Myths, Pigs and Bedtime Stories

A delightful delve into the power of myths and super heroes to enrich storytelling. Lyndon Riggall explores the talents of R. A. Spratt in telling a good story! 

I love a good myth. Whether it’s a retelling of The Odyssey by the likes of Emily Wilson and the upcoming film of Christopher Nolan that I can’t wait for, or Stephen Fry’s delightful compendiums Mythos, Heroes and Troy, I can’t get enough. There is something so soothing about diving back into the imaginations of the past, something that calls back to a time that we have almost forgotten and yet comforts us with a feeling that also connects us to now. We might like to pretend that the heroic figures of the Ancient Greeks and Romans are long in the past, but while we still read Batman comics and watch Marvel movies I don’t think they are ever really very far away.

Which is why I was delighted to pick up a copy of Epically Good Greek Myths by R. A. Spratt recently and encounter some of these wonderful stories all over again. Spratt is the Australian author of the Friday Barnes series, and when I was younger, I remember being particularly taken with her creation of Nanny Piggins. Going into this book without any kind of understanding of what I was in for, I was surprised to find that the chief narrator of the collection is Piggins herself, and even with the years in-between my first encounter with her and this one, I found that she had lost none of her charm, wit, intelligence, and enthusiasm for sweet treats that I still remembered. The stories are so accessible, and they smooth out some of the well-known rough edges that come with being first composed in a different time, but I also loved the self-insertion of Nanny Piggins’ own family history and her gender re-balancing. For those encountering these myths for the first time, the changes don’t dilute the stories in the slightest. For those returning, it’s all in good fun and charming to see how Spratt and Piggins subvert what we know and love. Myths, of course, are meant to grow with the time and the teller.

Following a trail of breadcrumbs to Spratt’s website, I also discovered that the same myths are shared in a podcast, Bedtime Stories with R.A. Spratt, in which the author recites them along with so many other brilliant stories she has written. I have loved listening to these tales in the last couple of weeks… they are perfect for car rides and long waits and settling down of an evening—and all available for free! Spratt was also at the Theatre Royal in Hobart last year sharing Christmas stories, and I am very sorry that I missed it. She strikes me as a hidden gem of a storyteller, and perhaps everyone will tell me that it is only me who has been blind to her wit, warmth and shining enthusiasm all these intervening years, while everyone else has been snacking away on them in private, like a pig sneaking chocolate cake in the middle of the night. Still, if nothing else, I will shout how much I enjoyed this collection from the rooftops, and I hope that some others will read this and note that the secret is out.

If Spratt and these stories have passed you by in the thousands of years from the “Ancient Greek history days” to now, here are just a couple of ways to enjoy them. There’s a reason that they have lasted. Have a read or listen and find out why.

 

Lyndon Riggall

 

Lyndon Riggall is a writer, teacher, and co-president of the Tamar Valley Writers Festival. He has written the picture books Becoming Ellie and Tamar the Thief. You can find out more about him at www.lyndonriggall.com or on social media @lyndonriggall. 

 

Adventures of The Midnight Gang

For those of us too far afield to partake of the amazing events offered at the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature Inc. (NCACL) Belle Alderman AM has penned a wonderful post to report on the recent exhibition of the stunning artwork from the Midnight Gang, illustrated by Ann James AM. 

 

Mid-last year, I received an email from the Literature Centre in Fremantle, WA. They would be moving to the WA State Library in December. There wouldn’t be room for their entire collection of artworks based on Australian children’s books. Would we like to have some of these artworks? This came at a time when our Centre was experiencing space constraints. Nevertheless, temptation prevailed. Looking down their list of highly appealing offerings, three creators’ works jumped out: Ann James, Anne Spudvillas, and Peter Gouldthorpe. 

 

The stunning standout for NCACL became Ann James’ preliminary and final artworks for The Midnight Gang (1996). This picture book won a swag of children’s choice awards plus a CBCA Honour Award. Our Centre already holds the papers and manuscripts by Margaret Wild, including her multiple drafts for The Midnight Gang plus correspondence between Margaret and her trio of publisher, editor and book designer. Here was the perfect combination to share the creative process. ‘Yes, please, send these items straight away,’ I replied. When The Midnight Gang artwork arrived, we immediately decided on an exhibition and booked the University of Canberra’s Mura Gadi Gallery for 9 -27 February 2026. 

 

What about inviting Ann James and Margaret Wild to come to Canberra during the exhibition to talk with children and adults? And so it came to pass. Volunteer Ann Martin documented The Midnight Gang artwork now available from the NCACL website. 

