Editorial Content for Child Convicts
Book
Reviewer (text)
Despite the title of this informational picture book, only about 30-40% of CHILD CONVICTS by Net Brennan covers the stories and accounts of actual child convicts. Instead, readers learn about the convict transportation system and the penal colonies of Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries. CHILD CONVICTS oscillates between general, plain-written historical accounts of the big picture (and of convicts’ experiences who are notably not children) and blink-and-you-miss-it subversive patriotism towards the U.K.
While I was mildly entertained while reading CHILD CONVICTS, I was honestly quite confused about why there wasn’t more focus on the harrowing accounts of actual child convicts. That topic is so interesting, and I felt that this book would have been stronger had it been epistolary, a journal or a collection of such stories. Instead, I felt a bit irritated and bored while reading it, wondering why I had been misled. At least the design and layout look nice --- the book is easy to read and there’s a nice balance between text and pictures.
My other major problem was that CHILD CONVICTS didn’t do enough to acknowledge the effect that British imperialism had on the native peoples. It did have a chapter where it openly expressed that what the British did had a negative impact on the native population, and there was a blurb that mentioned an Aboriginal man repealed a British land claim, but this wasn’t nearly substantial enough. There were plenty of places where more commentary could have been inserted, such as in the sections about the spread of disease and famine.
The book is easy to read and there’s a nice balance between text and pictures. I see CHILD CONVICTS as a great introduction to something young readers might not otherwise know about.
There was another cringe-worthy moment when English children born on Australian soil were also referred to as “native-born Australians.” Yes, there is no doubt they were born on the continent so they do have ties to the place, but they aren’t true natives and their blood certainly isn’t Australian. You may say I’m focusing on the wrong issue, but it’s hard to ignore how little the book did in terms of apologizing for the atrocities committed against the natives. If the book isn’t going to be exclusively about children convicts, then it’s fair game to point out other content that should have been included.
In all, CHILD CONVICTS is an admittedly unique book that will definitely intrigue readers when they see it on the shelves. There is a chance that they may be disappointed with what they find, or rather, what they don't end up finding, but it's certainly a toe in the water of this wildly different and engrossing topic that many are sure to want to research further. I see CHILD CONVICTS as a great introduction to something young readers might not otherwise know about, and for that fact alone, I applaud this book. It breaches a topic that most aren't familiar with, I just wish it had breached it just a little bit more.
Teaser
At the age of seven, children in eighteenth-century Britain were tried in court like adults. For crimes such as picking pockets or stealing clothes, they could be sentenced to death by hanging or transported to the then-perilous and isolated colonies of Australia. Life in the colonies was often as difficult and dangerous as the poverty from which many of the convicts came, but the dreaded sentence of transportation could also present opportunities.
Promo
At the age of seven, children in eighteenth-century Britain were tried in court like adults. For crimes such as picking pockets or stealing clothes, they could be sentenced to death by hanging or transported to the then-perilous and isolated colonies of Australia. Life in the colonies was often as difficult and dangerous as the poverty from which many of the convicts came, but the dreaded sentence of transportation could also present opportunities.
About the Book
At the age of seven, children in eighteenth-century Britain were tried in court like adults. For crimes such as picking pockets or stealing clothes, they could be sentenced to death by hanging or transported to the then-perilous and isolated colonies of Australia. Life in the colonies was often as difficult and dangerous as the poverty from which many of the convicts came, but the dreaded sentence of transportation could also present opportunities. In a fascinating volume filled with historical photos and drawings, today’s young readers can consider anecdotes of youthful prisoners from long ago, whose new lives on the shores of Australia ran the gamut from the boy who became the first person hanged on its soil to the girl whose photo is now on the twenty-dollar note. Back matter includes a glossary, bibliography, index and web resources.
