'Growing up "in a house far away... deep in the bush" in 1954, there are many things six-year-old Matilda doesn't understand: Why is her father away so much? Are the mysterious men who moved into the house next door really spies? Why doesn't her older sister, Elizabeth ever want to go back to school? Why won't her middle-sister, Frances speak? And how can she win the "most interesting pet" prize at school for her sad mother with the beautiful hair?
'Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, the adaptation of this acclaimed novel by Jigsaw explores the human drive to find ways to make sense of our surroundings. Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale, the Petrov affair, and the continuing aftershocks of a world war intermingle in this richly layered exploration of a family's secrets and ultimate redemption.'
Source: Jigsaw Theatre Company website,
Sighted: 07/08/2008
Unit Suitable For
AC: Year 10 (NSW Stage 5)
Themes
death, disease, family, fear, Polio, war
General Capabilities
Critical and creative thinking, Information and communication technology, Literacy
'In 1989 Ursula Dubosarsky published her first book, Maisie and the Pinny Gig, illustrated by Roberta Landers. Since then, Dubosarsky’s novels, picture books, illustrated books and non-fiction texts have engaged diverse audiences ranging from very young children to older readers. Among her body of work, the novels The First Book of Samuel (1995), The Red Shoe (2006) and The Golden Day (2011) have attracted high praise, along with the non-fiction book The Word Spy (2008), illustrated by Tohby Riddle. The Red Shoe stands out for its evocation of Cold War Sydney, viewed from the perspective of the 21st century; for historical fiction never simply delivers the past but interprets it in the light of the values and cultural norms of its own time. The book’s title identifies the red shoe as its symbolic centre, but in fact the narrative is structured around multiple red shoes, the stories of which intermingle and glance off one another.' (Introduction)
New World Orders in Contemporary Children's Literature : Utopian Transformations
Houndmills
:
Palgrave Macmillan
,
2008
Z1559477
2008
selected work
criticism
'New World Orders shows how texts for children and young people have responded to the cultural, economic, and political movements of the last 15 years. With a focus on international children's texts produced between 1988 and 2006, the authors discuss how utopian and dystopian tropes are pressed into service to project possible futures to child readers. The book considers what these texts have to say about globalisation, neocolonialism, environmental issues, pressures on families and communities, and the idea of the posthuman.' - Back cover.
New World Orders in Contemporary Children's Literature : Utopian Transformations
Houndmills
:
Palgrave Macmillan
,
2008
Z1559477
2008
selected work
criticism
'New World Orders shows how texts for children and young people have responded to the cultural, economic, and political movements of the last 15 years. With a focus on international children's texts produced between 1988 and 2006, the authors discuss how utopian and dystopian tropes are pressed into service to project possible futures to child readers. The book considers what these texts have to say about globalisation, neocolonialism, environmental issues, pressures on families and communities, and the idea of the posthuman.' - Back cover.
