Robin Klein is indelibly linked with my memories of primary school years. The school ballot for Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Awards, waiting lists for books at our library, and swapping favourite books with my friends – all these aspects of my late primary school years feature Robin Klein’s books.
Klein’s series of Penny Pollard books stand out as being some of my favourite books of primary school, starting with Penny Pollard’s Diary. It’s written in the irresistable style of a diary by 10-year-old Penny, who hates pink, loves horses and is definitely not the teacher’s pet. Penny meets the equally idiosyncratic Mrs Edith Bettany (‘Mrs B’) on a school excursion to an old people’s home, and this first book follows the development of their friendship. There are some fabulously funny passages as the two swap stories.
Mrs B told me she used to have a carpet snake for a pet when she was my age and lived in the bush. Wow! Next to a horse, a snake would be the best pet ever! Told Mrs Bettany about when I was in kindergarten and I wanted a pet snake and mum kept saying Santa might bring one. And that Christmas I found a stupid big patchwork stuffed snake under Christmas tree. Mrs Bettany agreed it must have been a terrible disappointment. I told her about trying to flush patchwork snake down loo only it wouldn’t fit. She said when she lived in the bush they kept a stick to kill real snakes with next to their loo because it was miles down backyard. Told her there weren’t miles any more, only kilometres.
Mrs B appreciates Penny’s taste for double-headed lime Interplanteary Missiles from the milkbar and in turn Penny learns about how different – and how similar – life was growing up in the 1920s. And unexpectedly, both gain much from their unusual friendship. The feelings of not always living up to expectations and of being a bit different to everyone else are concepts that most primary school kids can relate to, and I think it is this aspect that my friends and I all loved so much in Robin Klein’s writing.
The diary is made to look ‘real’ with sketch drawings, photos and hand-drawn maps – all annotated by Penny. The illustrations are actually by Ann James, who does an amazingly convincing job. The original design is an exercise book-sized production, and the cover design graffiti no doubt inspired my own secret diary cover which I started in Grade 5 (and which I surprisingly managed to find this evening… The big question is: where is the key?!).
For some reason, the Penny Pollard books went out of print for many years, and I remember when working in bookshops being asked for them many, many times. They were thankfully re-issued by Hachette Australia in 2004 – but unfortunately (in my opinion) the format was not retained and they are now regular sized mass market paperbacks. As I had only borrowed copies when I first read them, I felt very lucky when I found the first two books from the series at the Lake Daylesford Book Barn a few years ago. Just a couple more books that I will treasure…
ahhhh… Penny Pollard. Again you have taken me back to my primary school years of note-writing, crush graffiti and locked diaries! thank you.
This would have to be up there with Adrian Mole’s diaries. Were they published at the same time??
I’m with Kirsti – suddenly memories of primary school.
Katie, I have the whole series – which I am sure is still at Mum and Dad’s house. Not sure if you remember, but I was completely crazy for Penny Pollard for a few years, even have some of the collection in hardback.
Oh yes, Penny Pollard – *love*. I was in grade three when I read the first one, my Dad was a VP and he brought it home from his school library – which makes me realise how lucky I was to have regular State Library visits (in Hobart), a FANTASTIC school library with the world’s best teacher-librarian, and my Dad’s school libraries too. Library heaven.
I adore everything Robin Klein has written, when she is funny and when she is serious (but especially when she is both). It’s so tragic that she can’t write anymore.
I LOVE your diary.
I love the diary too – and just being able to decipher the comments on the cover, would love to know what sort of things you wrote inside! I hope you can locate the key! If my memory of dates is accurate, Adrian Mole came out a few years earlier than Penny Pollard. I remember reading Adrian Mole when we were in UK in 1981-82.