Call it a ballad

Posted byChantelle GriffinPosted inPicture Book, PoetryTags:, ,

I have been writing poetry from the age of 12 so it’s easy to forget that from so many different rhythms there are ones that stand out. I often wait for a poem to choose the path it wants to lead, yet there are times when the path chooses its poem. As was the case when several years ago I embarked on the journey of writing a picture book, after all if a poet tackled a story for young children it was going to rhyme. There were plenty of moments that crossed my mind where doubt crept in and it had nothing to do with the ballad. There are a set of first words that branch out when younger readers begin their journey into the world of literature.

The responsibility that weighed upon my shoulders was the fine balance between poem and words that would be critical to encourage the first steps into a world filled with imagination. A glimpse into what could last a lifetime. It is a tale about a clumsy dragon who tries to help and then needs help from someone else. The first of several stories where I get to enjoy weaving poetry into story telling.

Published by Chantelle Griffin

Chantelle’s mother remains one of the most famous witnesses in Australian legal history. The first large screen movie the author saw, at the age of nine, had an actress playing her as an infant when she was at Uluru on 17 August 1980 at the same campsite as the Chamberlains. She began publishing poetry later in life with the first release coinciding with the fortieth anniversary of the disappearance of Azaria. While most poems have been released in the volumes for the anthology, more than a thousand were written throughout a twelve year period. Chantelle has a Master of Environmental Planning and enjoys life at half pace with two cats. Her first fantasy book was released too soon, after a near death experience and a second edition was published four years later. She resides in Tasmania and continues to write as a past time in the evening.