‘My Grandfather had died when I was four. Coming to me when it did, this dream helped me see my physical journey as something of an initiation. ‘It culminated in the familiar figure of my late Grandfather walking forever towards me with his distinctive gait and smiling warmly in approval of my life direction. ‘I had one almighty dream while travelling alone in Southern India,’ he says. The idea began as an environmental studies project the author undertook many years ago, but after a powerful dream about his late grandfather, Townsend experienced an overflowing of emotion and creativity. Given its powerful themes of life and death, decay and renewal, and the gifts of one generation to another, it was no surprise to learn that the book’s evolution was equally ‘organic’. Finally, via the cycles of nature, it falls as rain and drives a frightened boy into the arms of his beloved grandfather. Written by Bendigo musician and author, Chris Townsend, this hardcover picture book follows the journey of a teardrop as it falls into a teacup, is washed down the drain, into a river and eventually to the open sea. When you pick up Storm in a Teacup, the latest offering from St Luke’s Innovative Resources, you sense that Ehlert would see its words and pictures as a match made in heaven. When asked what makes a great picture book, American author and illustrator Lois Ehlert once said that ‘the art and text must go hand in hand, like inseparable lovers’. John Holton, ‘A Tearful Journey Worth Taking’, More Weekend, The Bendigo Advertiser, 28 May, 2005. The real test is how a child will react, but there is matter here to please the adult. The book depicts the interconnectedness of nature and people. It tells of a tear that falls into a teacup and begins an extraordinary journey. There are two Chris’s behind the book – Townsend wrote the text, a poem, and Sage-Marsh did the accompanying paintings. Moreover, Innovative Resources term themselves “seriously optimistic”. ‘Bendigo is hardly a publishing hub, and the company behind Storm in a Teacup is a charity, St Luke’s Anglicare. ‘Picture Book – Storm in a Teacup,’ Extra Books, The Sunday Age, 24 July 2005, p. The artwork by Chris Sage-Marsh is simply beautiful. What began as a end of year ‘fill-in’ kind of exercise became a really memorable experience. All the kids were really into what they were doing. We had a conversation about place as suggested in the notes: Did you have a special place as a child? Do you have a place like that now? Is it real or imaginary? The students were surprisingly forthcoming with their responses.Įach student then produced a mixed media collage representing their special place. I ended up reading the book to the kids in class. A friend had recently sent me copy of Storm in a Teacup (out of the blue) so I read it and discovered the fabulous notes in the back of the book. Towards the end of last year I was looking for a class activity for my Year 8 art students. Storm in a Teacup also comes with a generous Learner’s Guide full of suggested activities, creative prompts and topics for discussion. The intensity of Chris Sage-Marsh’s richly hued, deliberately scraggy illustrations make this a memorable and stirring picture book to use with adults and children. No two readers will interpret this picture book the same way. It can be used in classrooms, workshops and groups to build conversations about meaning and change. This is an intriguing and evocative resource for parents, teachers, counsellors, environmentalists and art therapists. This story takes the form of a poem that tells of a teardrop which finds its way out to sea and finally returns through nature’s cycle to a boy and his grandfather. In Storm in a Teacup you will find environmental and cyclical themes of life and death, renewal and decay, hope and fear, light and darkness.
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