Eels of ANZAC Bridge - Inspiring

Our recent publication, and our first picture book for children, The Eels of ANZAC Bridge, has been a runaway success, and we are already looking at a third printing - not too bad for a book that has been in the market for a little over six weeks.

Our friend and colleague at the Greytown Library, Jannelle Preston-Searle, took the book home and read it to her children, partly as her eldest, Charlie, has been interested in soldiers since Anzac Day. The kids loved it  - here is some of what Jannelle had to say on her wonderful blog Heartfelt, 

It's a thoughtful but beautiful tale of a young man who leaves his home and family and travels far across the seas as a soldier in the Great War.  His journey entwines with another great journey of a local eel as it too travels far to it's breeding grounds in the Pacific Ocean ~ both eel and soldier never to return.
While the baby eels made their way back to the river of their parents a memorial bridge was erected in memory of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the war ~ and was named 'Anzac Memorial Bridge'.
The story stirred thoughtful contemplation within both Sadie and Charlie with them both agreeing that (in Charlie's words) "everything has a life cycle".

Jannelle and her family went out to the bridge so they could see where the story came from - this is Charlie looking over the book to his father Ian on the bridge.

Ian also went hunting and managed to find Sadie a eel-like piece of driftwood!

It is very exciting to get such good feedback from a reader and even more heartening to see that our books have led to other exploration and learning.