About the authors

LYN WHITE, series editor of Through My Eyes

Series editor and series creator Lyn White has extensive experience as a primary school teacher-librarian and English as a Second Language (EAL) teacher and in 2010 completed postgraduate studies in Editing and Communications at the University of Melbourne. Lyn is passionate about children’s literature and has great expertise in engaging students and teachers with quality texts. Her work with refugee children motivated her to create the acclaimed Through My Eyes series of books set in contemporary war zones. Lyn went on to create and edit the Through My Eyes - Natural Disaster Zones series set around international and Australian disasters. The novels pay tribute to the courage and resilience of children who are often the most vulnerable in post-disaster situations. Lyn is a conference presenter, runs workshops based on the Through My Eyes texts and has written several articles for teacher-association journals and children's literature magazines.

Lyn says:

‘As a primary school teacher-librarian I was frequently asked by students for books of a similar genre to those written by Deborah Ellis – fiction stories of children in other cultures that had a strong link to reality. As an English as a Second Language teacher I had the privilege of listening to the incredible experiences of refugee and newly arrived children who had been displaced and traumatised by conflict. I began to realise the potential of combining these two experiences – a fiction series of engaging stories of true events in troubled lands with insight into culture, conflict and identity through one child’s eyes.

‘Australia is home to many refugees and displaced people and we were mindful of the need to show due respect to their cultures and experiences. The integrity of our authors and their exhaustive research has been invaluable in meeting this challenge. This series aims to pay tribute to children whose worlds have been changed forever. I believe we have achieved this aim as each author has created a story that is primarily about the culture and identity of their character, and while there are certainly bleak moments in each story, the overriding sense is one of hope and triumph over adversity.’

Check out Lyn White's interview with Megan Daly on Children's Books Daily