Kindness as a Superpower
The Kindness Project
a middle grade verse novel
by Deborah Abela
Increasing in popularity, verse novels are a very important and innovative form.
Of course, we have some standout verse novelists from the adult list with Dorothy Porter, Les Murray, Alan Wearne and others.
Equally significant are our verse novelists for younger readers, particularly Steven Herrick, Sally Murphy and Kat Apel. It is a form used by some of our First Nations creators (Sally Morgan who is famous for Our Place and her verse novel Sister Heart, Kirli Saunders OAM for Bindi, as well as other authors) and it has great importance for reluctant, disengaged and struggling readers, as well as good readers.
Structured as novels made of poems, it is poetry!
It can be read as a narrative or dipped in and out of.
Deborah Abela is one of Australia’s most enthusiastic and loved authors of books for young people. The Kindness Project is her first verse novel and it’s a beauty.
Guest author post by Deborah Abela about her new children’s verse novel, The Kindness Project, for Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
It all started with a scene. A young kid called Nicolette kidnaps her nanna from a nursing home – AKA Alcatraz. I thought it would be a light-hearted novel about the love between a kid and her nanna, in the same way I loved my strong, feisty nanna. But, as with all my novels, I started asking questions and everything changed. Who is this kid? Why are she and Nanna so close? Why does Nicolette want to kidnap her? Where’s Grandpop? And her mum? What about her friends?
And most importantly….what is the story really about?
That kidnapping scene became just one part of the story. In fact, it’s the inciting incident that hurtles the novel into the second act, where much bigger dilemmas are faced.
WHAT’S THE STORY
The Kindness Project is about four kids who are given a class assignment to make the world a better place. Trouble is, they don’t like each other…until they discover they have much more in common than they realise and band together when one of them needs their help, and they create the most magnificent kindness project of all.
WHY KINDNESS?
Kindness is a superpower. It’s also infectious. We feel good when someone is kind to us, and when we’re kind to others. Studies show that kindness floods our bodies with hormones that make us calmer, healthier and happier, plus it’s simple and free! Kindness is a strength and helps build resilience. When we practice kindness, we also practice compassion. We understand everyone has bad days, including us, and that makes us more inclined to let things slide if someone is mean or doesn’t react as we want.
WHY A VERSE NOVEL?
I’ve written 30 books, all in prose, but this novel demanded to be written in verse, which I’ve never done before. I’ve always LOVED verse novels, but I kept thinking, ‘I can’t write in verse! I have no idea what I’m doing’. Having written for over 20 years, I know I have to trust the process. So, I tentatively began writing in verse and found it freeing and fun! Not only did it force me to get to the point more quickly, it was exciting to play with form, fonts, font size and verse length, which together, create the feel and meaning of the story. The Kindness Project is my first verse novel, but hopefully not my last.
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE READERS TO TAKE AWAY FROM THE BOOK?
“An absolute gem of a book!” Maryam Master, author of No Words
‘If I’d had this book when I was a kid, it would have made life so much easier.’ Casey Wrigley, whose mum lived with schizophrenia.
The Kindness Project at Penguin Random House Australia
My interview with Deborah about Final Storm at PaperbarkWords blog
The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature has a useful resource about verse novels
https://www.ncacl.org.au/resources/bibliographies/australian-verse-novels-resource
paperbarkwords.blog 