Lest we Forget A Study into New Zealand Children's Literature – Picture Books with a War Theme

1. Lest we ForgetA Study into New Zealand Children's Literature – Picture Books with a War Theme

2. We: Had discussions with librarians and also conducted a search of our local libraries and the internet; Decided to focus on picture books - including two classified as non-fiction. We aimed to discover the following: What common ideas/themes run through these books? How do the illustrations complement and support the text? Whose perspective/point of view are the stories told from? In what setting do the stories take place? What historical information do children learn from reading these books? Literature Investigation…

3. Book List and Publishing Timeline • 1990 - A War Far Away (Cartright, P.) • 1996 - The Bantam and the Soldier (Beck, J.) • 1997 - Harry and the Anzac Poppy (Lockyer, J.) • 1998 - Lottie, Gallipoli Nurse (Lockyer, J.) • 2003 - Caesar the Anzac Dog (Stroud, P.) • 2004 - The Donkey Man (Harper, G.) • 2005 - Grandad’s Medals (Duncan, T.) • 2005 - The Sky Soldiers (Harper, G.) • 2006 - Present from the past (Beck, J.) • 2006 - Papa’s Island (Drewery, M.) • 2006 - Soldier in the Yellow Socks (Marriott, J.) • 2007 - My Grandfather’s War (Harper, G.)

4. Shared Themes and Messages In the 12 picture books we read, we identified the following themes: • NZ servicemen/women – our link to the past • Mascots – animals that served in the war and/or lifted morale • ANZAC – including ANZAC Day • Medals and Decoration • Loss – family members/lives/animals

5. NZ Servicemen/women The characters: • In eleven of the twelve books the focus is on New Zealanders who served in wars; • Seven of the twelve books are specifically about NZ soldiers and their efforts in WWI and WWII; • Real life characters include Charles Upham, Richard Henderson, and Tom (Caesar’s owner and the author’s great uncle). • Characters are often complex – strong and brave while at the same time private and humble; • Some books have characters from several generations, illustrating our link to the past – Harry and the Anzac Poppy is a good example of this. History is People

6. Animals play a major part in three of the twelve books. Caesar the Anzac Dog is told by the granddaughter of his handler who shares with the reader the role he played as a red cross dog locating wounded soldiers. The Donkey Man uses the voice of Roly the donkey to explain the role that he and his handler (Richard Henderson) played in rescuing wounded soldiers and taking them to medical aid. Bertha, in The Bantam and the Soldier, was seen as a symbol of hope during the war. While she didn’t really exist, the character of the soldier was based on the uncle of the author and his time in France. Animal Mascots

7. ANZAC Anzacs, Anzac Cove, and Anzac Day are mentioned in five of the twelve books… • Grandad’s Medals uses the voice of a small boy to inform readers about ANZAC Day; • Harry and the Anzac Poppy uses the interest of another young boy to explain about the poppy and why we are not to forget; • Lottie and The Donkey Man contain information about the battle at Gallipoli and the landing at Anzac Cove.

8. Medals • Grandad’s Medals – the narrator, a young boy, describes how he would trace his fingers over the shiny silver faces. At the Anzac parade the medals are seen on people in the crowd. Grandad keeps his medals in a shiny box. • The Donkey Man – Henderson was decorated for gallantry during the Battle of the Somme. He was awarded the Military Medal. • The Soldier in the Yellow Socks – Charles Upham was awarded the Victoria Cross and later the Bar (which represents a second Victoria Cross) during WWII. • My Grandfather’s War – a young girl’s grandfather was awarded medals when he served in Vietnam. He puts them on for her. Ordinary people can be heroes.

9. Bruce Potter has illustrated four of the twelve books. The colours of war are sombre – brown, yellow, khaki, green, grey, etc. After the war they are brighter. The layouts of illustrations vary from double page to single pages. The artistic media include drawing, painting, and collage style. Illustrations

10. Loss Many of the characters endured losses… • Death of comrades, family, and teacher • Separation from family • Death of animals • Separation from animals • Loss of health

11. Perspective and Point of View • Four of the books are written using a third person narrator. • Seven of the books have children telling the story from a first person point of view. • The Donkey Man is told from the perspective of the donkey, Roly. • Lottie, uses journal entries and letters to tell the story, while Harry and the Anzac Poppy includes letters sent home from the war.

12. Overseas The Donkey Man The Sky Soldiers Lottie, Gallipoli Nurse Soldier in the Yellow Socks New Zealand and Overseas The Bantam and the Soldier Caesar the Anzac Dog New Zealand After the War Grandad’s Medals Present from the Past My Grandfather’s War Harry and the ANZAC poppy Papa’s Island Settings

13. Historical Information • Ten of the twelve books had information and facts contained in the endpapers. • This information contained: - Statistics from various wars - Biographical information - Information about Anzac day - The battle of Crete and why people wear poppies - Princess Mary Gift box.

14. Conclusion Thank you to those authors who have written books which inform, enlighten, entertain, and ensure that… We will remember them (Binyon, 1914)

15. Bibliography References: • Butler, D. (1994). Characteristics of good books for children. Auckland: University of Auckland. Unpublished manuscript. • Gilderdale, B. (1995). Colonial and post-colonial children’s literature. In Hunt, P. (Ed.), Children’s literature an Illustrated history (pp.343-351). Oxford University Press. • Hebley, D. (1996). The power of place: Landscape in New Zealand children’s fiction, 1970-1989 (pp.9-19). Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago Press. • Hill, S. (2006). Developing early literacy: Assessment and Teaching. Australia: Eleanor Curtain Publishing. • Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2008). Modern Anzac Day. Retrieved May 12, 2008, from http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/modern-anzac-day • Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2008). Military Mascots. Retrieved April 26, 2008, from http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/mascots • Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2008). The Ceremony – Anzac Day. Retrieved April 26, 2008, from http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/anzac-day/overview • New Zealand Defence Force (2008). Wearing Medals. Retrieved April 26, 2008, from http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/info/wearingmedals.html • Saxby, M. (1997). Books in the life of a child. Australia; MacMillan Education Australia PTY Ltd. • Tomlinson, C. M. & Lynch-Brown, L. (2002). Essentials of children’s literature. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Bibliography: • Beck, J. & Belton, R. (1996). The bantam and the soldier. Auckland: Scholastic New Zealand. • Beck, J. & Fisher, L. (2006). A present from the past. Auckland: Scholastic New Zealand. • Cartwright, P. (1990). A war far away. Petone:Nelson Price Milburn (NZ) Ltd. • Drewery, M. (2006). Papa’s Island. Auckland: Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd. • Duncan, T. (2005). Grandad’s medals. Auckland: Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd. • Harper, G. (2004). The Donkey Man. Auckland: Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd. • Harper, G. (2005). The sky soldiers. Auckland: Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd. • Harper, G. (2007). My grandfather’s war. Auckland: Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd. • Lockyer, J. (1997). Harry and the Anzac poppy. Auckland: Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd. • Lockyer, J. (1998). Lottie: Gallipoli nurse. Auckland: Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd. • Marriott, J. (2006). The soldier in the yellow socks. Auckland: Harper Collins. • Stroud, P. (2003). Caesar the Anzac dog. Auckland: Harper Collins. Word count:1649