NICE DAY FOR A WAR (illustrated by Chris Slane). HarperCollins, 2011. 96pp. ISBN: 9781869509019 Reprinted 2012.

*Awarded NZ Post Children’s Book of the Year and Non-Fiction prizes, July 2012.
*LIANZA Chidlren’s Book Awards Elsie Locke Medal for Non-Fiction.
*Storylines Notable Books 2012.
*Spent 2 weeks as top-selling NZ Children’s book.

‘Nice Day for a War is a stand-out book which offers young readers an honest glimpse into the lives of soldiers during World War I…The interplay between the illustrations and text creates a powerful, emotionally engaging story for young readers.’ – Gillian Candler, the NZ Post Children’s Book Awards Convenor of Judges

‘Framed around the diary of Elliott’s grandfather Cyril (it) splices memorabilia and text with the dramatic pictorials of a graphic novel to unveil the awful experience of our war in northwestern Europe from 1916 to 1918. Conceptually, it was probably a gamble, but it works – brilliantly…Here we have an intimate melding of art, literature, humanity and history, a synthesis giving life and a startling immediacy to their themes…this book is laden with poignancy for readers of every age.’ Matthew Wright, Listener

Chris and I discuss the creation of the book outside the Auckland War Memorial Museum