Nadine’s Cranenburgh’s ‘Ten Graphic Novels & Visual Stories’

Following up from my interview with Children’s Writer, Nadine Cranenburgh…

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Nadine has very kindly put a list together for us of ‘Ten Graphic Novels and Visual Stories: by Australian Creators’.

Thanks Nadine, I can’t wait to work my way through this list if books.

Hi Neridah, some of these aren’t really ‘graphic novels’ in the commonly accepted form, but use visual storytelling as a significant part of the narrative. That’s why I thought that maybe a better title would be ‘Ten Graphic Novels and Visual Stories by Australian Creators’.

Sounds good to me.

This list includes books for younger readers, teens and adults. There is probably a crossover in audiences, though, so my opinion isn’t definitive. I’ve used a very broad definition of ‘graphic novel’ here, including wordless picture books, illustrated novels and strange and wonderful amalgams of text, illustrations and more.

What they do have in common though is that they use visual storytelling (or a series of picture panels, with or without dialogue) to carry a significant part of the narrative; or use illustrations to provide an extra level to the story.

The audience definitions are also very subjective, and I’d recommend parents having a look at books to see if they agree with my judgement!

Also, it is far from a complete list, there are many other books out there that I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet, and many more still being created.

For younger readers (or all ages, if you like):

‘The Hero of Little Street’ by Gregory Rogers. A wordless picture book, Book 3 in the Boy Bear series. The Boy escapes a gang of Bullies by slipping into a Vermeer painting, meets a dog, and has an adventure in seventeenth century Holland. The first two books are on my to read list.

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‘The Nelly Gang’ by Steven Axelson, trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuuGtAejBf4. I haven’t read this yet, but it looks amazing.

The Nelly Gang, by Stephen Axelsen

A taste of the story...

‘The Arrival’ by Shaun Tan – This is an incredible story told without words, about moving to a new country and the strangeness, trials and wonders that entails. It is set in a fantastical world, but with many things that we can relate to. I know teachers who have used this book as a resource in the classroom with a great response from kids. I prefer to just enjoy and share it with my boys.

'The Arrival' by Shaun Tan

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‘How to Heal a Broken Wing’ by Bob Graham – This is a wonderful picture book that uses visual storytelling for most of the narrative, with only very sparse (but beautiful) words to support it. A bird crashes into a skyscraper window and falls to the ground near Nelson’s Column in London. As the crowds swarm past, young Will, coming out of the underground with his mother, stops and helps. A touching story which works on many levels. It is endorsed by Amnesty International.

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Getting older (teenage and up, although parents may choose to share with younger kids, I have)

‘Kate’ by Kevin Burgemeestre – This is a recent illustrated novel which combines a written story with several detailed illustrations, incorporating text motifs, which are presented as the work of the thirteen-year-old protagonist, Kate. It’s a compelling story which handles some hard-to-face themes sensitively for a young teenage audience and up. After a frightening encounter in a park, Kate is saved by the tough and elusive Mal. This sets her on a dangerous adventure, pursued by men who are convinced she has stolen something from them. Kate’s experience in drawing the illustrations is included in the text, and I think they add an extra level to her characterisation (her hero is artist Frida Kahlo).

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‘Beyond the Dusk’ by Victor Kelleher and Gregory Rogers – This is a book I picked up secondhand (it was published in 2000, so it may be out of print). It is an illustrated novel which tells the story of Meg as a young teen in the mid-twentieth century. She is living with her grandmother on a farm, and feeling isolated from kids her own age and adults, who shun her for her ‘tall tales’. The tale follows Meg as she investigates a mysterious predator that is spooking the livestock. It turns out to be something very unusual indeed, but I won’t spoil the surprise. There are not many illustrations, but they are atmospheric and stark, really setting the mood.

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‘Hamlet’ staged on the page by Nicki Greenberg – A visually stunning interpretation of the play, which takes the form of a cast of fantastical actors performing staging a production. The author has added wordless scenes showing what goes on behind the curtain as the play is performed, which adds another level of drama. I’ve been reading through it with my six-year-old, and we’ve had some very interesting discussions. Nicki also adapted ‘The Great Gatsby’ into graphic novel form.

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‘Requiem for a Beast’ by Matt Ottley – This is an incredible book, that explores some dark and complex themes (murder, the stolen generation, depression) through a mixture of text and illustrations. There is also an accompanying CD with original compositions by Ottley, and which is a companion to the book. A young man goes to work as a stockman, and tries to come to terms with his father’s grim past. Although this is definitely a work for older readers, I have shared some of the illustrations with my young son – he actually picked the book up in a second hand store as he was attracted to the pictures. We’ve talked a little about the stolen generation, and I look forward to talking to him about some of the more complex themes as he gets older.

