Sally Rippin's Blog, page 7

If you missed me in Malvern a couple of weeks ago and would still like to get a signed Billie book for someone's stocking this Christmas, I will be at Fairfield Books this Saturday 26th November signing books from 11am - 12pm. Hope to see you there!The address is 117A Station St, Fairfield.Ph. (03) 9482 2499Fax. (03) 9482 2633email: [email protected]

Some good news for yet-to-be-published writers of YA Fiction. Hardie Grant Egmont are beginning a new YA fiction collection called Ampersand that will be devoted to novels by debut writers. The main rules are that the writers mustn't have published a novel before, and the story must be set in real life. Submissions are open now until the end of the summer, so get cracking. Details are available at http://bit.ly/Ampers. Good luck!

How often is it that you can pick up the paper and read some good news? Well, the answer to that question is: every Monday. I feel incredibly lucky to live in a city where we have access to something as marvellous as The Zone. In my opinion, The Zone is the most innovative and positive newspaper reporting in print publication today. Where else can you regularly read about good people doing good things without fanfare or political agenda in our very own city? The Zone makes me feel proud to be a Melburnian.
Take today's interview with Kane Bowden, CEO of The Lighthouse Foundation, which offers 'shelter, food, counselling, health support and most of all, love' to young homeless people. 'He cites an abused young woman who stayed for six months, stabilised, got into university, completed her studies, landed a job in the city and then became an academic who is now teaching at a university. ''She hadn't been hugged or cuddled in her entire life. She got her first hug in the first couple of weeks from her carer.'''
I don't know whether this makes me want to laugh or cry. I do know that this makes me incredibly grateful that these kind, quiet acts of generosity aren't going unnoticed, thanks to Michael Short's empathetic, intelligent and perceptive pieces. Mondays have now become something to look forward to.

This Saturday 5th November I will be at Books in Print in Malvern, signing Billie books from 11am to midday. If you have any Billie B Brown fans at home, please come along!Books in Print are located at 100-102 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern.(Between High Street and Wattletree Road)Ph: (03) 9500 9631

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Come along and support the launch of this wonderful new magazine for children by children. Created by an editorial board of 14 upper-primary students from Melbourne's west, the magazine includes work by bestselling children's authors and illustrators such as Terry Denton, Sally Rippin and Sherryl Clark, as well as young authors from across Melbourne.
The magazine is the culmination of a 16-week after-school program, in which the editorial board created a children's edition of literary journal harvest magazine. The young editors were guided through the process by professionals from the publishing industry, including editors from Penguin Australia, Hardie Grant Egmont, Dumbo Feather and Cardigan Comics.
"early harvest has been an amazing project for these young people to be involved in," said Davina Bell, editor of harvest magazine, and Children's Editor for Penguin Australia. "They have worked alongside publishing professionals to pick the theme, solicit, select and edit submissions, brief illustrators on artwork, and bring it all together to create a beautiful publication.
The young editorial board of early harvest will be on hand at the launch to sign copies of the magazine, along with the authors young and old, the illustrators and the publishing mentors.
Launch Details:11 am, 12 November 2011The Sun Theatre10 Ballarat StreetYarravilleTo be launched by author Sally Rippin
Proceeds from the sale of this book support Pigeons not-for-profit writing programs for children and young people. www.pigeonsprojects.org

Here is a photo of my two youngest fishing for thongs from our hammock which they have managed to string up perilously high (against a particularly ugly backdrop of our neighbour's construction sight - but that's another story). So high in fact that the littlest one needs a ladder to get up there! My thrill at watching this crazy game almost overrides my parental anxiety. Almost. But if you want your kids to play outside and use their imaginations, well, what can you do? Here's an option just as creative and far safer (perhaps). Thanks to the fabulous blog Free Range Kids, I came across this wonderful mini-doco on a simple yet creative way to get kids involved in imaginative play. I found it very inspiring. It only goes for ten minutes and is definitely worth a watch if, like me, you love watching kids play. I almost feel inclined to set up a mini version of the playpod at home. Though on a bad day our whole house often looks like a playpod. I think the trick is to have a big space to lock all that junk away again at the end of the day...

Some of you may remember when I wrote last year of visiting my sponsor child, Elizabeth, in Ghana. It was an incredible experience that allowed me to see with my own eyes how my meagre contribution had literally changed lives and also convinced me to begin sponsoring a second child as well, this time in Sri Lanka.
Well, recently, World Vision contacted me with the happy news that Elizabeth's village has now become self-sufficient and no longer needs my support. The aim of World Vision is not to provide indefinite funding but to provide communities with the skills and resources they need to survive on their own. Elizabeth and the other children in her village, now have access to education, safe drinking water and healthcare, and the community leaders have been equipped with the skills to maintain the development progress that has been made.
I felt a little sad writing my last card to Elizabeth after sponsoring her for over six years, but mostly happy that the small amount I had contributed - less than what I would spend on coffees each week - had made such a difference. So when World Vision asked if I'd like to sponsor another child in Africa, I agreed without hesitation.
My new sponsor child is a little girl called Khalif and she lives in Kenya. I always sponsor girls - having three sons of my own, it's my silly way of imagining I have daughters. I wonder if I'll be lucky enough to meet her one day?
Here are some links you might like to look at if you feel inspired to make a difference:
World VisionOxfamSave The ChildrenThe Life You Can Save
And if you need any more convincing, watch this:

So exciting. Ever since I saw the 'Big Book of Tashi' several years ago I have secretly fantasised about having a 'big book of something' - and here it is! All twelve Billie stories, along with puzzles, games and even a gingerbread recipe! What more could a girl want?
And, if you're a boy who secretly loves Billie books but is too shy to be seen reading them in front of your friends because there is a GIRL on the front cover (ie; my eight-year-old son!) here is some good news for you:
Finally, Billie's best friend, Jack gets to tell HIS side of the story. But you'll have to wait until February next year...

Aki and I arrived back in Melbourne last night after a whirlwind tour of Victoria and NSW talking about all things Billie B Brown to hundreds of very excited primary students. As it turns out, Aki looks remarkably like Billie so for all the youngest kids hoping to see the actual Billie, Aki fulfilled that need quite nicely. Plus she can draw up a storm. We had so much fun. I hope we can tour together again one day.Today the lovely Sue DeGennaro and I will be doing a couple of sessions on picture books at The Thousand Words Festival at the Northcote Town Hall at 11.30 and 12.30. It should be a great festival this year.Then Monday - don't forget! - it's the once only production of the animated versions of The Rainbirds and The Night Garden at the Melbourne Recital Centre. I have seen a preview of the show and it is really something quite magical and would be a beautiful thing to do on the first Monday of the school holidays with your littlies. Tickets are still available. Happy holidays!

I'm back in Melbourne and straight to bed with a fever and a throat so sore I can barely swallow. Obviously the combination of ten straight days of talking and hundreds of snotty little darlings coming up for cuddles has finally taken its toll on my poor immune system. I only have this weekend to get better though because first thing Monday, Aki Fukuoka, the lovely Billie B Brown illustrator, and I are hitting the road again travelling around Victoria and NSW with this year's Get Reading! campaign. If you want to know where Aki and I will be each day, click here or here.And don't forget to read Aki's blog posts about her first Australian school visits last week. It looks like she had a wonderful time!