SATURDAY FOCUS: REMARKABLE WOMEN (1) Introduction

Mabel Kaplan

When Clare Mulley and I were introduced over cyberspace by Catriona Hoy recently, little did I realise how that the meeting would take me on a new kind of blog journey - a journey into the worlds of three remarkable women whose lives and accomplishments are relatively unknown. Yet each of these lives touch on children caught up in the horror of civil conflict and war, poverty and disease.

Who are these women?

Eglantine Jebb (1876-1928),

Joice Nankivell Loch (1887-1982)

Pamela Ateka (1976-)

Clare Mulley

Over the next three Saturdays I will be exploring with author Clare Mulley, the life and times of Eglantyne Jebb. I have chosen Saturday because Eglantyne, born on Saturday, 26 August 1876 and (in accord with the old rhyme) true to the day her birth day, she 'worked hard for a living'.

Schedule
Saturday 28 August, 2010: Clare Mulley introduces Eglantyne Jebb
Saturday 4 September, 2010: Book Review by Mabel Kaplan
Saturday 11 September, 2010: The Research Process – An Interview with Clare Mulley

Monday's child is fair of face,

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go,

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay

ORIGAMI BIRDS, BOOKS - and this week's Blog Tour

A FLIGHT OF FANCY
I'm in the midst of making one thousand origami birds. No, I tell a lie! It's only one hundred and fifty - but what's a little exaggeration between friends. I am after all, a storyteller. And that's why I've spent today folding and tucking all these little birds for a school performance next week.

Now I need a break so I thought I'd add to my blog. That beats doing other stuff, like washing my hair or cleaning out my cupboards.

NIGHT OF STARS

A week or so ago I attended a 'Night of Stars', a promotion by Westbooks of recently published Western Australian writers and their books. It was a wonderful evening of meeting authors, exploring and purchasing books. I came home with an exquisite signed copy of the children's picture book,Tuart Dwellers written by Jan Ramage and illustrated by Ellen Hickman. It is published by the Department of Environment and Conservation. I plan to write more about this book when I've explored it more closely. Another recent children's picture book by a Western Australian author well worth putting on your shelves is Willit the Wombat by Frances Maber. Now this clever little fellow even has his own website at http://www.willitthewombat.com/

BRENTON CULLEN'S BLOG TOUR
This coming week there is another blog tour. Brenton Cullen of Kingaroy, Queensland is taking Ronda's Gang and the Stolen Wallet on the road, so why not blog along with him. On Wednesday, 18 March, 2009 he will stop by regional Victoria to talk with Dee White at http://www.tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com/; on Thursday, the 19th, you'll find him with Sally Odgers in Tasmania http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com/; Friday, 20th he drops in on Sally Murphy in the Western Australian Wheatbelt http://www.sallymurphy.blogspot.com/; and, come Saturday, he stays over in the west to chat with me here http://belka37.blogspot.com/.

Click the play button to listen to an excerpt from Ronda's Gang and the Stolen Wallet
Please feel welcome to join Brenton's tour and leave your comments

SIGNING OFF
That's it for today. I'm back to folding and tucking those little origami birds ready for their school flight