No Stars to Wish on

by Zana Fraillon

An inquiry into child care facilities also found that the government failed to record the deaths of children in custody in any systematic way. There has been a call for a parliamentary committee to track down and record the unmarked graves of children who died and were buried at homes and orphanages.

  Many of the children forcibly removed from their families were never reunited. This includes siblings who were separated. Many of these people, now adults, are still searching for their families.

  While doing the research for this story, I read many accounts from people who were part of the Forgotten Generation. Without their honesty, bravery and determination, this story could never have been written.

  For far too long, the injustices endured by these children have remained undisclosed. Our society allowed those with power to abuse and oppress those who had none. And, for far too long, those in power refused to listen to, or believe, the people who came forward and told their stories.

  In 2009, the Australian Government issued a formal apology to the Forgotten Generation, so they could become the ‘Remembered Generation’. It is only by understanding the mistakes we have made in the past that we can avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

  We live in hope.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  THANKS to Kathy Kozlowski, for our many discussions on children’s literature, and for putting me in touch with the wonderful people at Allen & Unwin.

  A particularly big thank you to Sarah Brenan for taking me on and working so hard with me to get this far, and to Rosalind Price for her exceptional editorial work. Thanks also to all the people at Allen & Unwin who helped make this book what it is.

  I am especially grateful to all those who had the courage to share their stories with me and the world. The Care Leavers Australia Network and the Alliance for Forgotten Australians provided me with a wealth of information and personal stories without which this book could never have been written. While fictional, this story is sourced from many real-life events, and I hope I have done justice to the experiences on which it is based.

  Thanks also to Danielle Anzai, for first enlightening me about the Forgotten Generation, and her insight into care homes, the mind of the child, parenting, working, reading, writing and all matters of substance.

  Deepest thanks of all goes to my husband, Julian, and to my sons Luca, Mischa and Mani. You are a constant support and inspiration. Thank you.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ZANA FRAILON was born in Melbourne, but spent her early childhood in San Francisco. ‘I grew up in a house that had a whole room full of books and comfy chairs and this was my favourite place to be. As a teenager, a lot of my time was given to practising magic tricks and my first attempt at writing a book centred around a girl who solves crimes using her understanding of magic.’ At the age of twenty, Zana lived for a year in China teaching English in a remote rural area. She returned to Melbourne and now lives with her husband, three children, two dogs and a recalcitrant cat.

  Zana has written two picture books for young children and a series for middle readers that has been published in five languages. Her dreams of one day ending world illiteracy and innumeracy are far from being realised, but ‘If you are going to dream, you might as well dream big.’