Family Program                                                                                       Story by Tyrion Perkins

How do you write a book with a virus as a main character? That was the question Ailsa Wild confronted when agreeing to help her scientist housemate get his work out to the world. He was writing papers about microbes, but hardly anyone was reading them.

Ailsa had found science boring when at school, but working on this book changed her mind. She showed the small group of us the space-invader-like virus that attack bacteria. Together with the help from another researcher, an artist and graphic designer they came up with a story of a nurse in WWI who contracts dysentery, and is helped by the virus.

They decided to do it as a graphic novel. Ailsa wanted minimal text, and the pictures to show a sense of movement. They spent two and a half years researching, writing as a script, storyboarding and discussing the artist’s sketches, right up to self publishing.
I think all of us were amazed and excited how in-depth science could be told in comic book form.
Ailsa then got us to have a go writing a script or storyboarding.

Find out more at: https://theinvisiblewar.com.au/
Creators: Briony Barr & Gregory Crocetti
Author: Ailsa Wild (with Dr. Jeremy Barr)
Illustrator: Ben Hutchings

School Program                                                                                         Story by Tyrion Perkins

Ailsa started by reading some of her popular Squishy Taylor series. The author used to be in the circus where she used acrobatics to tell stories and she took her experience of trust and fear and put them into how Squishy feel when out climbing on a wall. She talked about planning, writing and editing. “Did the publisher say it was done?” The year 3/4s were too smart, “No!” But I think they were shocked at the amount of purple notes sent by the editor.
Ailsa then had the children close their eyes and listen to some upbeat, jazzy music. “Imagine a character you’ve never seen before.” “Stand up and move like your character.” Children gyrated, and loped and danced, then listed to different music for the setting. She led them in writing a fantastic group story about a shark-headed person on a pirate ship who has to get his hoes from land but he land is toxic and his shoes are 30k away. He comes up with a plan to build an aeroplane but toxic glowing rats are running around... Some of the class said they would continue the story.