THE SAYING GOES ‘EVERYONE HAS A BOOK INSIDE THEM’. LUCKILY FOR US, TEACHER MIRANDA JANE TAYLOR GOT THAT BOOK OUT FROM INSIDE HER AND SHARED HER STUDENTS’ QUIRKY COMMENTS WITH THE WORLD.
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Miranda Jane Taylor always thought she would like to write a book.
She grew up in Tocumwal, but calls Finley her home town where she went to primary and high school.
Developing a love of working with children, she became a primary school teacher in the Goulburn Valley and made a habit of writing down the funny things her students would say on the playground or in the classroom.
“As a casual teacher you get plenty of duties, but I didn't mind because I found staffrooms as a casual awkward at times and often preferred to be talking to my new little friends in the playground,” Miranda said.
The tipping point came on yard duty at the Numurkah school where she was working, when a cheeky Year 1 student, Nathanael Hubbard, gave her the idea for her first children’s book.
“It was a regular day in 2020, and it was my turn on playground duty,” Miranda said.
Nathanael Hubbard and Miranda Jane Taylor.
“Whenever Nathanael saw me on yard duty he would beeline for me with a big smile on his face.
“He always had something random to say or some joke to play on me.
“On this particular day he said something along the lines of ‘Miss Taylor, isn't it crazy that if we were seahorses, I'd be the one having the babies and if we were peacocks I'd be the pretty one’.
“I laughed and wrote it down as I do with most funny things my students say.”
Six months later Miranda decided it was time to have a crack at writing a children’s book.
A glimpse of Isn’t It Crazy, inspired by the idle thoughts of young primary school children.
It took her less than two hours to write what would become her first children’s book, inspired by the funny things her students had said to her over the years.
Isn’t It Crazy is a funny and heartfelt picture book about animals and families seen through a child's eye.
It is beautifully illustrated by Emma Louise Clarke, who Miranda said illustrated her vision better than she had ever imagined.
If you would like a copy of Isn’t It Crazy, visit: https://mirandajanebooks.company.site/
You can follow Miranda on Instagram: @mirandajanebooks
