{"id":116126,"date":"2019-12-13T09:57:13","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T22:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/?p=116126"},"modified":"2019-12-13T14:58:10","modified_gmt":"2019-12-13T03:58:10","slug":"belinda-landsberry-on-her-picture-book-once-i-was-loved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2019\/12\/13\/belinda-landsberry-on-her-picture-book-once-i-was-loved\/","title":{"rendered":"Belinda Landsberry on her picture book Once, I Was Loved"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Once,<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Belinda Landsberry is an award-winning author and illustrator whose best-selling debut children’s picture book, <\/em>Anzac Ted<\/a><\/strong>, was published internationally by EK Books in 2014. Today, Belinda is on the blog to talk all about her new picture book, <\/em>Once, I Was Loved<\/a><\/strong>, and the joy that children’s toys have brought her over the years.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

One of the first things people asked me upon the release of my new picture book, Once, I was Loved,<\/em> was: \u201cWhat age range is it suitable for?\u201d As it\u2019s about a toy rabbit, the perception is that I wrote it for a young audience. Not so. Picture books are not just timeless, they\u2019re ageless. Truly, picture books are the foundation stones upon which literacy is built. With this is mind, I wrote Once, I was Loved<\/em> for all ages, so my response to this question is: \u201c0-99 years\u2026 or beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Once,<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no coincidence that both Anzac Ted<\/em> and Once, I Was Loved<\/em> feature stories of love and kindness wrapped around cherished toys. I have always loved toys because, like pets, they embody some of the most important things in life: love, loyalty, hope, trust \u2026 and youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But toys are not just for the young. Toys keep<\/em> us young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anzac Ted<\/em> was created because my husband, David, brought a worn and torn old teddy bear with him when we were married. I\u2019m not proud of my initial reaction. Hopelessly ignorant, I was blinkered by prejudice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Once,<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But looks can be deceiving. I later discovered this time-ravaged bear had been given to my husband by his father, Alf, who had plucked Ted from a gutter. As Alf had been conscripted in World War II, I wondered: \u2018Could Ted have gone to war?\u2019 And Anzac Ted<\/em> was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Once,<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Once, I was Loved<\/em> was inspired by my scouring Op Shops for drama costumes for my daughter. I\u2019ve always been drawn to Op Shops, and as I literally meander down \u2018Memory Lane\u2019, the hats, gloves, jewellery and shoes all beckon with stories long lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s the toys which call to me loudest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who were the children they had loved? What magic moments in history had they seen? If they could speak, what fascinating stories would they tell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, the voices from the past just long to be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back home, I peruse the cherished toys I\u2019ve been gifted since childhood. Bill, my toy koala, is the oldest and most beloved. Given to me by my parents in 1964, I called Bill after the toy koala from the 1960s Australian television show, Playroom<\/em>. But unlike his soporific namesake, my Bill lost both eyes, all four claws and endured an horrendous \u201chaircut\u201d inflicted by Yours Truly. And yet, despite his hardships, Bill faithfully saw me through childhood to adulthood. And while childhood heralds the magic of toys, adulthood brings the gift of understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s William, the teddy I bought because I couldn\u2019t bear (sorry) to separate him from his brother, Henry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Once,<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Matilda, who was discovered at a 1950s fair and plays Waltzing Matilda. Matilda is a big, fluffy koala who reminds me of Bill in his glory days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"OIWL<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fittingly, the two are best friends. And of course there\u2019s the original Anzac Ted (lovingly owned by my husband) and his uniformed counterpart, both of whom I take to schools for author-illustrator presentations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have long had a shelf in my study dedicated to toys that are as much a part of me as my books and art and stories are. Stuffed with both the wonder of childhood and the illumination of adulthood, my toys are not just a reminder of who I was, and of who I am yet to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They tug gently at my sleeve, so that I may continue to hope, to imagine \u2026 and to always believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Belinda Landsberry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about Belinda and her books here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Christmas<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Toys are not just for the young. Toys keep us young.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":116163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[10753,10751,10752,4278],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/OnceIWasLoved-Social.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116126"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116126"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116199,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116126\/revisions\/116199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}