Once a Shepherd
Age 5+
Picture Books
A story of love and war. He ‘wept ten thousand footsteps’ and ‘marched right into hell’.
Tom is a shepherd who leaves his wife and unborn child to fight in the First World War.
"Once there was a shepherd, a very special coat - and hope". A moving tale that will help grandparents connect personal experiences of war with young children
Creators
Glenda Millard was born in the Goldfields region of Central Victoria and has lived in the area all her life. It wasn’t until Glenda's four children became teenagers that she began to write in her spare time. She has been writing full-time since 1999 and has published several books for children. Her first book with Walker Books Australia, Isabella’s Garden, has been awarded Honour Book in the Picture Book of the Year category in the 2010 Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards, and has won a Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Award, Best Book for Language Development, Lower Primary Category (5-8 years), 2010; and short-listed the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards Children’s Book – Mary Ryan Award, 2010.
Phil Lesnie was born in 1985, the same year The Goonies was released. In Year 6, he learned that some people make a living by drawing X-Men, and he has pursued this sort of living in some form ever since. He currently lives in Sydney with his lovely great big horrible black cat. He is the illustrator of Once A Shepherd (written by Glenda Millard), which was named Notable Book by the CBCA, shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year and listed on the United States Board on Books for Young Outstanding International Books list.
Reviews
A book that offers more with every reading.
The Bottom Shelf
This is a tragic story for very young children to read or hear but it is so beautifully told, in a finely designed and finished publication.
Reading Time
Just as Millard weaves, so too does Lesnie with details like the little boy’s flower garland echoing the strands of barbed wire in the picture of the trenches.
Book Chook
Not shying away from the sadness of death, and the loss during war, this uplifting book treads carefully and well in its subject matter of death and the circle of life continuing.
Children's Book Council of Australia
Taken together, the folkloric simplicity of the text and the quiet beauty of the illustrations pack a powerful punch for those families that want—or need—to confront wartime violence with their little ones.
Kirkus
