A big welcome to all rappers. You can see that I am not in the Eminem
generation. I am a former judge of the Childrens Book Council of Australia
(CBCA) Book of the Year Awards and currently President of the CBCA NSW
branch.
I look forward to your responses to the rap points and I hope to meet some
of you at Childrens Book Week functions.I will be at the students lunch
organised by the Blue Mountains CBCA at Penrith city library on Thursday and
on the SS South Steyne at Darling Harbour for the Sydney students lunch on
Monday August 20. Please say hello if you're there.
At the end of Bookweek on Sunday August 26, I will be at International
Passenger Terminal 8 for the Free Fabulous Family Day Out from 10am to 4pm
with many of your favourite writers and illustrators including some of those
on the picture books short list. And tell your teacher librarians that if
they have any money left there will be big bargains in books for sale.
I used to teach English in high schools and I have co-written a book about
teaching with picture books. When I first started doing this thirty years
ago, some people thought that picture books were not suitable for high
school students. Now it's the other way around when some people complain
that some of the shortlisted books like The Rabbits are not suitable for
primary school students.
A special welcome to rappers from Beauty Point, Whalan and Hamilton Public
Schools where they love dancing and Hamilton has the only all boys dance
group in the Hunter. I am also a dancer and was one of the teachers who
started Newtown High School of the Performing Arts where I was leading
teacher.
Happy rapping,
Ernie Tucker
