From Palyku author HELEN MILROY, creator of the ‘Backyard‘ series and Cloudmaker, comes Beach Buddies – an exciting picture book of Australian sea creatures.

Read on for a Q&A with Helen Milroy about why she writes and the inspiration behind the story.

MEET HELEN MILROY

I first became interested in storytelling when…

I grew up on stories, it was part of life. My mum was a wonderful storyteller and still is today at 98 years of age. Storytelling is part of Aboriginal culture, it is how we learn about life, family and culture. Having worked throughout my career with children, it was a natural extension to become a storyteller.

The idea behind Beach Buddies came from…

Beach Buddies is a follow on from the ‘Backyard’ series but focuses on a different part of our environment. i love the beach and was recently down in Augusta in the south west of WA. It is a magical place and the ocean life at the beach is phenomenal. I wanted to capture that for kids to see. Not only to have fun at the beach but also realise this is another part of our country we have to look after as it is home to many of our beautiful and cheeky creatures.

When I start a new book, I usually begin by…

I usually let the idea roll around in my head for a while. Then do some research into what it is about. In this case, looking more in depth at who lives at the beach or in the ocean and what characteristics do they have. How would we notice them and what do they do there. The hard part is always who to include in the book as it would be lovely to have all the creatures on display. For me personally, I really learn a lot about our marine life and their habitats as well as how we look after them so their little ones can thrive, just like our own kids.

One character or creature I loved bringing to life is…

Definitely the octopus. They always seemed so mysterious and a bit scary to me as a child. Learning about the octopus was really fascinating. They are highly intelligent and can do some amazing things. I also think having three hearts and eight legs is amazing. I tried to be fair to the octopus by bringing our the beauty of their colour and form.

The part of the creative process I enjoy most is…

Bringing the story to life. I always try to tell the story through the words and through the images so you can read it either way. I want the story to be alive so you see the creatures as something you can relate to and thereby be part of their world.

In Beach Buddies, I wanted readers to feel…

I want readers to feel curious about the creatures and enchanted by their beauty. I want kids to know we all share this world together and when we are in someone’s home, like the beach or ocean, we respect where we are.

Listen to our podcast episode with Helen Milroy here.

Read our review of Helen Milroy’s book Owl and Stars here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helen Milroy is a born storyteller and a talented artist. She is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, but was born and educated in Perth. Currently Helen is the University of Western Australia and Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation Professor in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Commissioner with the National Mental Health Commission.

Wombat, Mudlark and Other Stories was her first book for children. Her later stories include Cloudmaker, Bush Bugs, Crow Baby, Owl and Star, Backyard Besties and Backyard Birds.

Visit Helen Milroy’s website here.

Read more about Beach Buddies on the publisher’s website here.