It all started with an orange.
Originally from the UK, local children’s author Grace Josephine came to Australia in 2014 as a 20-year old backpacker, with no idea what lay ahead of her. To gain her second year visa, she worked as a citrus fruit packer in Bundaberg, Queensland.
It was there that Grace unlocked her passion for writing rhyming stories… After realising that the ‘ugly’ fruit was in fact thrown into the bin, and in sheer boredom of being on the sorting table six days per week (sorting the good fruit from the bad fruit), Grace pondered to herself ‘surely these undesirable oranges can have a purpose’.
And that was the birth of her first publication, Crusty the Orange, who finds himself surrounded by ‘perfect’ oranges who all know what they want to be in life. Poor Crusty is “so dry that he can’t even cry” and feels he has no purpose in life. Then wise old Marie the Tree sends Crusty on the adventure of a lifetime to find his special place in life, reminding readers that “no matter how big or small, we all have a purpose and a place to shine, so follow your dreams and all will be fine”. From there, Grace has published two more rhyming picture books, with further publications on the horizon.
The Bendy Tree is about being adaptable and flexible during ‘storms’ and challenging times. As life chops and changes and throws its inevitable curveballs, The Bendy Tree reminds us to remain flexible and adapt to whatever change comes our way, moving with it rather than fighting against it.
“When storms and change knock on our door, we must become bendier than ever before. Ride with the wind and go with the flow, adapt and be flexible and there you shall grow”.
Lou the Lost Witch is Grace’s latest publication and focuses on the concept that real beauty is on the inside and to never judge a book by its cover; you never know what you’re going to find when you open it! Lou is a ‘good witch’ and doesn’t feel she belongs in Witchville, “she hates toads and potions too, and almost cries if you say BOO!”. Lou looks for a new place to call home, but sadly, everywhere she goes she is rejected by people because of the way she looks. That is until she meets a sweet old man named Joe, who sees Lou’s real beauty on the inside. On Lou’s birthday Joe surprises Lou with a party and has told “the whole neighbourhood about his friend named Lou who is sweet and good”. We then realise that Joe is in fact blind so “didn’t judge how Lou appeared, he saw her beauty on the inside and not what people feared”.
Lou is the perfect book to celebrate witches and remind children of this ever important message – to always look beneath what meets the eye. Remain inquisitive; there are always factors we can’t initially see that are looming behind the scenes.