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paper & paint •Philgets thekids reading!Many little Aussie readers, and their parents too, will knowPhil Kettle’s name. He is the highly prolific author of bookssuch as the Too Cool, Boys Rule, Girlz Rock and Billy Koolseries. Phil specialises in encouraging reluctant readersto fall in love with books, using sporting themes and bellylaughs to begin the process.Phil knows the value of reading andcomes to his literary life with a 17-yearteaching history behind him. “From myown experience as a teacher I knewyou had to give the children topics thatengaged them. There was not a lot ofmaterial around at the time that wasunashamedly for boys.”Sporting adventures in his initial booksallowed readers to become heroes fora while. Despite his writing success,Phil himself still harbours AustralianFootball League dreams. “My backyardwas the MCG when I was a kid,” hesays. “I was the captain of Richmondand we’d always beat Collingwood by apoint.”The underlying themes of his writingare individuality, freedom of thoughtand positivity. The author grew up ona farm outside Mildura and credits hislife there for his own positive outlook.“There was always plenty to do, plentyto eat, and time for lots of adventures.The farm was a place where I coulduse my imagination all day, every day.It was where I first started to create mystories,” he says.“My passion for reading and writingcame from my Father and from ateacher called Mr Witham. Living in thecountry you did not have TV, you hadbooks. I originally started with booksfor boys because, while some mightnot be interested in reading, most areinterested in sports.”In recent times the AustralianGovernment has noted Phil’s approachand his unique style is now beingapplied to a series of books that willexpand young readers’ knowledge ofAustralia’s history and geography.“From my own experienceas a teacher I knew you hadto give the children topicsthat engaged them”An Ambassador of the Premier’sReading Challenge, Phil has nowpartnered with Australian Geographicon a series of books called OurAustralia which the Federal Governmenthas decided to make part of thenational curriculum.A passionate believer that Australiankids need to learn about their country,history, key locations and Australianthemes, Phil maintains an exhaustivenational touring schedule reading toand listening to children in schoolsand says he isoften dismayed at how little juniorAussies know about their country andits story.“I want to give kids just enoughinformation to get them excited enoughto go and found out more. By havingthese books on the national curriculumit also means they’re included in thingslike the Premier’s Reading Challenge,”he says.Eight Our Australia books werelaunched in 2010, to be followedby another eight this year and eightmore in 2012. Our Australia takesreaders on a fun and informativejourney around Australia with a youngboy called Taha, an Australian boy ofGreek heritage, and his Mum. Eachbook reveals information on geography,local industry, history and the cultureof each region and there is a newlocation in every book. They each comewith a CD-ROM containing teacher’snotes, including photographs of eachregion, activities and other relevantinformation.@ www.philkettle.comwww.australiangeographic.com.au/educationGet Creative Quarterly Autumn 2011 157