Jean has been with Bookrapt since it's inception in 1983 (as the Bay of Plenty Children's Literature Association), when she was a member of the first Committee. She was made a Life Member in 2001. In 2003 she won the Betty Gilderdale Award for services to children's literature in New Zealand. Her publications include novels, numerous articles, short stories and poetry for both children and adults. Her work has also been broadcast, televised and published in anthologies, magazines and newspapers. She runs creative writing workshops for children, and part-time school library work continues to feed her love of children's books. Her visits to schools as a member of the New Zealand Book Council Writers-in-Schools scheme keeps her in contact with children who also love to read and write.

Jean says, "I love anything to do with words! Telling stories and reading were a huge part of my family life - I loved the magic of stories and wanted to share the pleasure with others. The best thing about writing is when an idea comes bubbling to the surface, demanding to be written. The worst part is the anxiety of sending a story off to an editor and hoping she'll like it."

Jean Bennett available for school workshops.

Publications by Jean Bennett:

National Geographic Everyday Kids Series - Then and Now
Grades 3 – 6 (8 to 10 year olds)

CHINA:
An ancient Chinese girl takes a long and dangerous journey into town. A modern city girl learns to appreciate life in the country.

EGYPT:
An ancient Egyptian boy leaves home to become a scribe. A modern Egyptian girl catches a tomb raider and saves an artifact.

GREECE:
An ancient Greek boy and a modern Greek girl both face major life challenges. They both become heroes at important Greek festivals.

MEXICO:
An ancient Mayan boy becomes a village hero and a modern brother and sister protect their ancestors' treasures from intruders.

NEW ZEALAND
Erana and Keri are proud of their Maori heritage and want to protect the last place where their ancestors settled. The area is threatened with development and the girls’ tribe stages a protest. How to find a fair solution for everyone involved proves a difficult challenge.

ROME:
An ancient Roman slave girl wins her freedom and a modern schoolgirl learns to appreciate her rich heritage.

SHETLAND ISLANDS
Vaila introduces her city cousin to her remote Shetland homeland. The islands are rich in history but struggle to provide an economic future for young people. Vaila has an opportunity to develop a music career but she would have to leave her beloved islands.

THAILAND:
Three young friends are anxious to protect Thailand’s rural traditions and to ensure a reasonable income for people in their small village. They’re also concerned about the future of Asian elephants that are no longer employed in the logging industry.

Below the Mountains, the diary of Amy McDonald, Milford Road, 1935-36. (2005) Scholastic.

Fourteen-year-old Amy's story takes place during the Great Depression. In March 1935, Amy's life is about to change dramatically. With her mother and seven-year-old brother, Amy joins her father in a road works camp deep in the Hollyford Valley.

No one had ever lived in the avalanche-swept valley before. Now men on relief work are building a road tunnel through the mountains to Milford Sound. With only a canvas tent for shelter, Amy and her family endure the extremes of cold, hunger, hardship -and tragedy.

Jean says, "The seeds for this book were sown in my childhood days when I listened to my father telling stories about his work in the Milford Road camps and the people he met there.

"Some of those Milford Road workers later continued to be family friends, especially the Brotherston family. I first wrote a Radio NZ series about Mary and Lex Brotherston and the seven years they spent living in primitive camps with their three children, amidst constant hardships and the threat of avalanches.

"Later, I interviewed other workers who had helped to build the Milford Road and the Homer Tunnel. I included their stories in Below the Mountains so young readers could learn about the courage, determination, and strong spirit of those hardworking, generous-hearted New Zealanders."

      

Call of the Selkie (1999)(which was included on the 1999 NZ Children's Book Foundation notable junior fiction list)
Ryan's parents aren't getting on and, sadly, he isn't sure if they ever will. His one comfort is finding a mother seal and her pup - which Ryan names Selkie - in a hidden bay.

The Lost Sandals (1999)
David is sure that he left his new sandals in the locker room when he changed into his track shoes for long-jump practice. But now they're gone, and Rebecca is wearing a pair that looks just like his. David's efforts to get the sandals off Rebecca are complicated and made more interesting by the rivalry between them in the long jump.

The Scary Day (1999)
Seth is not enjoying school much. He stares out of the window while he is trying to write a story that his teacher has set. He is jolted out of his apathy by an earthquake, and he has to make some fast, effective decisions on what turns out to be the scariest day of his life.

