Letting the summer go by Alice Teasdale and Julia Both

Summer was a heat haze of fire, burning all in its wake, but a young girl and her mother enlisted the help of friends to replant their hidden garden. The earth had been depleted of all colour, and they wanted green, the green of plants and trees, of shoots, growth and flowers, to remind them of what had been and show the possibility of life anew. Their friends brought small plants and seeds, countless packs of seed and these were scattered and left to fend for themselves over the following months. When it rained and rained the girl fashioned a coat out of an old bag and braved the storm to see the hidden garden. Green shoots of all sizes could be seen. And her hen added some poo to the soil to enrich the growth.

Soon pumpkins and corn were growing well, and flowers hung around contrasting with the vegetables. Picked they were shared by one and all, especially the friends who gave them the seeds. Green could once more be seen. The awful summer was put behind them.

A homage to the gardens and gardeners who replanted after the Black Summer bushfires, this book, based on a true story, shows just one family, their land devastated, living in a caravan, dependent on the charity of others, replenishing their land, planting anew, awakening the soil around them. It is in tribute to those involved in the bushfires which saw so much devastation to so many around Australia. But it also shows just how resilient people can be in joining forces and renewing the land.

A newcomer to the publishing of children’s books, Stormbird Press (Kangaroo Island) aims to be read around campfires and hearths, across tundras, or under the shadow of mountains, as they all whisper where we have been and where we are going. More can be found here.

A conscious effort to show how people survived the bushfires, Letting the summer go is a well illustrated tale of resilience and starting again.

Themes: Bushfires, Resilience, Community, Family, Gardens.

Fran Knight