 

Our Visitors’ Book for this exhibition heaped high praise from those attending our opening night on the 18^th of February. Ann James AM & Margaret Wild, creators of The Midnight Gang, appeared in conversation with Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder, OAM facilitator. Just imagine the insights coming from these three creators talking! Between them they have published over 200 books for children. It was truly a ‘night to remember.’ 

Young children also visited the exhibition and talked with Margaret and Ann. There were 25 year 2 children from Radford College followed by 20 children aged three to five years from the University of Canberra’s Wiradjuri Childcare Centre. Ann James created an original watercolour background settings for each child at Wiradjuri. With black pastels in hand, each child then drew what might be happening during this midnight scene. 

 

Our NCACL volunteer Rowan Simpkin designed the layout and installed The Midnight Gang artworks. Volunteer Ruth Nitschke created a display of Margaret Wild’s manuscripts and correspondence relating to The Midnight Gang. Volunteer Emma Janssen created giveaway bookmarks featuring The Midnight Gang as giveaways at the exhibition’s Children’s Corner. Various NCACL volunteers collected used copies of books by Ann James and Margaret Wild for our children’s reading corner for shared reading. There were tables with paper and crayons for children to create their own artworks plus cushions to relax and enjoy stories together. 

 

Margret Wild, Belle Alderman AM & Ann James AM - Midnight Madcaps

Another special volunteer was involved. Celeste Alderson-Fletcher, completing 52 hours of volunteer service for her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award at the NCACL, created ‘Midnight Snaps’, a gallery of images for NCACL’s website and wrote a blog, ‘Setting the Scene’ about the creation of the Midnight Gang events and volunteers involved.

 

Suzanne Lazarro, publicist for the University of Canberra (UC), commented, ‘For everyone from the littlest members of the UC community to more senior book‑lovers, the Midnight Gang exhibition at UC’s Mura Gadi Gallery proves that there’s no age limit on celebrating imagination, adventure and wild whimsy. The concept of a gang of four babies sneaking out at night – one through a cat flap! – is truly inspired!’ On the opening night, Ann and Margaret headlined a conversation for grown-up fans, with fellow author Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder OAM facilitating the chat. The Midnight Gang will be long remembered. That’s the power of stories for young people.

 

That’s not the end of this story! Below are even more stories about The Midnight Gang.

 

Kids’ Book Review 21 Feb 2026 

Article by Tania McCartney ‘Midnight Madcaps, The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature’ about the opening event on 18 Feb  

 

NCACL Social Post on Facebook announcing exhibition and events 1 Feb 2026 

 

NCACL Social Post on X platform 1 Feb 2026 

 

Wiradjuri Preschool and Childcare Centre Social Post on Facebook

 

Radford College Social Post on Facebook Year 2 students visit The Midnight Gang exhibition and post about their visit on 26 Feb 

 

LinkedIn University of Canberra’s Post promoting the exhibition

 

SCBWI ACT 7 Feb 2026

 

Instagram post by Stephanie Owen Reeder 16 Feb 2026

 

Living Arts Canberra newsletter 19 Feb 2026

 

University of Canberra Social Post on Facebook 23 Feb 2026

 

Sandy Bigna children’s author comments 1 Mar 2026

 

 

Dr Belle Alderman AM

Director, National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature Inc

W: National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature

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

X: https://x.com/NatCentAusChLit 

Tasmania Reads 2026

Reading connects us all: Be part of the story!

Libraries Tasmania is celebrating Tasmania Reads from Sunday 22 to Saturday 28 March 2026 and we invite you to be part of the story. 

Tasmania Reads is an annual week-long celebration of reading and stories in all forms, now in its fourth year!

The week is filled with fun reading-inspired events and activities for all ages at libraries, schools and organisations across Tasmania. From Storytime for the youngest story fans to hands-on workshops for teens eager to write their own story, there’s something for everyone.

Libraries Tasmania events are free to attend. Children and young people (and their families) are encouraged to attend events to connect with reading by:

     # Attending a StoryWalk led by Tasmanian Aboriginal writers and storytellers.

     # Creating a comic in a Tony Flowers workshop.

     # Visiting a library to read to a Story Dog.

     # Making a zine to tell your story, your way, by joining a zine-making session at  the library or downloading the template from our website and crafting your mini  story at home.

     # Attending the State Library and Archives of Tasmania Zine Fair to explore the world of zines.

We also encourage participation in one of our many partner events.

How will you be part of the story this
Tasmanian Reads Week?

Share how you’re connecting this Tasmania Reads week by tagging @librariestasmania on Facebook or Instagram.

Making Science Fun for Kids

Tasmanian author, Ann Morgan, shares her love of writing, verse, Tasmania and having fun as she introduces science and scientific concepts to young children through her fascinating and gloriously illustrated picture books.

