Anzac trilogy scores a hat-trick as third book in series is named a CBCA Notable Book
Each book in Dianne Wolfer’s Light trilogy of picture books for older readers, about young girls and boys living through World War I, has now been given the nod as a CBCA Notable Book.
Based on extensive research and beautifully brought to life by illustrator Brian Simmonds, each book in the series examines a different aspect of life in wartime Australia and the United Kingdom.
As picture books, these are ideal for reluctant readers or visual learners, as well as avid readers, to learn more about the period and the significance of Anzac Day.
Lighthouse Girl, the first in the series, picked up the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Award when it was published in 2010, and follows the true story of Fay Howe, whose life with her father on windswept Breaksea Island is torn apart by the outbreak of WWI. This is an engaging and intriguing tale of life on the home front for a young girl in Australia, following her journey through hardship to hope.
Light Horse Boy is the second book in the trilogy, and follows young lads Jim and Charlie, who abandon life in the Australian outback to find adventure and excitement in the war to end all wars. But they soon discover the brutal truth of life behind the front lines. This book delves into Anzac legends and was not only a CBCA Honour Book but also won the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award for Children’s Books in 2014.
The final and most recent book in the trilogy, In the Lamplight, has just been named a CBCA Notable Book for 2019. In the book, young English girl Rose’s life changes forever when war breaks out. Determined to do her part to help, trains as a nurse and works in a military hospital in her home town of Harefield, where she finds her true calling treating injured Australian soldiers and makes a new friend in Jim the Light Horse boy.
Teaching notes and activity sheets are available for all three books and discounts apply for bulk purchases of over 10 copies. Find out more on the Fremantle Press website.
