My Aunt Honor
Author:
Gillian Torckler
Illustrator:
Adele Jackson
Publisher:
David Bateman Ltd
ISBN: 9781776890705
Date published:
1 September 2023
Pages:
32
Format:
Hardback
RRP:
$19.99
This is the true story of a young woman who enlisted in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in England during WWII. She was a Spitfire mechanic and died in active service. Her name was Honora Hassett and she was the author’s great aunt.
My Aunt Honor is a sophisticated non-fiction (biography) picture book featuring beautiful illustrations. The book introduces readers to the active service role of women in WWII andgives a glimpse into life in the early 1940s. It shows the queues to get basic food supplies; it introduces the bias of people regarding women in war and it shows that women were an important part of the war effort, and that they also gave their lives for their country.
At the end of the book there are interesting facts about other servicewomen from New Zealand and around the world, similar to the style and format of Gillian Torckler and Adele Jackson’s previous book My Name is Henry Fanshaw: The true story of NZ’s bomber squadron.
Gillian says, “When I started the research for My Aunt Honor, I learnt about the many heroic women who served in ways that are not remembered. It was important to me to show the humanitarian side of war, and to highlight the fact that those who died in war zones are not only “military people” they are real people who have parents and siblings, they are loved. They love. I also wanted to show that women also served in roles other than nurses, air raid wardens or drivers.”
My Aunt Honor fits squarely into the ‘Mighty Girl’ genre; it’s an empowering story, a historical book for and about a smart, confident, courageous girl. Instead of knitting socks or writing letters to support the troops, Honor signed up despite pleas from family and friends to stay safely at home.
As a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, she became an aircraft engineer at RAF Warmwell in Dorset and joined the legions of ordinary women whose stories remain largely untold.
Adele says, “Bringing the central character of Honor to life was one of the joys of illustrating My Aunt Honor. When I first read the manuscript, I was struck by the main character’s vibrancy, determination, and energy, but it was her insistence to do something different to help the war effort and the consequences of her choice that drew me in.
“I did extensive research for My Aunt Honor, and then there were the planes and the aircraft engines! Coming to grips with the historical and technical content of the story and bringing essential lightness to what could be a rather sad tale made this book a very enjoyable and meaningful project.”