My writing career began by writing poetry for adults and fiction for children in the late 1990s. By the early 2000s, publishers were encouraging me to write funny stories for reluctant readers. My Captain Clawbeak series of illustrated junior novels (Penguin Random House, illustrator, Wayne Harris), is the most successful of these comic adventures for early readers.

Years later, I remembered how, in late primary and early secondary school, my favourite Christmas or birthday presents were, thanks to my science-loving mum, a toy microscope and a chemistry set. So during the covid pandemic, I tried writing science-based picture books for kids. 

The Way of the Weedy Seadragon, illustrated by Lois Bury, CSIRO Publishing, (2021)

My first picture book with CSIRO Publishing was inspired by a poem I had written, which had won a Fellowship of Tasmanian Writers award for nature poetry. I wrote Weedy Seadancers while working for the National Oceans Office, after taking my children snorkeling at the underwater discovery trail at Tinderbox. I am a genre-hopping writer after all!

Informed by her background in nursing, talented Tasmanian illustrator, Lois Bury, researched the biology of these weird and wonderful relatives of seahorses, and added gentle touches of quirkiness to the illlustrations, in a way that enhanced the book’s appeal to children and adults. Well done, Lois!

Ann and Lois at Kingston Market.

Tardigrades, Nature’s Toughest Survivors, illustrated by Jennifer Falkner, CSIRO Publishing (2024)

After reading about the astonishing survival talents of micro-organisms with the cute nicknames of ‘water bears’ and ‘moss piglets’, I decided to write about these tough little critters for five to nine year olds. Thanks to my partner for his subscription to New Scientist! 

The more I researched the tiny tardigrades, the more awed I became of their talents. There are about 1300 known species of this creature, and each species has a ,set of survival mechanisms. Many species can be found in moss. Some in the gutters of our roofs. Others on plants in our gardens – don’t worry, they won’t hurt you if you accidentally swallow them! Tardigrades can also be found in hot springs. They have even been discovered living in damp spots under rocks in scorching deserts! Some have been found near the summit of a Himalayan mountain; others at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world’s oceans. They have even been found in a lake in Antarctica. 

Tardigrades Book Week costume

Tardigrades have survived for ten days, exposed to the extreme radiation of space - this would tear a human body apart in minutes, unless that person was wearing a space suit!

Tardigrades have an uncanny knack of placing themselves in a kind of suspended animation, and when conditions become favourable again, they can bring themselves back from the brink of death and get on with their lives. Scientists from many different fields are researching them, hoping to discover how they can withstand critical threats to survival such as extreme high or low pressures, heat, cold and dehydration; chemical and radiation poisoning; and lack of oxygen.

Vibrantly illustrated by WA’s Jennifer Falkner, Tardigrades, nature’s toughest survivors could be the perfect book to fire up the curiosity of young children, but teachers, parents and grandparents should also prepare to be amazed!

 

The Bird Lovers’ Ball, illustrated by Lois Bury,
Forty-South, (2025)

This quirky celebration of Tasmanian birds is a unique blend of scientific facts and light comic fantasy. It is also, without doubt, my most genre-bending children’s book.

A few years ago I was studying some greeting cards by Lois Bury, where people are shown dressed as birds. I knew there was a picture book in those images, but for a year or more, the ideal way of weaving those images into a story eluded me. 

Then I had one of those moments when cartoon tweety birds start chirping in your head. Why not have Tasmanian children dressing as their favourite endemic birds (species that only live in Tasmania) and heading off to a Bird Lovers Ball? One page could show a child dressed as an endemic bird character, and another page could contain images and facts about the bird that is being represented.

It was Lois who suggested I write the book in rhyme. My first reaction was a groan – not because I don’t like rhyming text. I do. I love the music of language; the way rhythm and rhyme can introduce unexpected and often comic elements into a text while helping readers develop their literacy skills by predicting what comes next. But I have studied versification at an advanced level, and know how difficult it is to make a rhythmic, rhyming text flow easily. It was nonetheless an inspired suggestion from Lois! After months of grinding my teeth while trying to be playful with rhythmic and rhyming language, the text was complete at last.

I didn’t like our chances of selling this story to a mainland traditional publisher because the topic was so local. Tasmania has just 3% of the Australian population, and royalty-paying publishers need to turn a profit or they go out of business. So I pitched the concept to Lucinda Sharp at Tasmania’s biggest publishing company, Forty South. She loved it! In no time at all, a very talented team was working on the Bird Lovers’ Ball. Thanks, team!

Lois added her own quirky, surreal touches in the illustrations, and the Bird Lovers Ball was  launched at Wild Island Tasmania by Mayor Anna Reynolds late in October 2025.

Birds have been singing in my head ever since!

 

Anne Morgan
Tasmanian children’s book author
Visit Anne’s website