Green Barrow Publishing

Allan saw that the common diet was fiction, so he looked around for suitable reading matter (as opposed to nicely presented picture books) for his History students. There being little that fitted the particular needs of his class, he wrote four short biographies of William the Conqueror, Joan of Arc, Richard the Lion Heart and Charlemagne, duplicated them and handed them to students who ‘forgot’ their books after lunch.

The response was so positive that Allan got a few talented students to illustrate them, had them printed and sold them by direct mail to schools.

The list of biographical titles is now reaching thirty and they are held in thousands of school libraries throughout Australia. It is our aim to publish an equal number of biographies about female as well as male characters. Likewise, though Australian titles always sell best, we feel that it good educational policy to publish an equal number of biographies about characters from the rest of the world.

Each title is supported by a range of activities for students to use after they have read the book so they can be used as class sets or to extend students who need extra work. They are also very useful for parents who wish to extend their children’s education at home.

John Simpson Kirkpatrick, which has had two print runs and now a second edition, has been read by the author as an audio book which some teachers find useful for students who need assistance with their reading. It is likely that future titles will also be given this treatment.

These books are most useful for 10 – 14 year old students though we get a great deal of positive feedback from ‘children’ in their twilight years who wonder why they hadn’t been taught all of this at some time in their lives.

2009 - Aussie Notables.

Allan has recently released the first in a new series on Australian bank notes. John Monash, the $100-man, is written by Allan and illustrated by Glenn Lumsden. For more information please visit the new Aussie Notables website!

Enjoy the read.