Blog

Buzz Words article on editing

This article appeared in the November edition of ‘Buzz Words’ – a magazine for children’s writers and illustrators. Interview with Carole Lander For how long have you worked as an editor? Freelance or full-time, and if full-time with which publishing house/s? I’ve been a freelance editor since 2013. I work mainly on educational texts published […]

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Book review on Buzz Words

Published Thursday, 20 July 2017 – Buzz Words In my World: ‘Wheels of Fire’ and ‘The Basketball Tree’ In my World: ‘Wheels of Fire’ and ‘The Basketball Tree’ by Carole Lander, (Checkword Publications 2016) Reviewed by Lucinda Gifford All children whether they live with a disability or not encounter disabled people through school, family and friends. The […]

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Prof Tom Shakespeare talks to Carole Lander

Many short-statured people will have heard of Professor Tom Shakespeare who is an English sociologist, broadcaster and disability activist. He came to Australia in 2014 to give the keynote talk at the Australian Applied Disability Research conference hosted by National Disability Services. While Carole Lander was in the UK recently she had the opportunity to chat […]

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Anh Doh paints Kurt Fearnley

Kurt Fearnley levers his body out of his wheelchair and hoists himself into a yellow armchair in Anh Doh’s studio. He tucks his lifeless legs under him and grins widely at Anh who is about to paint his portrait for the ABC series ‘Anh’s Brush with Fame’. Kurt was born with a congenital disorder called […]

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At school with a disability

Last week I wrote about ways in which the national (Australian) curriculum supports students who live with a disability. This is through the General Capabilities. I mentioned the Personal and Social Capability, but there’s another – Ethical Understanding. In an ideal world we would not need to directed towards ethical behaviour but unfortunately that is not […]

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Back to school with a disability

Over the years since the development of a national Australian curriculum began, it has become increasingly easier for teachers to feel supported when they have children in their class who live with a disability. This should be reassuring to parents of those children. The ACARA website has pages of information on how to ensure that […]

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Illustrating disability in kids stories

I write stories for children that put disability front and centre. Why? Because when I published a nonfiction book on dwarfism I realised that there are so few kids books where the main character lives with a disability. So I decided to fill the gap. My first book for children is called IN MY WORLD. […]

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Developing empathy for difference

‘Mummy, why is that man so short?’ ‘Because he didn’t eat his vegetables when he was a kid.’  The short man who overheard this conversation was Jonathan Tripp. He was born with a condition of dwarfism. While he could see the funny side of the mother’s reaction, it was just another incident in which an […]

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