Creating Stories – Books to Inspire and Guide Young Creators

This week Bronwyn, from The Hobart Bookshop, shares an amazing array of recent publications designed to help children and teens put pen to paper to create their own stories. Enough to make you want to write yourself!

As a Bookshop we focus on the power of reading as a way to open children’s minds and imaginations to all the possible worlds, lives and ideas beyond their own experiences. But what about writing and even drawing? What about young people’s capacity to create?

Teaching children to express their own ideas is a powerful motivator to improve both vocabulary and comprehension, and it seems quite a few children’s authors agree, with the recent release of several books designed to encourage children to create their own stories, whether through narrative, verse or imagery.

Poetry is accepted as a tool that can build awareness of the sounds in words, and the repeating use of rhyme can make it easier for young learners to anticipate what another word will sound like, especially in short text formats for young or reluctant readers. But to engage any younger readers, the poem must capture their attention – which is where humour can play a role. (Enter masters of humorous children’s books, such as Andy Griffiths – see his entry in this list below!) 

Drawing is another form of communication that enables children to explore, reflect on and share their experiences. Using the visual form can allow access to nonverbal stories and ideas, and a pathway to exploring the creativity that can flow alongside words.

Make Believe by Mac Barnett

The United States has appointed Mac Barnett as their National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and he has written Make Believe: a book for adults that contemplates the way we interact with children and literature. Barnett is a strong advocate for the children’s ability to understand and grow from exposure to art and literature, and he believes that our human facility for appreciating these fields is awakened in early childhood, making the books that we provide to children deeply important. 

The following list is a collection of recent publications that will entice children into the world of creative imagination through various forms of word and image.

Current Australian Children’s Laureate Andy Griffiths has written Let’s Go: a book that encourages children to both read and write (including writing in the book, so this one may be better for home copies than for libraries!). Let’s Go is full of stories, poems and comic strips that guide younger creators to create their own imaginary adventures with words and pictures. 

One of our favourite authors of children’s novels, Katrina Nannestad, has also written a nonfiction book to encourage junior writers: The Story Writer’s Handbook.  Aimed at a slightly older audience and with prompts to develop characters, the book also includes space to draw so that children can imagine everything about their characters – including what is in their pockets.

Creative Writing Magic by Andy Jones describes writing as ‘an act of magic’ and is full of tips and prompts to help young writers write and draw from their imaginations (and this one is library friendly, as you don’t draw in the book).

Three books to encourage junior writers

Picture Book Makers Part 2 is a beautiful book features 13 picture book artists who share their processes behind their creations. While the book is targeted at adults and older readers, more as a reference book or coffee table book, it would also make an inspiring prompt for helping children to start creating, including lots of familiar images from well-loved children’s books. 

Graphic Novel Builder by Edward Ross provides a step-by-step guide designed for teens to create their very own comic books. There is help with character development and plot formation as well as suggestions to help turn ideas into images that communicate a story.

Picturebook Makers and Graphic Novel Builder for illustrative inspiration

In poet Brian Bilston’s book of poetry, A Poem for every Question, wonderfully illustrated by Joe Berger, each poem is the focus for the type of non-fiction facts that children love to devour. From prompts like ‘How Many Teeth Does a Crocodile Have’ to ‘How do Planes Fly Upside Down’, the book pairs a poem with an actual factual explanation so that both the creative and logical sides of the brain are being stimulated.

If I Could Eat the Stars is a middle-grade Australian collection of poems chosen by Rebecca Newman, containing examples of haiku, free verse and other forms of poetry. It features particularly fun and relatable poetry by a mix of award-winning, established and brand new writers.

Poetry inspiration 

By combining reading, writing and drawing, we can approach stories and ideas through multiple aspects of the reading process, encouraging a higher level of understanding of the words being read. In doing so, the world of stories and books become even more enjoyable and engaging for the child.

Bronwyn Chalke
The Hobart Bookshop

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What Do We Do with Good Books by Bad People?

This week, Lyndon Riggall poses a difficult question that many of us in the front line of providing books and encouraging reading in young people are currently deliberating.

 

A note: This blog considers the important question of what we do with works by authors who have been convicted of crimes. As such, it discusses criminal acts which may be upsetting to readers. It is not suitable for children. Please be aware of this and read at your own discretion.