Explore the Environment (1995)

Explore the Environment offers educators and parents a comprehensive, easy-plan programme encompassing all aspects of environmental studies. A wide range of practical yet exciting activities focus on the classroom and school (or home) surrounds with a minimum of fieldwork. Explorations cover a variety of curriculum subjects: social studies, science, language, mathematics, art, music and drama.

The Writing Book (1989)

This book is used widely in New Zealand and overseas by teachers and students of creative writing. The NZ Listener described it as "A concise, readable guide ... useful to children at primary and secondary school." The Writing Book gives lots of helpful hints and shows children that writing stories, letters, poems, and scripts can be not only satisfying, but also exciting and a lot of fun!

Jean Bennett on Candidasa and the 2008 Writers and Readers Festival, Ubud,Bali.

Bookrapt member Jean Bennett spent a busy ten days in October encompassing a writers’ retreat at Candidasa and the 2008 Writers and Readers Festival in Ubud, Bali. New Zealand Book Council kindly sponsored Jean’s travel.

The festival began five years ago as the brain child of Janet de Neefe, an expatriate Australian writer who has lived in Bali for over 20 years with her Indonesian husband and family. Following the 2002 terrorist bombings, Janet was distressed to see the personal losses suffered by many local families, and the added blow to the economy as tourists avoided Bali. With a team of supporters, Janet determined to show the world that Bali, in particular the artisan village of Ubud, is not only a safe destination but a culturally exciting place to visit. The festival is held on the anniversary of the October 2002 and 2005 bombings. It’s an exhilarating celebration of world literature and a community that refuses to be intimidated by extremists.

Over 140 festival events included challenging panel discussions about the death penalty, human rights issues, the globalisation and collision of cultures, and an international publishing forum. Contrast was provided in sessions such as Poetry and the Moon; Wine Tasting: in Praise of Wine and Women; and the heady mix of Nuns, Priests and Priestesses involving, among others, a statuesque Dutch poet ordained as a Mambo Asogwe in the tradition of Haitian Voodoo (yes, truly!), and an American woman of Nigerian descent who was Thailand’s first black Buddhist nun. Evening entertainment was a blend of Balinese culture, dining under the stars, multi-talented writers, and leather-clad female fire-eaters.

Among the events in which I was involved, were two personal highlights. The first was set in a covered courtyard outside the Pondok Pekak Library and planned as a two-hour writing workshop with twenty Indonesian students. I’d previously emailed a hand-out in English that was translated into Indonesian. An interpreter and I began at 2pm with the expected twenty students. Ten minutes later another fifteen students arrived so we began again. Then another two groups arrived. By 2.30pm the courtyard was filled with over sixty students, some from as far away as Papua. We had a lively session! The students participated well and several writers were persuaded to read their stories. Although I don’t understand Indonesian, from the roars of laughter and applause it seems the stories were a hit.

An enlightening morning was spent at the non-profit Green School founded by Balinese residents John and Cynthia Hardy who sold their jewellery business to finance the school. Imagine Out of Africa meets Hawaii. The eco-friendly school opened in September with over 100 international students, including 20 percent scholarship Indonesian children. Charlotte Bacon, an American novelist and the school director’s wife, took me on a bush trek around the complex featuring a water vortex providing power, and permaculture gardens designed to feed the students and all the workers. Compost toilets return human waste to the gardens. Teachers live on-site in bamboo bungalows with thatched grass roofs, open-sided kitchens and living rooms overlooking the hills. Access to the school is over a thatched-roof, bamboo bridge spanning a deep river gorge. Steep stone paths lead up to the school set amidst the jungle. Snakes, poisonous and harmless, often visit the campus. Classrooms are open-sided with bamboo desks and circular discussion pits. Floors are a mixture of tamped-down elephant poo and mud. Each class averages twenty-three students with a Western teacher, an Indonesian teacher, an intern teacher, plus an Indonesian ‘guardian’. This new generation of eco-warriors are thriving.

www.greenschool.org

The Ubud festival, in co-operation with the Saraswati Foundation, brings together writers from diverse countries to share their talents and insights with hundreds of festival-goers from around the world. It’s a dynamic, multi-cultural exchange of ideas. Another aim of the festival is to showcase Indonesian writers and introduce their work to the Western world.