Category: Women Writers

Fierce Girls by Samantha Turnbull, Ill. by Kim Siew

22/3/2022

Fierce Girls is a uniquely Australian book celebrating five women who have inspired recent generations, both young and old, to follow their dreams, strive for excellence and continue breaking down barriers. The women included in the book come from different backgrounds and are involved in different fields of endeavour, but the one thing they all have in common is their determination to achieve despite the challenges they faced. From politics to surfing, tennis to stage performance, and writing, each has achieved many highlights in their careers, with more still to come. Samantha Turnbull's text is very accessible and engaging with some really interesting, and perhaps not so well known anecdotes, about the early lives and careers of the five. Kim Siew's artwork is bold and bright, almost like a graphic novel, with speech bubbles and images that represent the essence of each story - the perfect way to represent these bold and bright women. And 'fierce' is such an apt description of these women who believed in themselves and never accepted 'no' as an option! There are other books out there describing female pioneers like the Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls series, but none that are dedicated solely to our gutsy and spirited Australian female ground breakers. Originally an ABC podcast series, I'm hoping Fierce Girls is just the first in a series of similar books about Australian women. This is a must have for all school library Biography sections.

Use this book for Upper Primary and Secondary students when looking at biographies and discussing famous people, famous women, famous Australians. Themes to be explored could include resilience, risk taking, politics, sport, acting, indigenous Australians and literature.

Find out more about Samantha Turnbull
Find out more about Kim Siew

Published 2022 by Five Mile.
ISBN 9781922677051 (HB)
Recommended for ages 8 - 14

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Diverse Australian fiction

8/7/2020

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As promised here are some of my favourite Australian fiction books with diverse characters. There are more, but I've selected these as they are the ones that have really made me think, reflect and respect. I've just ordered The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling for my library and can't wait for my students to read it. Both of Zana Fraillon's books on this list have sparked some pretty intense conversations with students and it's so interesting and wonderful to hear young people talking about global issues like refugees, social justice and diversity - not just in books but in other areas as well. These are excellent supplements to school library collections.

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Fierce Girls by Samantha Turnbull, Ill. by Kim Siew

Diverse Australian fiction

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