 

I’m not doing very well when it comes to my childhood heroes. I haven’t commented publicly on it, but after years of loudly and proudly celebrating authors such as Neil Gaiman and J.K. Rowling, it has become increasingly difficult to consider their work as separate from the context of their shocking personal controversies. We always talk about writing as the great builder of empathy… if anything, I’m starting to worry that there might be an inverse correlation between talent and kindness on the writer’s end. Some of the authors whose work I have most admired have turned out to be the most unforgiving and self-centred when they truly reveal themselves.

 

Here in Australia, we are not immune. The biggest literary news story of the year was not one we woke up hoping to hear. I speak, of course, of the conviction of Craig Silvey, who was arrested during a raid on his Perth home in January, and who pleaded guilty a month ago to possessing and distributing child exploitation material. It’s not the first scandal of this kind in recent years, with Oliver Phommavanh being arrested for sending inappropriate photos and videos to children aged eleven to thirteen in 2024. But Silvey is by far the most popular author in the country to fall under this kind of spotlight. I know many teachers who found their year of learning thrown into chaos overnight. Books were removed from circulation and boxed up, and readers who had found solace in Silvey’s work were heartbroken. If there was a library in a school that at Christmas didn’t have at least a copy of either Jasper Jones or Runt, I never knew of it. Now, all of that was under question. We had to decide what to do next.

 

What is the right thing to do with our copies of Craig Silvey books? This week, in her article ‘The Former Novelist’, Kristen Krauth (June 23, 2026), writing for The Monthly, talked about her friendship with Silvey, and the sense of betrayal. In the end, she opted to have her copies of his books recycled. Nevertheless, Silvey’s novels are not only eminently readable and filled with human kindness, they are also hugely popular. Not buying fresh copies is one thing, but is throwing away his work necessary, or would doing so merely be yet another hurt caused by the cruelty of his actions?

I’ve thought about this question a lot, and in the case of Craig Silvey, my answer is this: yes, they have to go. My reasoning, too, is simple: so much of what Silvey wrote about was people on the fringes. He had an award for young writers named after him. Each year, through his publishers, students could win an author visit  to their school. He made his work a safehaven for children and young adults who were vulnerable and lost, all while—as the guardian of that safehaven—he was a monster hiding in shadow. There is no true safety in the place he built. Our only hope is to find somewhere new; to knock it all down and start again.

 

As a young man, I was a serial author harasser. In late primary school, I sent Justin D’Ath stories I had written from my email address at the time, lriggall@millionaireintraining.com, to ask him if he thought one day I might be a writer. In my teen years, I contacted Derek Landy on MySpace and bombarded him with questions about writing Skulduggery Pleasant. All of it was professionally responded to, and with such kindness, but I was also—looking back—in a precarious position: I was awestruck. I was desperate for the attention of someone who was a real writer. If I had been young enough to read Runt instead of Echidna Mania, you better believe that I would have been sending emails to Craig Silvey. 

 

The thought turns my blood cold.

 

I can’t comment on every author whose work has become controversial, and I do think there is some validity to the perspective that there should, in general, be a separation of art and artist. In the case of Craig Silvey, however, for me it’s clear: I loved his books, and I’m horrified and saddened at what has happened, but there will be better stories that come our way, and stories we can celebrate without this pain lying at the heart of them. Australia does not need Craig Silvey to have great writers.

 

In my own personal journey, I have come to a realisation. I may never be as good a writer as some of the authors I have been thinking about recently, but I can be a better person. I have to be. And that thought buoys my spirits and gives me hope: that we will reclaim our literary landscape from the poison that infects it. 

 

It may take time, but I truly believe it. We are a long way from the final page. I choose to hope that there is, to come, a better ending to the story of all of us.

 

Lyndon Riggall is a writer and teacher from Launceston. He is the author of Becoming Ellie and Tamar the Thief, and is, alongside Georgie Todman, co-president of the Tamar Valley Writers Festival. You can find him at www.lyndonriggall.com and on socials @lyndonriggall.

A Mixed Bag of Lollies and a Book Full of Splats!

