The Flower Garden - A Changi Secret

Complex history becomes accessible to young readers when told through intimate human stories; The Flower Garden: A Changi Secret uses this technique elegantly. The book will suit children aged 7 and up who are not yet ready for the textual density of other empathetic war narratives. – Anica Boulanger-Mashberg * Books + Publishing *This is a gentle war story, seen through the eyes of the children affected in the prison. It touches on their fears and how they’re copying, and the things that the adults around them are doing to help keep them safe. It’s an important story to show that everyone has the capacity to be helpful. This beautiful book sits among those that are set during war as an exceptional example of how to explain war and prison camps to children who might learn about it early in school or at home. – Ashleigh Meikle * Good Reading Magazine *

Claire Saxby writes award-winning fiction, non-fiction and poetry for young people. She writes about history, about nature and more. Her books include Nature Storybooks (Big Red Kangaroo, Emu, Koala, Dingo, Kookaburra, Great White Shark, Tasmanian Devil and Wedge-tailed Eagle) which celebrate Australian wildlife and the places they live. Her historical novel, The Wearing of the Green, explores early colonial Melbourne. Claire lives by the sea and believes our world is a place of many wonders.

Lucia Masciullo is an award-winning illustrator who loves to create whimsical characters and colouring with traditional techniques, mixing watercolour, pencil and collage. Born and bred in Livorno, Italy, she moved to Australia in 2007 and since then she has illustrated thirty books, including Come Down, Cat! by Sonya Hartnett, which was a CBCA Honour Book and shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. Lucia currently lives on the Gold Coast and when not at work she likes running, watching anime and eating homemade pizza.