Australia is an immigrant nation with many stories. Award-winning author Susanne Gervay and award-winning illustrator Anna Pignataro are part of that immigrant and refugee story. Susanne's parents were post-war Hungarian refugees who migrated to Australia. Anna's parents were postwar Italian refugees who migrated to Australia. In a unique collaboration, Susanne and Anna have created a moving and significant picture book, Ships in the Field. It crosses boundaries in a universal recognition that children are part of the journey of war, migration, loss and healing. Through warmth, humour, pathos and story within story, it breaks the silence, engaging children, families and community. AGES: 7 plus AUTHOR: Awarded the Lifetime Social Justice Literature Award for her books by the International Literacy Association, nominated for the Astrid Ingrid Memorial Award and an Order of Australia for literature, Susanne Gervay is recognized for her youth literature from pre-school to young adult novels on social justice. She engages young people in complex issues from multiculturalism, disability to peace. Anna Pignataro was waiting for a story that touched her. When she read Ships in the Field she responded immediately to Paul Collins the publisher of Ford Street. 'It's my story' she said. Her parents were Italian migrants who had to leave their beloved dog in Italy as they found home in Australia. Her water colour washes with the soft lines and palette capture the character, love, family as they struggle with the past to seek a future. Her daughter became the natural model for the girl in Ships in the Field. Anna put aside all other projects to dedicate the next 6 months to Ships in the Field ? which was a deeply personal and important journey for Anna.
