It’s value in encouraging our students to pose alternative questions and consider what might occur if there were a different outcome has value across all branches of the curriculum. – Barbara Braxton
An amusing look at the alternative paths that Australian history might have taken.
The What If histories of Australia imagines a very different history of Australia, where the unexpected happens in unexpected ways. Starting by defining the real histories, the book then looks at possible paths of different settlements that history could have taken.
What if Captain Cook’s ship sank when it hit the Great Barrier Reef in 1770? And what if the French settled Australia first? And what if King Louis 16th and Napoleon both ended up here, fighting over who was the rightful ruler in exile? And then the British arrived… A very different and amusing history of Australia, where the unexpected happens in unexpected ways.
scbwi blog –
Congratulations to author Craig Cormick on the publication of What IF History of Australia: Colonial Settlement – France vs Britain
illustrated by Cheri Hughes and published by Big Sky Publishing.
What if Captain Cook’s ship had sunk when it hit the Great Barrier Reef in 1770, and the French settled Australia first?
This book imagines a very different history of Australia, where the unexpected happens in unexpected ways.
Cate Whittle – Children’s author and teacher –
Craig Cormick’s subverted history of colonial settlement is a giggle a minute as we consider what if… things were just a little more French.
Shelly Unwin, Coordinator of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators ACT –
‘What If’ is an awesome and cleverly crafted book for kids, not only does it give them an engaging and colourful glimpse of history, it makes them consider the impact and consequences decisions can make in a fun and exciting way.
Tania McCartney, Author Illustrator –
The first title in Craig Cormick’s new What If: History of Australia series (Colonial Settlement: France vs Britain) is the perfect blend of humour and fierce reality. Presenting the facts then asking questions is a glorious way for kids to access thought in the deepest part of their brains, to learn and grow in a way that’s not only effective, but thoroughly enjoyable. Cormick’s kid-friendly tone and dry humour make for a romp of a read, and quirky illustrations by Cheri Hughes bring charm and character to this tale on colonial settlement in Australia. Kids will be fascinated to learn, via Cormick’ wild ponderings, how Australia may have become New New France!
Cate Whittle – Children’s Author and Teacher –
What if there was a rollicking good yarn about what if the French settled in Australia?
And what if those French settlers (ruled by a coalition of Louis XVI and Napoleon Bonaparte) in New New France had a bit of an argy-bargy with the English settlers in New New Scotland? (we won’t mention the Dutch settlers in New New Amsterdam, or the Spanish settlers in Neuvo Neuvo Madrid, or those people from Luxembourg either)?
Colonial settlement as you’ve never heard it before!
Well, what if Craig Cormick allowed his deep and sometimes treacherous imagination to scuttle history well and truly?
We get un rollicking good read, n’est-ce pas?
(oh, and, incidentally, a really useful timeline to help keep track of all those what ifs that were floating around with all the different fleets).
Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder, author, illustrator, editor and award-winning reviewer –
Craig Cormick’s What If Histories of Australia: Colonial Settlement is an engaging, interesting and mind-bending book about what would have happened if Australia had been colonised by the French rather than the British. This is what the study of history should be about: not names and dates and lists of so-called ‘facts’, but questions about who, how, where, when and why things happened. With its humorous and thought-provoking text and Cheri Hughes’ clever cartoon-style illustrations, this the perfect way to get kids hooked on history!
Afternoons – ABC Canbearra –
https://www.abc.net.au/canberra/programs/afternoons/afternoons/13932926
– Julie Long OAM, President of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (ACT) –
“It is a unique concept that I feel appeals to child and adult readers!!”
The Riotact –
Craig’s jokey style of writing and Cheri’s quirky cartoon illustrations will be very appealing to primary school children. While inviting stimulating intellectual speculation about early settlement and possible scenarios, Craig manages to inject plenty of information amid his humour.
The illustrations tell their own story and are just the sort of thing that even reluctant readers will enjoy.
Poking fun at history and the way we record it allows us to understand the notion of point of view, a very important concept for developing readers. The inclusion of the dual timelines at the end of the book will be helpful for teachers to keep their students on track in discerning fact from speculation.
Children’s Book Council Reading Time Newsletter –
I’m all in favour of encouraging students to think laterally and ‘outside the square’. This zany alternative history book does exactly that by pondering a whole lot of ‘what if’ questions about the colonisation of Australia.
Barbara Braxton – The Bottom Shelf –
This is a new series (the second focuses on the gold rush) that looks at Australia’s history through a different lens, posing those alternative questions that we encourage students to ask as they delve deeper into common topics and start to form their own opinions. As well as posing the questions, it also explores the possible answers such as what if John Batman’s treaty with the indigenous peoples of what is now Melbourne was legitimate and other treaties were initiated because of it. What if La Perouse had beaten the First Fleet into Port Jackson, would the aristocrats fleeing the French Revolution have settled here, including King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
While it is intended as a humorous look at times past, nevertheless it provides a lot of information not usually found in more traditional historical texts, and its value in encouraging our students to pose alternative questions and consider what might occur if there were a different outcome has value across all branches of the curriculum. If we are to encourage them to be creative and critical learners then they must have access to model texts that do this. While it is more for those who are mentally mature enough to put themselves in the shoes of others and consider different points of view, it definitely has a place in both the primary and secondary school libraries.