Anna Ciddor

Anna Ciddor (born January 1957) is an Australian author and illustrator.

Ciddor is a patron for Oz Kids, an organisation to promote and support children's literary and artistic talents.[1]

Biography

Ciddor was born in January 1957 in Melbourne, Australia...[2] She was brought up in a house without television, and had an inventive and creative childhood.[3] She also had a strong interest in mathematics, and after finishing school, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in mathematics from the University of Melbourne and a Diploma of Education from Melbourne State College.[2] Her first career was as a senior school mathematics teacher, and it was only after marrying and having children that she began writing and illustrating.[3]

Her first book accepted for publication was a picture book,Take Me Back, published in 1988.[2] This book took the reader back in time to show how people lived in Australia in the past.[3][4] For the next few years, Ciddor continued to write and illustrate non-fiction books, concentrating on bringing history to life for children.[4] In 2002 Allen and Unwin published her first historical fantasy, Runestone, book 1 of Viking Magic. This children's novel, and the other Viking Magic books that followed, use historical details and strong storylines.[3][5]

In 2005 Ciddor was awarded a two year grant by the Literature Board of the Australia Council.[6]

Ciddor based her fantasy books on global folk, fairy tale, and myth[7] as well as research into historic lifestyle and belief systems.[8] At the Melbourne Writers Festival in 2007 Ciddor appeared on a panel with Sophie Masson and Kate Forsyth discussing the historical truth behind their fantasy novels.[9] In a study of Canadian children's fantasy, author K.V. Johansen included a chapter on Ciddor's Viking Magic books because 'Although not by a Canadian author, the Viking Magic series is noteworthy' and 'does more towards realistic historical fiction than many "time-travel to learn history" novels' [10]

In 2016 Ciddor changed to historical fiction with the release of The Family with Two Front Doors, published by Allen and Unwin.[11] It won a Notable Book Award from the Children's Book Council of Australia in March 2017.[12] The Family with Two Front Doors is based on interviews with the author's grandmother Nomi Rabinovitch, and tells the story of Nomi's childhood as the daughter of a rabbi in 1920s Lublin, Poland.[8][13][14] The writing style is inspired by Little House on the Prairie, presenting vignettes of the everyday life of a family.[8] The book combines historical fact and imagination but no fantasy elements.[13] According to a review by the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English, it is "an informative, gentle read' that "offers insight into how a Jewish household is run".[15] Unlike most books about the Jewish past, this one does not focus on the Holocaust and "there is... no violence and no hatred... but a charming reconstruction of daily routines".[16] Readings Bookstore, winners of the international Bookstore of the Year Award [17] described The Family with Two Front Doors as a modern counterpart to the classic book Little Women.[18] It was published in the USA by Kar-Ben, a division of Lerner Books in 2018,[19] and chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection.[20] In 2019 it was translated into Polish as Dwoje drzwi i dziewięcioro dzieci and published in Poland by Mamania .

Ciddor's most recent book, 52 Mondays, was published by Allen and Unwin in 2019. It is a fictionalised account of Ciddor’s own childhood, filled with memories of Melbourne in the 1960s.[21]

Ciddor has written and illustrated over fifty books.[13]

Awards
  • 52 Mondays - shortlisted for the 2019 REAL Awards [22]
  • The Family with Two Front Doors - Notable Book, Children's Book Council of Australia 2017[12] and shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia Book Award 2017[23]
  • Night of the Fifth Moon - Notable Book, Children's Book Council of Australia 2008[24]
  • Two-year New Work Grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council 2005[6]
  • Runestone - Notable Book, Children's Book Council of Australia 2003[25]

