If you — or your kids — grew up in Australia in the ’90s or afterwards, then you’ll be aware of the might of Morris Gleitzman’s books.
His 1989 novel ‘Two Weeks With The Queen’ probably changed you (or your kids), and you’ll no doubt agree that when he teamed with Paul Jennings for the ‘Wicked’ book, it was akin to when Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson appeared together in the ‘Jam’ clip.
Well, you’ll be pleased to read that the immediate future of children’s literature is secure, as Gleitzman has been chosen as the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2018-19.
The Australian Children’s Laureate initiative is “to promote the importance and transformational power of reading, creativity and story in the lives of young Australians.”
Gleitzman told Books+Publishing: “I think our individual and collective futures are largely the result of our capacity to imagine the best possibilities in our lives and to look bravely at the worst possibilities, and to use all our creativity and empathy and hope and inspiration and grit and honesty and intelligence and curiosity and cheekiness and insight to make a difference.
“I want to be an ambassador for the fears and hopes and dreams and dreads that young people have as they contemplate and navigate today’s world, and also as they think about the possibilities of their future adult worlds,’ Gleitzman continued.
“Much of my time will be spent championing stories as a medium for young people to engage creatively with those possibilities. Stories reveal themselves in our imaginations, our intellects and our emotions—all places where we work on our own destinies.”
What a legend. Find out more here.
