Shackleton's Journey: 1

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Grill says that, for him, the idea of narrative non-fiction grew out of his struggle with reading. “I’m dyslexic so most of what I read when younger was comics and graphic novels. I watched a lot of animation. I was intimidated by books but I still liked stories, so that’s how the book came about. Me being such a bad reader shaped the look of the book: I had to draw everything out and explain it through pictures, to make it as clear as I could.” Explorers, adventure, expeditions, famous people, friendship, resilience, determination and exploration Grill also wrote the text, which he says plays a secondary role to the images. Making pictures that are almost obsessive in their detail means there is less need for explanations in words. There are sections of documentary-like prose, but it’s the pictures that tell the story. This lends the words a certain plain grandeur. What a remarkable book, and a harrowing story of bravery, endurance and hope! [...] Beautifully illustrated and endlessly compelling, it is a tribute to explorers, their bravery and their hopes." Earth Verse: Haiku from the Ground Up by Sally M. Walker". Junior Library Guild . Retrieved 2 April 2023.

A few vignettes were drawn from Hurley’s footage, but much of the detail had to come from Grill’s imagination, such as Leonard Hussey’s banjo. “Each crew member has their own telling sign, so when you look through the book you can spot each guy.” A magnificent chronicle by emerging illustrator William Grill, whose affectionate and enchanting colored-pencil drawings bring to life the legendary explorer and his historic expedition.” iv) Mixing fact and opinion (Its joints are cross-braced for extra strength. We think it is one of the best-designed ships currently available.’) An example of the arty but accessible […], the sketches evoke the feeling of a naturalist’s diary with an almost documentary feeling as we peek into the mundane (six months provisions) isolating hardship (crossing the ice fields) and relief (rescue and survival).” Update 10/6/22 – Following requests, I have also transferred the SMART screens to a Powerpoint document so that they can be accessed and used by those who are unable to use SMART Notebook.)a b Gilmore, Natasha (7 July 2016). "Q & A with William Grill". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022 . Retrieved 2 April 2023. I wholeheartedly agree. What about the books of your childhood? What was the book that sparked your imagination more than any other when you were a kid?

WWA announces 2017 Spur Award winners". Western Writers of America. 11 March 2017. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022 . Retrieved 2 April 2023. Grill’s win may herald a shift in values at the heart of children’s publishing. For a long time it has been thought that publishers serve fiction well, while non-fiction has been dominated by glossy reference books. But we are currently seeing a boom in beautifully illustrated narrative non-fiction – and this Greenaway win marks a high point in the trend. The Wolves of Currumpaw". Publishers Weekly. 13 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023 . Retrieved 2 April 2023. I think children are more capable than we might assume, and if we present them with a challenging topic, they may rise to that occasion. To me, it’s about how you present that information. On the rare occasions we got to discuss ethical issues at school, I found it so much more engaging and stimulating than regurgitating information – like I was learning something about real life, and, in doing so, it made me wiser in some way. Something I really believe in is cross-curricular learning, and critical thinking. As challenging as it may be, if a book can combine aspects of science, history and maybe even ethics, whilst being emotionally engaging and relevant, then I think children will get far more out of it.

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A magnificent chronicle by emerging illustrator William Grill, whose affectionate and enchanting colored-pencil drawings bring to life the legendary explorer and his historic expedition." There is a lot of research that goes into your books. For The Wolves of Currumpaw, for example, you also went on location to New Mexico. How important is actual observation for your work?

Follow-up the task with a class discussion: Which items were most commonly eliminated and why? What is the difference between want and need? Are everyone’s wants and needs the same? Use this work to lead into study of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Unicef has produced some good teaching resources to support this). Let it snow

About William Grill

This is a book that will appeal to adult art lovers, picture book fans and history buffs (of which, I fall into all three categories), children and adult alike. The book’s large format gives ample space for detailed colored pencil illustrations and the perfect pacing for such a fascinating journey."