What if your child’s new ‘reader’ was set at Top Pub?
Yeah chocolate factories, hungry caterpillars and cats in hats are cool but what if your child could read a book set partly at TOP PUB QUEANBEYAN!?
Well, now they can.
A new children’s ‘reader’ written by primary school teacher Sarah Martin-Young is set along Queanbeyan’s Uriarra Road, from Kin Early Learning Centre right up to the West Queanbeyan Veterinary Hospital.
The book follows the adventures of Brock the Peacock, based on a real bird once seen wandering aimlessly outside of Top Pub. In the book, aptly named Brock the Peacock, Brock is trying to find his way home, and he visits many iconic Queanbeyan and Oaks Estate venues on the way. (We can’t say where his real home is, that would be giving it away.)
The idea for the book came from Publican Matty Griffin’s Facebook post in the Queanbeyan Noticeboard Group, asking if anyone had lost a peacock.
“I’d been thinking about writing a ‘reader’ because there’s a severe lack of books that kids can just pick up and read themselves,” Sarah says.
“Don’t get me wrong, picture books are fantastic. But they’re not targeted at kids who want to read themselves.
“So I did some investigating and found out that Brock belonged to a property in Oaks Estate – and there wasn’t just one peacock – there were two. He has a buddy.”
Brock the Peacock features repetitive text and many of a student’s first 20 ‘sight words’. Sarah illustrated the book herself, bringing the eight scenes of Brock’s adventures to life in watercolour.
The response to Brock the Peacock has been “wonderful” Sarah says, and she’d love to see him in Queanbeyan primary schools, being read by Kindergarten and Year 1 students.
And there are more Queanbeyan stories to be told.
“I’ve already got an idea for a second book … and a third one,” Sarah says.
One of those will star the very famous platypus from the Queanbeyan River, whom Sarah, with the help of a small student from Queanbeyan South Public School, has named Paddle. The book will be written in the same format as Brock the Peacock, with Paddle searching the river for a place to nest.
“I adore Queanbeyan, and bringing some of its animal stories to life is just a joy,” Sarah says.
To order a copy of Brock the Peacock, send Sarah a direct message through the SMY Books Facebook page.
About the Author: Briony Winchester
Part bogan, part wannabe plus-size model and part journalist, Bree's the woman behind Q! News. She's a pop culture obsessive who's deeply in love with her hometown, Queanbeyan, and the neighbouring capital. A born storyteller, she's been writing locally, nationally and internationally for more than 25 years.
