With more than 330 delegates attending the Children’s Book Council conference in Canberra, I was one of the fortunate ones to be present. The first weekend in June saw teachers, librarians, publishers and children’s authors and illustrators mixing together to share their knowledge of humour in kid’s books. Lots of laughs. Jokes. Panel discussions with a twist and costume. Verbal explosions, the tragedy and comedy of humour, book launches etc.

Dyan Blacklock and Margaret Hamilton were the brilliant co-conveners of the conference. From Welcome to Country with Duncan Smith, Wiradjuri Echoes to the closing Great Debate on YA fiction is too serious, there was something for everyone.

Young Dark Emu with Bruce Pascoe, New Voices with Bren McDribble, Kelly Canby and Rebecca McRitchie, Making Funny Pictures with Michael Speechley and Matt Stanton made the morning of Day One a success. In the afternoon I attended the session called My Inner Duck and How I found it with Meg McKinlay, R.A Spratt (with a blowing horn), Adam Cece and Zoe Norton Lodge. They talked about humour as entertainment, a quirky and honest business of writing with light and dark shades. Adam shared his weird family background with a childhood of hip, funky and zany. Spratt mentioned it’s the way “her brain processes the funny and twisted.” All the authors love going into schools to read their stories and absorb new ideas for their funny narratives. The “randomness of kids,” says Meg is what she loves.

We celebrated Grug’s 40th birthday. There were auctions, book raffles, merchandise from CBC. Dymocks from Canberra sold many books. The trade stalls were filled with eager editors, publishers and inquisitive people like myself, signing up for prizes. Morning tea, lunches and afternoon teas were brilliant with opportunities to see book launches like the one with Playing with Collage (Walker books) by Jeannie Baker, with Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright, and Winston and the Wondrous Wooba Gymnastics Club by Tamsin Janu ( Scholastic).

Punchlines, Pirates and Alpacas was a real treat with Matt Cosgrove, Oliver Phommavanh and Peter Carnavas. Starting with The Elephant by Pete, the topic of how can a book about depression shed some humour? Well, it’s all about the lightness and moments in the illustrations that add to humour. The lads talked about funny names in books, family, friendship and amusing books they read as children. They also reflected on where are all the funny female authors?

With the slogan, Reading is my Secret Power, I imagine that humour can be a secret, magical and mysterious power that transforms a story, bringing questions, escape and truth to kids. Some of the authors mentioned about that we can’t bubble wraps kids today. There are confronting issues in life that young children face, so there can be a fine line between humour and sadness.

I managed to find the duckies from The Duck Pond ( Jen Storer) and met Tania McCartney whose picture books, Maime and Hip Hip Hooray were popular. A vibrant author/ illustrator, Tania has an excellent podcast called The Happy Book. Listen to it. Enjoy the banter and wisdom of the interviews. Grab a herbal tea.

On Day Two there were the independent publishing team with Rochelle Manners, Mark McLeod and Davina Bell. They each have a wonderful list of books to share, fantastic quality books that make an impression.

A highlight of the conference was the announcement that Paul Jennings received a lifetime Achievement Award recognising a long-standing contribution by an Australian citizen to Australian children’s books and a life time commitment to Australian readers. Well done Paul, who delivered a heartfelt thanks on the big screen.

I really appreciated the interview by Sue Lawson with Aunty Fay Muir, exploring our Nation’s Rich Cultural heritage. “Country” refers to Mother and we must look after the land. “First Nations” is the better way of saying Indigenous or even Aborigine. “Aunty/ Uncle” are terms that remind us to look after family. Aunty Fay encouraged us all to meet and talk to an Aboriginal person. Ask the questions. meet face to face. Get the kids involved.

From Strange New Worlds of Karen Foxlee, Rhiannon Williams and Eliza Henry Jones to Emily Rodda’s  ( awarded Order of Australia on Aust. Day 2019) brilliant presentation, the conference exuded brightness, talent and passion. I did not attend the conference dinner so did not hear Leigh Hobbs’s life as the Laureate. I do however, love his picture books and my grand children find them very funny.

Bravo to the team who put this conference together. It was a winner. Love you James Roy, Emily Rodda, Morris Gleitzman, Danny Katz and Mitch Vane,  Jeanette Rowe, Sonia Bestvlic, Allison Paterson, watch out for Allayne Webster ( Sensitive – YA novel) Zana Fraillon and Tamsin Jansu. Cheers for Michael Speehley with a new picture book on consumerism, The All New Must have Orange 430, and go get yourself a coffee and share a good, funny story with a child today.