’ and were convinced as youth we needed to live now, be reckless, because there might be no tomorrow.

When I work in schools as an author, I am discussing ways we can build bridges within school communities, families, and society with story. With story we can make connections, build friendships, and at the least, an understanding of each other’s differences. The adults in power seem to have forgotten this, have no respect for other people’s stories or the uniqueness of them. I believe encouraging our young people to tell their stories, in whatever format they feel able to, will open a pathway through, and enable us to look ahead to a brighter future. To let children feel heard, be empowered to find a language to express their fears, will help them through the uncertainty of what lies ahead. 

Stories are the future builders, the foundation of humanity, and if we keep them alive, we will make our way through together. 

In some ways, we are telling stories in the dark, like in the European bunkers and underground of World War 2. These are the things we turn to when life becomes hard. Even if we are unable to write or tell our own story for whatever reason, we can still engage in the stories of others and continue to connect and grow and heal. We can begin to empower ourselves and each other to continue to look forward to the light, which is illuminated by stories. These stories will be in our future, and we will carry them forward. So, while I wait for things to settle in life, for the world to stop being such a loud and crazy place, I will write my stories in the dark. I will listen to your stories and those of people around me, especially our students and children. I encourage you to continue to help our youth to find a way and feel some hope. The books are there, stories of hope and resilience are everywhere. 

And for us, the adults in their lives, stories shared, books, music, art, will help them find their way to find a safe place to escape, to read, write, sing, dance, perform, play, and feel heard. To know there is a future, and their story will be an important part of it.

What books, or stories through other forms of art are helping you through these times? What are you sharing with the young people in your lives?

Stay safe, take care, read, listen, and look to the light.

Christina Booth, author.

W: https://www.christinabooth.com/ 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/p/Christina-Booth-Books-100042555798978/ 

I: https://www.instagram.com/christinaboothillustration/ 

Editor’s note: These wise words resonate for me as an adult whose own reading plays a critical role in helping me find balance and calm.