Bateson, Catherine 1960-
Bateson, Catherine 1960-
Personal
Born 1960; married; children: two. Education: University of Queensland, B.A. (art history).
Addresses
Home—Dandenong Ranges, Victoria, Australia.
Career
Creative-writing teacher and writer. Central Gippsland Institute of TAFE, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, instructor in creative writing. La Mama Poetica (poetry festival), organizer until 1999. Presenter at poetry readings and on television.
Awards, Honors
Book of the Year designation, Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA), for Rain May and Captain Daniel; CBCA Honour Book for Older Readers designation, and Australian Family Therapists' Award, both 2003, both for Painted Love Letters; New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, and Queensland Premier's Literary Award, both 2003, both for Painted Love Letters, and Rain May and Captain Daniel; John Shaw Neilson Award; CCBC Book of the Year shortlist, 2005, for Millie and the Night Heron; CCBC Notable Book for Older Readers, 2007, for His Name in Fire; CCBC Book of the Year for Younger Readers, Australian Family Therapists' Award, and Queensland Premier's Literary Award, all 2007, all for Being Bee.
Writings
FOR YOUNG ADULTS
A Dangerous Girl, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2000.
The Year It All Happened, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2001.
Painted Love Letters, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2002.
Rain May and Captain Daniel, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2002, published as Stranded in Boringsville, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2005.
The Airdancer of Glass, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2004.
Millie and the Night Heron, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2005, published as The Boyfriend Rules of Good Behavior, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2006.
Being Bee, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2006, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2007.
His Name in Fire, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2006.
The Wish Pony, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2008.
OTHER
Pomegranates from the Underworld (poetry), Pariah Press (Kew, Victoria, Australia), 1990.
The Vigilant Heart (poetry), University of Queenland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 1998.
Also author of short fiction.
Sidelights
Award-winning Australian author Catherine Bateson credits a childhood spent in a used bookstore with sparking her career as a poet and author of young-adult fiction. Bateson made the transition from poetry to longer works with A Dangerous Girl and its sequel, The Year It All Happened. These verse novels, together with His Name in Fire, reflect the concerns and speech of modern Australian teens, while her middle-grade prose
novels Stranded in Boringsville and Being Bee address bullying, broken families, and budding romance. Bateson also turns to prose in Painted Love Letters, as teenager Chrissie must deal with the death of her mother to lung cancer and the tragedy's effect on other family members.
In Rain May and Captain Daniel—published in the United States as Stranded in Boringsville—an inner-city single mom and her twelve-year-old daughter learn to adapt to platypus, fruit bats, and other quirks of life in rural Australia after a move from cosmopolitan Melbourne to a small town in Central Victoria. While Rain's mom, whose husband has abandoned the family, now enjoys the slow pace of their new life, the preteen misses the bustle and friends she left behind in the city. However, a relationship with next-door-neighbor Daniel, a very smart but geeky boy with heart problems, helps the girl learn the importance of relationships. In Booklist Chris Sherman described Stranded in Boringsville as a novel featuring characters "whose conflicted feelings seem all to real," and in School Library Journal Debbie Stewart praised Bateson's novel for its "enjoyable and quirky story." "Giving people—and places—a closer look is the exceptionally handled theme of this Australian import," stated Jennifer M. Brabander in her Horn Book review of Stranded in Boringsville.
Preteens are also the intended audience of Bateson's The Boyfriend Rules of Good Behavior, a book originally published in Australia as Millie and the Night Heron. Here middle-grader Millie Childes and her free-spirited artist mother Kate live with Kate's best friend Sheri and Sheri's son Mitchell. When the group moves to a new town, Millie's home life—and her mother-daughter relationship—is complicated by the romantic choices the adult women make. Bateson's quiet coming-of-age story is salted with Australianisms, noted School Library Journal contributor Suzanne Gordon, the critic also predicting that "fans of mild realistic fiction" will enjoy witnessing "Millie's quiet challenges and triumphs." In Kirkus Reviews a critic praised the novel's "dialogue-filled narrative," calling The Boyfriend Rules of Good Behavior "a tender-hearted view of maturation from a blossoming young girl's perspective."
Bateson introduces a ten year old whose feelings are confused by her widowed father's new girlfriend in Being Bee. Jazzi takes charge almost as soon as she moves into Bee's laid-back home, and Bee resents the fact that her soon-to-be stepmother now takes up most of Bee's father's time. Venting her hurt and resentments in letters to her two Guinea pigs, Bee finds comfort, especially when she receives letters back that she assumes are from her dad. However, the girl's viewpoint changes when it turns out that someone else has been privy to Bee's inner feelings. Noting that Bee's "matter-of-fact, self-absorbed" perspective is portrayed effectively in the novel, Booklist contributor Suzanne Harold described Being Bee as "bitingly frank" in its portrait of the difficulties of children adjusting to a reconfigured
family. "Bateson deftly describes family and friendship strains in ways that are both touching and humorous," wrote a Kirkus Reviews writer, also in praise of the family-oriented novel.
Biographical and Critical Sources
PERIODICALS
Booklist, December 1, 2005, Chris Sherman, review of Stranded in Boringsville, p. 45; October 1, 2007, Suzanne Harold, review of Being Bee, p. 51.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November, 2006, Deborah Stevenson, review of The Boyfriend Rules of Good Behavior, p. 113.
