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Hi....
Jackie French AM is an Australian author, historian, ecologist and honourary wombat (part time); 2014–15 Australian Children' Laureate; and 2015 Senior Australian of the Year.
Jackie was born in Sydney grew up on the outskirts of Brisbane, and is still not dead. She has lived for more than 40 years at the top of the gorge in the Araluen Valley, where her ancestors lived too. Only one school she attended burned down. This was not her fault.
Some of Jackie’s books have sold millions of copies and won over 60 awards in Australia and internationally. Others were eaten by the wombats.
Instead of hobbies she has: written over 200 books; built a house and power system; planted thousands of trees; eaten lunches with friends; read to her grandkids; tried to find her glasses; eaten dark chocolates, whatever fruit is in season and the odd feral species (some are very odd). She coined the term ‘moral ominvore’ to describe her diet. There is a dispensation for dark chocolate.
Jackie has studied over 400 wombats and been the (almost) obedient slave to a dozen of them. She is an enthusiastic cook married to an enthusiastic eater. If you visit do not bring cake. It is the duty of a guest to eat. Lots. Then eat some more. If you are worried about calories hike up the mountain and look for endangered species. But you will find more on a bush mooch than a bush walk. Watch out for the eight species of snake. Don’t worry. They’ll also be watching out for you.
Jackie writes for adults, young adults, and even younger humans, on history, ecology, and her award-winning historical fiction for all ages, but... write just one picture book about a wombat and no one lets you forget it. Ever. Please do not mention Diary of a Wombat or the word ‘prolific’. Or the story of how her first book was accepted because a wombat had left its droppings on her typewriter as, after 25 years of repeating it, she is bored.
Jackie is also dyslexic and patron of literacy programmes across Australia with a wide and deep – if accidental – experience in learning differences and methods and their outcomes for students, as well as a passionate advocate for equal-opportunity education. She still can't spell.
The Rights of the Child Reader
1. Every child has the right to learn to read, with the methods they need to do so
2. Every child has the right to access the books they need; for pleasure, learning, empathy and to grow their brains
3. Every child has the right to read books in their mother language, about their own culture
4. Every child has the right to say, ‘This book is boring. May I have another?’
5. Every child has the right to be given books that are free of racism and hatred
6. Every child has the right to access the extraordinary heritage of the written knowledge of humanity
Every adult has the right to know the children of this planet are being given the tools of literacy and the power of books to change the world and ensure our future.
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New Releases
From bestselling author Jackie French comes a book about the secrets we carry, those that we unearth - and those that are too dangerous to tell.
You can preorder a copy here.
Ages: 2+
Celebrating the twentieth anniversary, this is the story of Mothball, one of the world's most famous wombats - and where it all began.
She is small. She is scared. She is lost.
She is a baby wombat who needs a home.
She is Mothball, a wombat destined to become famous.
This is the (almost) true story of one small wombat who learnt how to train her humans - and inspired the internationally best-selling picture book Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley.
You can order a copy here
Ming and Marie Spy for Freedom (The Girls Who Changed the World, #2)
Ages: 10+
An empowering and exhilarating look at the girls who went before us, and the way they shaped the world.
Ming Qong is convinced that girls have changed the world throughout history.
So when Ming is thrust back in time to Belgium during WWI, only to be rescued from a burning cellar by Marie -- an experienced spy at only twelve years of age -- she finally has her proof. Marie is involved with a female secret resistance group who risk their lives to outwit the German troops.
But Ming now faces a tough choice: will she send coded messages and risk her own life in this war on which the future depends?
As Ming learns, change is never easy, so how can one girl change the world?
You can order a copy here.
Books coming soon
Ages: 10+
Coming: April 2023
Based on first-hand accounts of those extraordinary last weeks of the Gallipoli campaign, this is the fascinating 'lost story' of how 150,000 men – and their horses and equipment – were secretly moved to waiting ships without a single life lost. An unforgettable story told through the eyes of a boy who lied about his age to defend his country.
You can order a copy here
Ming and Hilde Lead a Revolution (The Girls Who Changed the World, #3)
Ages: 10+
The third book in the best-selling Jackie French historical series that places girls centre stage.
Ming Qong is convinced that girls have changed history throughout the world.
She's faced danger and adventure when Herstory sent her to the past to witness girls' bravery in the incredible feats left out of 'histories'. Now Ming asks Herstory for another time-travelling quest – this time, one that is less confronting.
Ming finds herself in relative luxury, heading to an unknown destination on a ship carrying royal Saxon sheep, travelling with the girls who care for them.
What do female shepherds have to do with history? And is it even possible for sheep to be royal?
As Ming knows only too well, change is never easy, so how can one girl – and a sheep – change the world?
You can order a copy here.
Get in touch
I love hearing from readers but can't answer all the emails immediately. If you need help with a school assignment, please check out my FAQ page. It may have the answers you seek. If that hasn't helped, have a browse here, here or here.
If you need to get in touch with me directly, please email jackie@jackiefrench.com
If you have publicity or media enquiries, please get in touch with Emma Holifield at
emma.holifield@harpercollins.com.au
For more information on the terms of Zoom talks, see the Bookings page.
Mail
I may take a few weeks to reply to mail. Please write to:
Jackie French
PO Box 63
Braidwood, NSW 2622
Stay in touch
Sign up! Expect a newsletter once a month, with news about the wombats, my books and latest recipes. For past editions of the newsletter, have a look here.
I acknowledge the dhurga People of Yuin Country, past, present and future, custodians of the land on which I live and write, in love and gratitude
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