Older again (mainly because the story is told by older narrators, but that’s just my opinion)

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‘Sensitive Creatures’ by Mandy Ord – This is a really sweet and funny collection of graphic short stories by Mandy Ord, many of which she self-published or published in literary journals before being approached to publish a graphic novel. It is set firmly in Melbourne, and covers many subjects we encounter daily: family relationships, friendship, dog ownership and dealing with bureaucracy among them. They are tied together with scenes of Mandy trying to get through a day of creating and procrastinating, which many writers and illustrators will relate to.

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‘The Sacrifice’ by Bruce Mutard – this is on my to read list, and is a complex book set in Melbourne during World War II.

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Wow – that’s quite a reading list – one of which I’m going to get cracking on ASAP. I’m off to the library!

Thanks so much Nadine for your time and insightfulness on Graphic Novels and Visual Stories.

Interview with Nadine Cranenburgh, Children’s Writer

Nadine and I first met last year as mentees of the 2013 Maurice Saxby Mentorship. We had a ball together and are now firm writing buddies.

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Nadine is a versatile and talented author, writing picture books, middle fiction and Junior Fiction through to YA and her current, awesome project: a hybrid Graphic Novel. She has been widely published in the Herald Sun, Magpies Magazine, Comet Magazine, Alphabet Soup and Ladybug Magazine in the U.S. Nadine’s work is clever and funny and sometimes downright scary! She also lectures in Children’s and Adult Writing at the University of Ballarat.

When Nadine’s not writing, she’s often seen out and about with her trusty camera, gathering stories in a different way. She takes the most beautiful and intriguing images. She didn’t take this one below though, her friend Ambrose took it while she was taking a picture through a water glass. I told you she was creative!

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Thanks for coming on to my blog today, Nadine. How are things in sunny Ballarat?

Beautiful today! A little chilly, but I’m never complaining about the cold again after this blazing summer.

I agree, it was far too hot.

Now, I’ve got a few questions for you…just hang on a tick and I’ll get myself organised. Okay, Nadine tell me…

When did you first know you wanted to be an author?

I grew up in a house full of books, and my Mum was an English teacher, so I guess I’ve always been making up stories and dreaming about seeing them in print. I entered my first writing competition when I was five and scored runner up. I still have the prize (but not the story). It was good though, lots of small animals, mess and all kinds of trouble!

That’s so cool.

Do you have a writing background?

I got a bit sidetracked after leaving school. I applied for a journalism course but spent too long on the question about why I wanted to be a journalist and didn’t leave time to do the test! My second choice was Engineering (I was a big fan of McGyver) so I went with that. After uni I joined the Navy and did lots of other exciting things involving sailing and mountains before settling down to have a family. That’s when I decided to buckle down and make writing my career. I enrolled in the Professional Writing and Editing course at RMIT and haven’t looked back.

I loved McGyver too, he was very resourceful (and good looking)

Could you tell us about some of your publications?

It’s funny, but although I’ve always written and entered competitions, I only really thought about sending my work out to publishers when I started studying at RMIT. The first thing I sent out was a short story about dating (which was a bit of an anti-romance, really) and it was published online for the princely sum of $45.

I’ve also had a couple of short stories for kids published in Alphabet Soup and Comet magazines and articles in the Herald Sun, Magpies and Victorian Writer. I’m also very excited to have a poem and short story in the new Charms trilogy which is a joint venture project pulled together by the lovely Sally Odgers. Charms draws together work by many writers into a three part fantasy novel about a magical story-telling crock that a group of five children discover in a house their parents are trying to turn into a boutique hotel. The best part is that each book in the trilogy is aimed at a different age groups: the first is for lower to middle primary, the second middle to upper primary, and the third young teens (it’s a bit darker).

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I’ve been lucky enough to have proof read Nadine’s ‘Charm story’ and awesomely spine tingling…

Where do your ideas come from?

That’s a good question… I daydream whenever I can (and sometimes when I shouldn’t, like when I should be making tea, or working) and things kind of mush together in my brain and make interesting questions. Like ‘what if a barbeque was REALLY carried away by flies’ or ‘what happened to poor Puff the magic dragon after Jackie Paper grew up?’. I think we all have amazing ideas, and the trick is catching them and turning them into stories before they escape. I always carry a notebook.

Me too. It’s a good idea.

What do you like to read?

I have two little kids, and really enjoy reading picture books with them (and by myself). When Sally Rippin was my teacher, she really opened my eyes to what an incredible medium they are, and that it is fine to be ‘grown up’ and still love them. I’m also a big fan of young adult books, I’m proud to say I enjoy them more than most adult fiction (although I loved The Rosie Project). At the moment, I’m half way through Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Where the Streets had a Name. It’s awesome. Also the kind of graphic novels that don’t have super heroes in them (there are lots!)

