WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE
Edel Wignell (Edel rhymes with 'medal') loves to write – for two reasons. Firstly, she enjoys writing: fiction, non-fiction, scripts and poetry. Secondly, she loves the thought that somewhere, sometime, someone may turn a page and close one of her books with a sigh of satisfaction or a chuckle, then switch off the light.
Edel has been writing full time for children and adults since 1979, and part-time for ten years previously. Writer, compiler, journalist and poet, she has more than 90 books for children, and her writing for adults has been published in more than 100 journals, newspapers, collections and on the Internet, and read on radio.
When Edel was a kid she lived on a sheep farm in northern Victoria. In About Edel Wignell, see biographical notes and more... NEW! In this Link Edel has revised the notes on Inspiration for Writing.
NEW! In Teachers' Notes there's a wealth of activities to try in classrooms.
NEW! See an article, Playful Invention: A Bicycle Clock, a new script and new poems for children.
Update! Writing for Adults: award-winning feature, short story and poem.
NEW! Bilby Secrets, ill. Mark Jackson, 2011, Walker Books Australia ('Nature Story Books')
ISBN: 978 1 9215 2932 0
Narrative non-fiction for ages 5-10 years.
Little Bilby, an endangered marsupial, is born in a burrow in the spinifex of the Pilbara in Western Australia. He sleeps safely in his mother's pouch until he has grown large endough to explore the burrow – two metres underground. Soon he grows up and accompanies his mother on foraging trips, learning about predators and how to avoid danger. At last he grows up. Mark Jackson's splendid illustrations reveal the secrets of Little Bilby's life.
Read more about Bilby Secrets. Check Teachers' Notes for classroom activities and sing Bilby Song. See Mark Jackson's website: www.jackpot-art.com and further Teachers' Notes on: www.walkerbooks.com.au. Read A Bilby Round-up, describing many bilby books: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, activity books and audio-visual resources.
Long Live Us! illus. Peter Allert, 2011, Interactive Publications (IP Kidz) Brisbane
ISBN 978 1 921479 46 5 Hb; 978 1 921869 07 5 ePub
A fractured folk tale for ages 7-10 years.
A Greedy Troll lives in a cave under a bridge. Hungry, he plans to trap anyone who tries to pass. The Three Bears arrive first and, after some discussion the Greedy Troll allows them to go. More and more folk tale characters arrive and the Greedy Troll gets hungrier and hungrier…
In Teachers' Notes, discover how to fracture folk tales. Enjoy three colouring-in pages and sing The Song of the Troll. Participate in drama – try a play script. Read an interview with Edel Wignell and Peter Allert at Kid's Book Capers and segments from book reviews. View a trailer on the minisite. Book Orders.
Christina's Matilda, illus. Elizabeth Botté
2011, Interactive Publications (IP Kidz) Brisbane
ISBN 978 1 92147 987 8 Hbk; 978 1 92147 9885 ePub
An historical picture-story for young people aged 10-16 years.
Waltzing Matilda! Waltzing Matilda!
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
Everyone knows the words, and many people know that the Australian poet 'Banjo' Paterson wrote them. But how many people know the origin of the tune?
In 1894 a young Melbourne woman, Christina Macpherson, heard the Scots 'March Craigielee' played by a band at the Warrnambool Races. In 1895. she played it at her brother's home in Queensland where 'Banjo' Paterson, who was a visitor, liked it and wrote the words of the song. Soon it was famous.
In Teachers' Notes try some classroom activities. Read an article, 'Christina Matilda - A Waltz of Discovery', an interview with Edel Wignell and Elizabeth Botté at Kid's Book Capers, and segments from book reviews. Also discover Edel's participation in the Ringwood Highland Games. View a trailer on the minisite. Book orders.