It was an absolute pleasure to write a post for the Kids’ Book Review, one of the very best children’s book review sites in Australia. Read on for a snippet of the article and then follow the link to their website to learn more. Dare you not to get swept away by the wealth of kid lit resources on the site!

As a child, I was amazed by aeroplanes (and still am). Where are they going? Are the travellers heading off on an adventure or coming home? Can I come along? 

I was born and raised in a lovely, smallish-sized town, but the minute I was accepted into a university in ‘the big city’ I jumped at the chance. I haven’t stopped moving since – visiting all seven continents, traveling to dozens of countries and living in four countries. I’m always the new kid on the block.

When I started writing for children, I had just moved to Sydney, half-way across the planet from my family, with my husband and one-year-old son. I was feeling a bit isolated. I so appreciated those people who made me feel like I belonged – neighbours who invited me into their circles of friends, parents who welcomed my son into their play groups, and so many random acquaintances that let me become part of the community and eventually even a full-fledged citizen.

When I wrote the manuscript for Allen the Alien, I put all of those feelings into the story. Allen’s loud toys are my unfamiliar accent. His over-exuberant style of play is my over-enthusiastic thrill of discovering local foods. Even his crash landing on Earth is like my unannounced arrival in a new place. Allen’s story naturally became about acceptance because that’s what I was looking for.

Find out more about the inspiration behind Allen The Alien at Kids’ Book Review – http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2024/08/guest-post-stephanie-ward-on-allen.html.