Horn Book, January-February, 2006, Jennifer M. Brabander, review of Stranded in Boringsville, p. 73; November-December, 2007, Jennifer M. Brabander, review of Being Bee, p. 674.
Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2005, review of Stranded in Boringsville, p. 1134; October 1, 2006, review of The Boyfriend Rules of Good Behavior, p. 1010; September 1, 2007, review of Being Bee.
School Library Journal, February, 2006, Debbie Stewart, review of Stranded in Boringsville, p. 128; November, 2006, Suzanne Gordon, review of The Boyfriend Rules of Good Behavior, p. 129.
Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 2006, Julie Watkins, review of Stranded in Boringsville, p. 481.
ONLINE
Catherine Bateson Web site,http://www.catherine-bateson.com (January 20, 2009).
University of Queensland Press Web site,http://www.uqp.edu.au/ (January 20, 2009), "Catherine Bateson."
Bateson, Catherine 1960-
BATESON, Catherine 1960-
Personal
Born 1960; married; two children.
Addresses
Home— Central Victoria, Australia. Agent— c/o Author Mail, University of Queensland Press, Staff House Rd., P.O. Box 6042, St. Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia.
Career
Creative writing teacher and writer.
Awards, Honors
Book of the Year designation, Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA), for Rain May and Captain Daniel; CBCA Honour Book for Older Readers designation, and Australian Family Therapists' Award, both 2003, both for Painted Love Letters; New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, and Queensland Premier's Literary Award, both 2003, both for Painted Love Letters, and Rain May and Captain Daniel; John Shaw Neilson Award.
Writings
FOR YOUNG ADULTS
A Dangerous Girl, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2000.
The Year It All Happened, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2001.
Painted Love Letters, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia.), 2002.
Rain May and Captain Daniel, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2002.
The Airdancer of Glass, 2004.
OTHER
Pomegranates from the Underworld (poetry), Pariah Press, 1990.
The Vigilant Heart (poetry), University of Queenland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 1998.
Also author of short fiction.
Work in Progress
A junior fiction novel, Millie and the Night Heron; the young-adult novel His Name in Fire; a new volume of poetry.
Sidelights
Award winning Australian author Catherine Bateson credits a childhood spent in a used bookstore with sparking her career as a poet and author of young-adult fiction. A published poet, Bateson made the transition to fiction by creating A Dangerous Girl and its sequel, The Year It All Happened, verse novels that reflect the concerns and speech of modern Australian teens. In Painted Love Letters she tells the story of Chrissie, a teen who must deal with the death of her mother to lung cancer and the tragedy's effect on other family members, while Rain May and Captain Daniel finds an inner-city mother and daughter adapting to platypus, fruit bats, and other quirks of life in rural Australia. In addition to writing novels and poetry, Bateston has worked as a creative writing teacher for over a decade. In her spare time she hosts writing workshops for students and appears at poetry and writing festivals.
Biographical and Critical Sources
ONLINE
Catherine Bateson Web site, http://www.catherine-bateson.com (October 22, 2004).
University of Queensland Press Web site, http://www.uqp.edu.au/ (July 23, 2004), "Catherine Bateson."*
Bateson, Catherine 1960-
BATESON, Catherine 1960-
PERSONAL: Born 1960; married; two children.
ADDRESSES: Home—Central Victoria, Australia. Agent—c/o Author Mail, University of Queensland Press, Staff House Rd., P.O. Box 6042, St. Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia.
CAREER: Creative writing teacher and writer.
AWARDS, HONORS: Book of the Year designation, Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA), for Rain May and Captain Daniel; CBCA Honour Book for Older Readers designation, and Australian Family Therapists' Award, both 2003, both for Pained Love Letters; New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, and Queensland Premier's Literary Award, both 2003, both for Pained Love Letters, and Rain May and Captain Daniel; John Shaw Neilson Award.
WRITINGS:
FOR YOUNG ADULTS
A Dangerous Girl, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2000.
The Year It All Happened, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2001.
Painted Love Letters, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia.), 2002.
Rain May and Captain Daniel, University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 2002.
The Airdancer of Glass, 2004.
OTHER
Pomegranates from the Underworld (poetry), Pariah Press, 1990.
The Vigilant Heart (poetry), University of Queenland Press (St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia), 1998.
Also author of short fiction.
WORK IN PROGRESS: A junior fiction novel, Millie and the Night Heron; the young-adult novel His Name in Fire; a new volume of poetry.
SIDELIGHTS: Award-winning Australian author Catherine Bateson credits a childhood spent in a used bookstore with sparking her career as a poet and author of young-adult fiction. A published poet, Bateson made the transition to fiction by creating A Dangerous Girl and its sequel, The Year It All Happened, verse novels that reflect the concerns and speech of modern Australian teens.
In Painted Love Letters Bateson tells the story of Chrissie, a teen who must deal with the death of her mother to lung cancer and the tragedy's effect on other family members, while Rain May and Captain Daniel finds an inner-city mother and daughter adapting to platypus, fruit bats, and other quirks of life in rural Australia. In addition to writing novels and poetry, Bateston has worked as a creative writing teacher for over a decade. In her spare time she hosts writing workshops for students and appears at poetry and writing festivals.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
ONLINE
Catherine Bateson Web site,http://www.catherine-bateson.com (October 22, 2004).
University of Queensland Press Web site, http://www.uqp.edu.au/ (July 23, 2004), "Catherine Bateson."*