Reviewer Laura Holloway caught up with Melbourne author Cassy Polimeni to discover more about her new book, Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra, published by UWA Publishing.
Congratulations on the release of your second book for children, Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra.
Can you share what the story is about?
Thank you! Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra is the first in a four-book series for early and newly independent readers. It’s illustrated by the amazing Hykie Breeze and published by UWA Publishing. It’s about a girl called Ella who has just moved house and isn’t happy about it. She hates the new house and misses her old home and best friend, Viv. But then she discovers a secret frog pond in her neighbours’ backyard, filled with an orchestra of frogs. At her new school she meets Mai and learns about the school frog bog, and when her neighbours’ pond is filled in during renovations, Ella has to find a new home for the frogs before it’s too late. My favourite junior fiction stories are books like What Zola Did, Violet Mackerel, Lemonade Jones and Ivy and Bean, and I hope it will appeal to readers of these gems, as well as little animal and nature lovers.
What was the process of creating this book, from idea to publication?
I wrote the first words in 2019 as part of a junior fiction course run y children’s author Jen Storer. I didn’t know what I was writing at the time, and it went from junior fiction, to dark middle grade, to a picture book about musical frogs before eventually settling back into junior fiction! The frogs found their way in thanks to bush playgroup adventures my daughter and I were having at the time, and how the bush park near our home felt like a restorative escape. I got a lot of feedback on this one (possibly too much!), and an assessment with the wonderful Pip Harry. There were many rewrites and rejections before it was plucked from the slush pile at UWA. After that, things moved surprisingly quickly. Hykie came on board as illustrator and we went through two rounds of edits, illustration, design and publication in seven months. Publishing can move quickly when it wants to!
Who do you hope will read Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra?
Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra is aimed at early and newly independent readers aged 5 to 8 so I am hoping it finds its way into schools and school libraries. Beyond that I dearly hope it reaches little animal and nature lovers and budding conservationists and eco warriors and helps feed their curiosity and show them new ways to connect with the world around them.
Your first book was a picture book, The Garden at the End of the World. Has it been a different experience publishing a junior fiction novel this time?
Very! It took me a lot longer to get a contract this time (The Garden at the End of the World won a competition and was signed four months later – which seemed like an eternity at the time! Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra was on submission for 2.5 years and had 19 rejections before being signed). But the production process is always much longer for a picture book, due largely to the full colour illustrations. Garden took two years from signing to being on shelf; Ella was just seven months! Working with each publisher and illustrator has been very different too. I feel like you never really have this business figured out, you are learning different ways of doing things all the time.
Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
Read. Pay attention to what you love. Write about it. Savour the freedom of exploratory writing sessions where no one expects anything from you and you are free to explore and hone your craft. Find a supportive community at the same stage as you, as well as a few wise ones ahead of you if you can – there are lots of great writing groups online, or head to book launches, writers festivals and events in your area and find your people there. Support other authors and creators – they will be your biggest allies.
What’s next for Ella?
The next Ella book will be out early 2025. It’s called Ella and the Sleepover Safari and is about what happens when Ella’s old friend Viv and new friend Mai meet at her birthday party sleepover at the zoo. At first they don’t get along but when there is an escape overnight they have to learn to work together. Lots of interesting animals make an appearance, and of course there are more frogs!
What’s next for Cassy?
I’m busy working on Book 3 in the series at the moment and polishing up my Book Week presentations which will be happening at schools and online in August and September. I’m also working on edits for a narrative non-fiction picture book with CSIRO and when things quiet down (if they ever do!) I have a neglected middle grade novel to get back to, currently on its 7th draft and counting.
Cassy Polimeni is the author of Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra, CBCA Notable Picture Book The Garden at the End of the World, and a forthcoming picture book with CSIRO. Cassy lives with her family on Bunurong Country and can be found at her website.
Read a review of Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra here.
