Observing and describing in Storm Boy 1: Describing a place

Go to a favourite spot—somewhere that you can go to easily and spend some time. Bring something to write with, if you want to jot down ideas. How could you describe the place and how it makes you feel to someone who has never been there? Extra points if you can make it sound epic and legendary!

A lot of stories for young readers give normal places a fairytale feel. Sometimes they even flip it and make fantasy places sound very normal. Look for some books that do this. An easy place to start would be picture books aimed at very young readers—can you think of any?

Storm Boy by Colin Thiele is a classic Australian story that follows friendship between Storm Boy and a pelican he raised called Mr Percival. The book concentrates on other relationships too—his dad Hide-Away Tom, their friend Fingerbone Bill, three rescued pelicans and the wild coastal environment where they live and enjoy a solitary life.

The story has been turned into a play, a film (twice!), and even a video game. The images you see in this course are from the first film version of the story.