It is wonderful to have Johanna Bell returning to the blog (see previous post here) to share insights into her latest book What is a Splat? and how its development aligns with her life and passion for writing. The spontaneity between Johanna's words and Amelia's illustrations is delightful and full of joy.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of university visits with creative writing students and they often ask about my career into writing. I wish I had a neat  answer but my pathway looks more like this illustration by Amelia Luscombe our recent book What is a Dot? (which was a 2025 CBCA Honour Book 😊 )

What is a Dot? - inside spread (illustrations © Amelia Luscombe)

My first career was in social research and program evaluation but when I was in my early thirties I decided I’d had enough of research and I quit my job to start a community arts studio called StoryProjects. For the next decade, I spent most of my time working on projects that elevated new voices and stories from the Northern Territory. Because I believe the form should fit the story and not the other way around, I ended up producing all kinds of works – live performances, short animations, podcasts, audio installations, public art projects, poetry collections and picture books. Alongside the community cultural development work, I was writing picture books and working on a novel called Department of the Vanishing which came out in March this year. Shortly after, my newest picture book, What’s that Splat? illustrated by the wonderful Amelia Luscombe was released. 

What is a Dot? - What’s that Splat? - cover images

It’s the first time I’ve had a book for adults and a picture book released in the same period and it’s got me thinking about multiplicity and how separate the children’s publishing industry is from the world of adult fiction.

What’s that Splat? - inside spread (illustrations © Amelia Luscombe)

When Walt Whitman wrote I am large, I contain multitudes I’m pretty sure he wasn’t referring to a 21^st century ‘portfolio career’ (AKA a professional mixed bag of lollies AKA ‘a multipotentialite’ AKA someone who still can’t decide what they want to be when they grow up). It used to make me nervous, having so many fingers in so many creative pies, but since moving to Tasmania, I’ve become more comfortable with the idea that I’m never going to stick to one lane. Even though I’ve narrowed my practice down to writing, I’m still working across poetry, short fiction, children’s picture books and novels. And I still have hopes of strengthening my visual arts muscle and one day illustrating my own words. 

There’s something about regional cities that supports multiplicity. Perhaps it’s because we don’t have the population size to allow for specialisation (and perhaps that’s true of Australia more broadly when compared with larger literary markets like Britain and the United States). Or perhaps it’s because ‘isolation breeds innovation’ and there’s no shortage of opportunities to isolate in Tasmania. 

Some would say that to survive as a writer, it helps to be a polymath. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m skilled in many areas but I am a dabbler (or some might say a dilettante). I get bored easily. I thrive on novelty and I seek out new things. I’m that person who wants to order the weirdest thing on the menu even though the wait staff give raise their eyebrows and ask ‘are you sure?’  But I’m also good at sticking with something until it’s done. That’s not to say that I pursue everything. I’ve stacks of notebooks with half-drafted children’s books which will never be published. Most of them won’t even be finished. I’d say that 90% of my written work ends up on the cutting room floor. That’s something I’ve been talking about with the uni students at UTS where I’m the 2026 writer-in-residence – the realities of writing. I get annoyed by writers who say that an idea just comes to them and they sit down and write it fluidly in one go. I know it does happen but for most of us it’s much slower and less linear. For example, What’s that Splat? which has less than 150 words was revised so many times I lost count. Amelia and I both love playful mark making and we wanted to create a sister book for What is a Dot?. I can’t remember how the idea for our second book came to us but we were both pretty excited about creating a Rorschach-like book for kids. Amelia and I are the kind of people who are constantly seeing creatures in the clouds or animals in the knots of tree trunks. I was found a piece of bark that looked like a Doberman and a Bulldog having a perplexing conversation. 😊  

Piece of bark (image credit Johanna Bell)

But I digress. The first version of the What’s that Splat? manuscript was scores of rhyming couplets. Most of them were pretty awful but the ones I liked I sent to Amelia (who lives in Rubibi/Broome) and she started on the illustrations. This is my favourite part of the picture book making process because it inevitably leads to surprises and playful conversations. I should say here that Amelia and I co-created the book. This is quite different to the traditional picture book publishing approach where an author submits a manuscript and once it’s complete it’s then sent to the illustrator. In the latter, the author often doesn’t see the illustrations until they’re complete. With co-creation you back and forth a lot informing each other’s work. 

It’s always a privilege to work closely with an illustrator and I find the process improves my writing as I get to see how my words are working (and not working!) with the images. During the development of What’s that splat? some of my favourite rhyming couplets didn’t work because the concepts were too abstract or the difference in visual scale was too great. Amelia and I worked out that even though the couplets described antonyms, the illustrations had to be part of the same world for the spreads to cohere. For example, the below spreads worked because while they were opposites, they were also of the same world.

Spreads from What’s that Splat? (illustrations © Amelia Luscombe)

And then there were couplets that I wasn’t that excited about until Amelia brought them to life through her illustrations. Like this spread 

Spread from What’s that Splat? (illustrations © Amelia Luscombe)

And this one!

