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Margaret Robson Kett

Margaret Robson Kett
Margaret Robson Kett is a Melbourne writer and editor. She blogs at 40yearsofpicturebooks.org.

Margaret Robson Kett reviews Five Children's Non-Fiction Books

November 2003, no. 256 01 November 2003
Both of the OUP First Books have been designed with the early reader in mind. Clear colourful pictures, large print and unambiguous headings make these books a pleasure to read. Information is set out in an orderly way, from the general to the specific. There is scope for enthusiasts to skip to their particular interest, but, for the general reader, the narrative as a whole is satisfying. Barbara ... (read more)

Margaret Robson Kett reviews Four Young Adult Non-Fiction Books

June–July 2003, no. 252 01 June 2003
Exploration of the unknown is a universally captivating subject, and young people are not immune to its appeal. Most of their experience of other lands, peoples and times must necessarily be vicarious. These books attempt to reach this audience. I read and enjoyed Jesse Martin’s account of his solo circumnavigation, Lionheart (2001). In 1999 he became the youngest person to complete this feat. ... (read more)

Margaret Robson Kett reviews ‘Pictures Telling Stories: The art of Robert Ingpen’ by Robert Ingpen and Sarah Mayor Cox and ‘Illustrating Children's Books: Creating pictures for publication’ by Martin Salisbury

March 2005, no. 269 01 March 2005
Robert Ingpen is one of Australia’s best-known and most distinguished artists. Throughout his long career, he has illustrated scientific publications and numerous books for children and young people. He is the only Australian illustrator to have been awarded the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Children’s Literature. He has designed bronze doors, stamps, and murals, and has acted ... (read more)

Margaret Robson Kett reviews ‘Young Murphy: A Boy’s Adventure’ by Gary Crew, ‘101 Great Killer Creatures’ by Paul Holper and Simon Torok, and ‘Iron Soldiers’ by Dave Luckett

November 2005, no. 276 01 November 2005
There is an almost overwhelming tide of historical texts for young people being published at the moment. Fictional accounts of actual events are enormously popular, and frequently the diary form is used, as this is felt to be more accessible to young people, and also gives the writer licence to use the historical present tense with impunity. Gary Crew and Mark Wilson have collaborated on Young Mu ... (read more)

Margaret Robson Kett reviews 'A Life in Children's Books' by Walter McVitty

August 2004, no. 263 01 August 2004
The Lu Rees Archives of Australian Children’s literature is a collection of children’s books and manuscripts whose stated purpose is to ‘provide resources for the study and research of Australian authors and illustrators, including both the literature and the historical and cultural context in which it was created’. Officially owned by the Children’s Book Council of Australia, and housed ... (read more)

Margaret Robson Kett reviews‘Can I Call You Colin?: The Authorised Biography of Colin Thiele’ by Stephany Evans Steggall

May 2004, no. 261 01 May 2004
Mention Colin Thiele’s name, and at least one listener will sigh and say The Sun on the Stubble in a wistful or regretful voice, depending on their schooldays memories. This biography takes us on ngrugie ngoppun: a ‘good walk’ with its subject. Largely chronological, it begins with a glimpse of the writer poised to tell his enduring story of the Coorong, Storm Boy (1963), and then retraces h ... (read more)

Margaret Robson Kett reviews children's non-fiction books

May 2006, no. 281 01 May 2006
History has never been so much fun,’ says the blurb of one of the books reviewed below. Welcome to the twenty-first century. Work is fun. History is fun. Writing is fun. Writing history must therefore be really fun! The English writer Terry Deary was the creator of the Horrible History series, which blatantly exploits the perceived unlimited capacity of most nine-year-olds to wallow in poo and ... (read more)

Margaret Robson Kett reviews 5 books

October 2001, no. 235 01 October 2001
At school assemblies, when I was ten, I was required to recite a pledge which ended with the words ‘and cheerfully obey my parents, teachers and the law’. The novels reviewed here are all concerned with family, and the way in which young people operate within and outside it. The gardener of the family has a dilemma. If she wants a brand-new compost bin, she must get an ‘A’ on the final pr ... (read more)

'Imagine … the Wonder of Picture Books: The littlest ant’s guide to stories' by Margaret Robson Kett

ABR Arts 03 February 2023
‘Just follow the ants,’ said a smiling guide at the Macquarie Street entrance to the State Library of New South Wales. I was led up the stairs by Tohby Riddle’s jaunty decals of those excellent insects to Imagine … the Wonder of Picture Books. The viewer is invited to ‘find old and new favourites’ and welcomed to the exhibition by Bronwyn Bancroft’s acrylic painting for her book Co ... (read more)

Margaret Robson Kett reviews 'Lioness: The extraordinary untold story of Sue Brierley, mother of Saroo, the boy known as Lion' by Sue Brierley

November 2020, no. 426 22 October 2020
The vision was of a brown-skinned child standing by her side. She sensed it so keenly that she could even feel the child’s warmth. It was so striking she wondered about her sanity … but as time went by, she became more comfortable with her vision, accepted it as something precious, a visitation of some sort that only she knew about.’ Saroo Brierley related this life-changing vision from his ... (read more)
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