Nadine storytelling at Literature Alive last year as part of the Maurice Saxby Mentorship. That's Kevin Burgemeestre holding her story up. Good on you Kev!
Nadine storytelling at Literature Alive last year as part of the Maurice Saxby Mentorship. That’s Kevin Burgemeestre holding her story up. Good on you Kev!

When and where are you most inspired to write?

Not enough! It’s really hard to find the time between kids and all the other distractions in my life. I find I get really inspired after being around other writers and talking about their stories and ideas, so I try to get out to book launches and festivals when I can.

I wholeheartedly agree. 

As to where – somewhere far away from my very distracting house, and near a window. Don’t ask me why!

What are you working on at the moment?

I’ve been working on a project that is part graphic novel, part novel, and part carwash with all the trimmings (that last bit isn’t true). I’ve been at it for a few years (in between poetry and picture book manuscripts) and have just finished a very rough first draft, which is exciting. I’m calling it a hybrid graphic novel, because that sounds cool.

It sure does.

It’s called ‘Dark Room: Do Not Enter’, and is the story of 15-year-old artist Matti Maguire, who goes to her mother’s abandoned photographic dark room to draw and remember. When she realises remembering isn’t enough, she sets out to solve the mystery of the accident that sent her mother to a nursing home nine years ago.

Wow. I want to read this…

If that sounds too deep, it also has a Star Wars re-enactment involving paper planes and a dance inspired by Cocoa Pops. And a really enigmatic black cat.

Now I’m sold.

I’m not illustrating (although I may do some photo collage for part of it), so the graphic bits are written like film scripts.

It sounds thoroughly original and unique. Congratulations.

What is it about the graphic novel genre that fascinates you so much?

Like picture books, graphic novels have infinite scope for telling stories, and I love their filmic qualities. Bruce Mutard has said that he makes films on paper and Nicki Greenberg’s version of Hamlet was ‘staged on the page.’

Unlike film, you can include things that would be extremely expensive or impractical to shoot, you can ponder over the frames and pick up the fine detail, and you can carry them on the train with you and flick through their pages (and go back to check the things you’ve missed).

I love the breadth of graphic novels coming from Australian creators – from the very personal and Melbourne-centred work of Mandy Orr, to Shaun Tan’s amazing The Arrival. They can take years to create, and I guess that’s why I’m looking at a hybrid format. To make things easier for my illustrator!

Do you think that Graphic Novels are a medium in which ‘darker’ stories can be told?

That’s a really interesting question. I guess you can tell dark stories in any medium, but (thinking on my feet here) I guess the pictorial story-telling in graphic novels can allow you to imply darker elements of a story without explicitly stating them and let the reader’s imagination enhance the mood. Or you can represent darker themes in a way that is visually easier for readers to deal with. The famous graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman is a good example of this: Jews are mice and Nazis are cats. I’m not sure if that was his intention, but I found the grim subject matter easier to deal with because the victims were not human. It was also handy for working out who was who.

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I also loved ‘Jane, the Fox and Me’ written by Fanny Britt and illustrated  by Isabel Arsenault . I’m a tragic Jane Eyre fan. This story revolves around a school bullying incident; it’s refreshingly wonderful.

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What was your 2013 Maurice Saxby Mentorship experience like?

Unforgettable. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who is trying to get a foothold in the kids or young adult writing industry. Or looking for some inspiration and a reality check! (I’m sure you would too).

Absolutely. It’s been invaluable.

When I got the email letting me know I had been accepted, I had to read it a few times before it sank in. I’d followed Jackie Hosking’s mentorship through her blog and was really excited (and honoured) to be selected.

It came at a time when I was a bit despondent about my chances of making it in such a competitive industry, but spending time with the wonderful creators involved (Elizabeth Honey, Kevin Burgemeestre and Mark Wilson) and watching them in action made me realise that enjoying the process of writing and sharing your work was really important, and something I had control over. So I’m focusing on that!

Me too.

I also met the lovely Helen Chamberlin, ‘the best children’s book publisher in Australia’ and have really enjoyed her support and words of wisdom (which she gives so generously).

Yep, Helen is an amazing person.

The most important thing I got out of the experience was my fellow mentees (including you!) who have been amazing new writing friends. Slaving over a hot computer can be lonely sometimes.

It sure can be. 

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today, Nadine. Keep up the good work, I can’t wait to see what happens next with the ‘Dark Room: Do Not Enter’. It sounds amazing…

You can check Nadine out at her website and follow her blog too.