Spread from What’s that Splat? (illustrations © Amelia Luscombe)

But we both knew this one was always going to be lots of fun.

Spread from What’s that Splat? (illustrations © Amelia Luscombe)

Like its sister book What is a dot? this book ends with a provocation for the young reader to create their own artwork. 

And now, what will

this next splat be?

It’s up to you.

What can you see?

 

We hope it will spur children and grownups to enjoy some splatty silliness because ‘sometimes a splat is just a splat but sometimes a splat is much more than that!’

 

Find out more about What’s that Splat?

Find out more about the illustrator on Instagram

Download teachers notes

Download activity sheets

Johanna Bell

Tasmanian author

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The 2026 Northern Primary Readers’ Cup

 What does a thylacine ghost, dry-land dog sledding, a marvellous submarine, bus-bullies, and potentially untrustworthy fish have in common?  The 2026 Northern Primary School Readers’ Cup!

On the 28^th of May, 108 excited upper primary students arrived at Hagley Farm School to participate in the 2026 Northern Primary School Readers’ Cup, vying for a chance to have their school’s name added to the trophy.

This year saw a record number of schools involved, with 20 taking part from across the north of the state from as far reaching as Cressy, Exeter, Beaconsfield, Scottsdale, Ringarooma and Flinders Island.

Students began reading the books in Term 1, with this years’ set comprising a wide range of themes and text types.

The five books read by the Readers' Cup teams

Prior to the final each school held their own event with a quiz about the books and time for each team to share a creative piece that demonstrated the message or theme of one of the books.  At school level, 382 students participated this year, with the winning team from each school going on to compete in the Final. 

We began our afternoon with the Extra Challenge - an on-the-spot, 10-minute task based on an additional book.  

Then came the Quiz – a much harder version than the one already experienced at their school event.  The quiz is weighted to be the most important part, with teams needing to show an excellent knowledge of the books.

Longford Primary School working together in the Quiz phase. (Photo credit - Jessica Jackson)

Finally, in front of a large crowd of school staff and families, these amazing teams shared their creative ideas about the book their team had chosen to showcase.  These varied from songs, to dioramas, plays, and PowerPoint presentations.  Our volunteer judges certainly had their work cut out for them!  With 20 performances to share, our teams were each aiming to enlighten us in 3 minutes or less.

Photo caption – Teams sit at the front of the audience with blankets, cushions and snacks, while watching each other on stage (Photo credit - Jessica Marston)

Students had a large and supportive crowd to perform to. (Photo credit – Jessica Marston)

Nerves were faced and the crowd was well and truly entertained, with serious and humorous moments filling the evening.

At the end of the night, we were so pleased to announce Longford Primary School as the winning school for the second year in a row, with new-comers Ringarooma finishing 2nd, and Flinders Island taking out 3rd.  

Our winners! Longford Primary School, holding their CBCA Tas Branch sponsored Petrarch’s Bookshop voucher, a set of the books supplied by the School Libraries team, and the trophy! (Photo credit - Jessica Jackson)

Across the evening, we were able to share some snippets of student feedback, which came from over 160 responses from students involved at school-level.

The following quotes capture the most common answers when students were asked about their favourite part of Readers’ Cup:

“The quiz was really fun and I made a new friend and got closer to the people in my group.”

“Learning to read better and working as a team to create a performance that we all enjoyed.”

“Exploring all the different books and seeing how they are pictured in my head.”

“Reading new books and discovering new authors.”

“Getting to read all the books and that there was such a variety of stories.”

“I loved the Readers Cup because there were lots of twists and turns and it was competitive but not too competitive.  It was really fun and challenging.  Also we had to show teamwork which I loved.”

“Getting on the stage and getting out of my comfort zone.”

“It encouraged me to read more.”

“Honestly, it was just being on a team and reading books with my friends.”

A very big thank you must go to the CBCA Tasmania Branch for generously providing Petrarch’s Bookshop vouchers for all participating schools, and of course, the winner’s prize.

We are so fortunate to have this support from the CBCA Tasmania Branch, willing school staff who go above and beyond, our dedicated volunteer judges, assistance from the School Libraries team, and of course the families involved, all enabling students to have this wonderful opportunity to celebrate books and reading together.

Jessica Marston
Teacher Librarian, Hagley Farm Primary School
Coordinator of the Northern Primary Readers’ Cup