An Anzac Tale

When Australia pledges its support to Great Britain at the outbreak of World War I, mates Roy Martin and Wally Cardwell are among the first to enlist.

But what the friends first thought would be an adventure soon turns to disaster The day after the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, more than 2000 of their fellow Anzacs are dead. As the campaign drags on, life for Wally and Roy and their new friend, Tom, becomes a battle of endurance against a plucky enemy, a hostile landscape, flies, fleas, cold and disease. The story of the Anzac campaign, including the battle of Lone Pine, is interspersed with scenes of Australians at home to show the shift from popular support of the Empire at the start of the war to profound disillusionment as the casualties begin to mount.

In this graphic novel, Ruth Starke and Greg Holfeld have combined to create an extraordinary and original work for upper primary students on the subject of Gallipoli and the Anzac campaign.

About the Authors

Ruth Starke has published over 20 titles since she began writing in 1992. Many of them have won or been shortlisted for national awards, including the much acclaimed NIPS XI (CBC Honour Book), Orphans of the Queen (shortlisted for both the 2005 NSW and Queensland Premiers' Awards); Stella by the Sea (shortlisted for both the CBC Younger Book of the Year and the Queensland. Premier's Award) and Noodle Pie (winner of the Book of the Year Award Speech Pathology Australia). Greg Holfeld has illustrated several titles including The Perfect Pet, Wolf's Sunday Dinner, You Must Be Joking and three of the popular Captain Congo series - Captain Congo and the Crocodile King, Captain Congo and the Maharaja's Monkey and Captain Congo and the Klondike Gold.

Greg Holfeld was born in Canada and moved to Adelaide in 1991 after several years of travelling and country-hopping. He has spent much of his career as an animator and cartoonist. In between directing and producing his own animated films, he works as a freelance animator with an Adelaide production house, and a book illustrator. He has illustrated several titles by Working Title Press includingThe Perfect Pet, Wolf's Sunday Dinner, You Must Be Joking and three of the popular Captain Congo series Captain Congo and the Crocodile King, Captain Congo and the Maharaja's Monkey and Captain Congo and the Klondike Gold. This is his fourth graphic picture book with Ruth Starke.