Release date: March 2025
Gets Under the Skin of Discrimination
Inaugural kid’s book Parrot Palace
Over 30% of Australians are born overseas. Three in four of us identify with an ancestry that is multicultural.
Collaboration, cultural acceptance, and friendship are championed by the three 11-year-old heroes in the new Australian children’s novel, Parrot Palace, released by Australian publisher Big Sky.
In an inaugural junior fiction by creators with diverse backgrounds, Parrot Palace invites us into the lives of three kids at the start of the school holidays. Readers meet Australian families with heritage from the Indian subcontinent, Europe, and China, combined with the have-a-go larrikinism of Australia.
Parrot Palace was written by educational consultant and multi-award-winning author Susanne Gervay OAM, with Pooja Mathur, and illustrations by Sarah Tabassum.
"It is a must-read’ for kids,” says Professor Meenakshi Bharat, Literature University of Delhi. Parrot Palace is “an open invitation from the heart to step into an inclusive world, where difference is celebrated.”
“Parrot Palace takes me on an amazing journey of what young people want most: love, caring, and sharing, irrespective of who you are or where you come from,” says Dr Andrew Kwong, author of the best-selling Australian book One Bright Moon. “I recommend it to all our children.”
Parrot Palace has pre-sold almost 1000 copies to Scholastic Book Fairs with Readings, Dymocks and other publishers on board, an early indicator of its can‘t-put-down popularity with young readers, their parents and librarians.
Author Susanne Gervay, who has won international literature and humanitarian awards for her advocacy for our young Australians, says that the book is light-hearted and serious at the same time, interweaving cultures and customs with the fears and delights of young people finding acceptance without question. “Parrot Palace is a little book packing a big punch of why our kids are often our best and wisest teachers. Children know it’s better to be kind and that it's much easier to solve a puzzle by working on it together,” says Gervay. “And sometimes even our leaders know this too!”
Parrot Palace Newsflash! Our political leaders agree with each other! Valuing multiculturalism is real!
nation…every story…adds to the cultural richness and shared prosperity of our great country,” said Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton.
For further information contact:
Marketing Director Sharon Evans
sharon@bigskypublishing.com.au
+61
Teacher notes are available.
The authors are available for interview.
RRP $12.99
ISBN: 9 781 923 3000 88
Big Sky Publishing
Politician Quote Source Links:
Creators of Parrot Palace
Susanne Gervay OAM
Susanne Gervay is a celebrated Australian children’s author who received the Lifetime Social Justice Literature Award for Children’s Literature. She has an Order of Australia and was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. You'll find Susanne trekking to where her heart goes, speaking to fire-ravaged communities of Lithgow, trekking to remote indigenous schools in the Kimberly, addressing the Youth Braille Writing Awards, and speaking at the World Burn Congress in New York. Susanne brings a message of courage especially to young people.
Susanne wrote Elephants Have Wings as a picture book after her numerous journeys to India. Now she has worked with Sarah Tabassum and Pooja Mathur to create the story of diverse children and their families, including Hari and his Indian family, his half Hungarian-Chinese friend Lily-Rosa (Susanne’s heritage), and his new mate Mikey. She values the story of inclusion.
Pooja Mathur
Pooja is a teacher librarian and reading club coordinator, leading a team at a private high school (Pymble Ladies College) and the winner of the ASLA (Australian School Library Association) Early Career Teacher Librarian Award 2023. Pooja is an active, loud, and proud promoter of reading for pleasure, Australian multicultural literature, and the importance of school libraries. Over the years,
she has been involved in academic research and publication of various articles, as well as presenting at several Australian and international professional development events.
Pooja migrated from India to Australia in 2004 and lives in Sydney in a multi-generational family including her husband Anurag, children Antra and Ansh, and in-laws. Pooja’s parents visit often. Hari and Nani’s relationship in Parrot Palace replicates the close bond between Pooja’s children and their grandmothers, Sushma and Rashmi.
Sarah Tabassum
Parrot Palace illustrator Sarah loves to explore the vibrant intersection of digital and traditional media. Born in the bustling city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, a beautiful country in the Indian subcontinent, she has always been captivated by the vibrant hues and patterns that define her surroundings. Today, she calls Sydney, Australia, her home, where she continues to draw inspiration from the diverse culture around her.
Key Facts:
Diverse families
Anti-racism
S.E.Asian and Indian subcontinent as part of Australia
Multi culturalism
Politicians on board.
About us:
Big Sky Publishing is an independent Australian publisher proudly focusing on supporting Australian authors, illustrators and content.
www.bigskypublishing.com.au
Contact details:
For further information contact:
Marketing Director Sharon Evans
sharon@bigskypublishing.com.au ; 0410 332 789
The authors are available for interview.
RRP $12.99
ISBN: 9 781 923 3000 88
Big Sky Publishing
