By Mikayla van Loon
For first time children’s book author Peter Hodkinson, writing something that would cater to his daughter’s age group became the catalyst for his now published chapter book.
The Mooroolbark resident and english teacher was inspired when his eldest daughter Tilly was looking for something to read and so the pair set out to develop ‘Inside the Notebook’.
“We were trying to find books for [Tilly]. She passed a lot of the kid books but she wasn’t really ready to be reading Harry Potter and what have you,” he said.
The 92-page book was born out of a desire to give children aged between eight and 12 years old reading material dedicated to their interests.
Exploring the story of 10-year-old Abbey who is rather shy at school, Peter said it is very much an embodiment of both himself as a child but also many of the children he has taught.
“I’ve also seen as a teacher the kids that wander the school by themselves, the ones that are very quiet in class and I think about them a lot in terms of how do you overcome that,” he said.
After being gifted a notebook, Abbey begins to draw an alternate reality and eventually ends up in this different universe.
“Through the book, [Abbey] learns she has a voice, which I want the kids to see, but also when you have a voice, when you can talk, there’s responsibility with that,” Peter said.
“So we have to be aware that what we say has power but everybody has the right to be heard and she just learns to be brave and to be honest.”
Having had a dream in primary school to one day write a book, Peter said it somewhat fell by the wayside during high school and as he got older but a children’s book felt more within his grasp.
“This seemed like a good chance to maybe try something that was a little shorter with the idea that yes, I can actually finish it.
“Having a reason and having an idea and doing it and then being able to show my daughters has been a really proud moment and that’s sort of a motivator too.”
Seeing the finished product has inspired the potential for writing more, with hopes of creating a sequel or series should ‘Inside the Notebook’ be well received.
With a chance to launch his book on Thursday 29 June at the Mooroolbark Library, Peter said it will be great to have that face to face interaction with people.
“I was a musician and an actor before I was a teacher and all of that art is done face to face, you see the people that you’re entertaining or showing your artwork to.
“The book exists now, doing its own thing and it’s exciting but the book launch will be nice to be able to see people and get a feel for what people think.”
As someone who waited to pursue their dream, Peter said taking a leap of faith is sometimes the best way to start.
“What I really think is important in terms of creating art is to back yourself, you’ve got to be brave.
“Know that the first thing you make won’t be the best thing. The first draft is not a good draft, it is just the skeleton and then having that done is where you start to start to make it into something you can be proud of.”
Published by Shawline Publishing House in May, ‘Inside the Notebook’ is available for purchase through their website.
The book launch will get underway at 2pm on 29 June. To book a spot, go to www.events.yourlibrary.com.au/event?id=44434