Books

Trade market books
  • Have Kids, Will Travel, 1995, Silver Gum Press, ISBN 1-875843-08-6
  • Going Places: The Kids’ Own Travel Book, 1995, Silver Gum Press, ISBN 1875843078
  • Unplugged: the bare facts on toilets through the ages, 1997, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 1864484543
  • Runestone the first book in the Viking Magic series, 2002, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 978-1-86508-689-7
  • Wolfspell the second book in the Viking Magic series, 2003, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 1741140137
  • Stormriders the third book in the Viking Magic series, 2004, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 9781741143607
  • Prisoner of Quentaris, 2006, Lothian Books an imprint of Hachette, ISBN 0734408870
  • Night of the Fifth Moon, 2007, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 9781741148145
  • 1000 Great Places to Travel with Kids in Australia, 2011, Explore Australia Publishing, a division of Hardie Grant, ISBN 9781741173406
  • The Family with Two Front Doors, 2016, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 9781925266641, 2018, Kar-Ben ISBN 978-1-54150-011-2, 2019 as Dwoje drzwi i dziewięcioro dzieci, Mamania ISBN 9788365796974
  • 52 Mondays, 2019, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 9781760523480

Selected education market books
  • Take Me Back, 1988, Lamont Books, ISBN 0949129437
  • Through Children's Eyes series, which comprises 6 titles: Early Colonial Times, Squatters, Goldfields,Victorian Era, First World War, Depression Times, 1995, Macmillan Education Australia, ISBN 0732921139
  • Australia in the Twentieth Century set of 11 volumes, 1998, Macmillan Education Australia, ISBN 0732953820
  • Mountain of Gold, 2001, Barrie Publishing, ISBN 1740654064
  • Federation: Changing Australia, 2001, Macmillan Education Australia, ISBN 0732966655

References
  1. "OUR PATRONS". OzKids - Childrens Charity Network. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  2. Who's Who of Australian Writers. D.W. Thorpe. 1991-01-01. ISBN 9780909532819.
  3. Cohen, John (2003). "Anna Ciddor, Into the Past". Reading Time. The Children's Book Council of Australia. 47 – via Austlit.
  4. Lavi, Tali (2016). "Know the author: Anna Ciddor" (PDF). Magpies. 31: 16–18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  5. "Runestone/Wolfspell/Stormriders". LaTrobe University. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  6. "Australia Council Annual Report 2005-6" (PDF).
  7. Masson, Sophie (2016). "Mosaic and Cornucopia: Fairy Tale and Myth in Contemporary Australian YA Fantasy". Bookbird. 54 (3): 44–53. doi:10.1353/bkb.2016.0085.
  8. "Saturday March 19th - Book Families - 2SER - Real Radio 107.3 FM". Archived from the original on 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  9. Sullivan, Jane (29 August 2007). "Nix reveals there is a ring of truth to fantasy writing". The Age.
  10. Johansen, K.V. (2007). Beyond Window Dressing? Canadian Children's Fantasy at the Millennium. Sybertooth. pp. 80–83. ISBN 9780968802458.
  11. Koonse, Emma (2017). "Religion Book Deals". Publishers Weekly.
  12. "Children's Book Council of Australia Notable list 2017".
  13. "Emotional literary journey to Poland". The Australian Jewish News. 2016-03-30. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  14. "Reviews: The Other Mrs Walker, The Family With Two Front Doors". Stuff. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  15. "IDIOM - The Family with Two Front Doors". www.vate.org.au. Victorian Association of Teachers of English. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  16. Lees, Stella (16 March 2016). "The Family with Two Front Doors". Reading Time. The Children's Book Council of Australia.
  17. Miller, Nick (2016-04-13). "Readings Carlton wins top bookstore prize at London Book Fair". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
  18. "Children's classics paired with their modern counterparts by Leanne Hall". www.readings.com.au. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  19. The Family with Two Front Doors.
  20. "Junior Library Guild : The Family with Two Front Doors by Anna Ciddor". www.juniorlibraryguild.com. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  21. McEwen. "Books and Publishing".
  22. Mem: 34942848. "REAL Awards 2019 shortlists announced | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  23. Inc., Advanced Solutions International. "Book of the Year". www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  24. "Younger Readers" (PDF). Notable Australian Children's Books: 11. 2008.
  25. "Notable Australian Children's Books" (PDF). The Children's Book Council of Australia. 2003. p. 14.
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