1. Bravery
2. Compassion
3. Death
4. Family
5. Grief
6. Hope
7. Literary techniques
8. Loss
9. Love
10. Poetry
11. Respect
12. Soldiers
13. Visual literacy
14. WW1

Approaching the topic of war in picture books for young people always presents challenges. In ‘Once a Shepherd’ both author and illustrator offer gentle and informative insights into the human impact of war on families. Glenda Millard’s words are both simple and deep. These offer a lyrical, rhythmic and poetic text that mesmerises the listener. Each line begins with ‘Once,’ and a concluding line ends in rhyme.

Tom is a gentle shepherd who marries young Cherry. They are preparing for the birth of their first baby when Tom leaves to serve in the war. On the battlefield, although Tom is fatally wounded, he saves a soldier from the opposing side. In a heartfelt touch of humanity, the surviving soldier takes Tom’s coat, lovingly sewn by Cherry, back to her. She then makes a toy lamb from Tom’s coat for their baby boy.

Both author and illustrator explore the fascinating inception of this book in the Walker Books Classroom Ideas resource which also provides an insight into the difficulties of writing and illustrating about war for young people. In a ‘Reading Time’ interview Phil Lesnie reveals his struggle to find the right tone for this book. He says he wanted ‘to paint from a place of human understanding …. working on Glenda’s text, I’ve learnt about grief and loss and time and forgiveness and, to my mind, that seems like a very fine place to begin a conversation about it’. Lesnie’s lush, textured watercolours reflect the human emotions of love, loss and heartache while simultaneously capturing both the peaceful countryside and the battlefield devastation. The opening and closing endpapers feature the weave of Tom’s coat which leaves a lasting memory of this wartime story.

1. Walker Books Classroom Ideas for ‘Once a Shepherd’ includes interviews with both the author and illustrator https://classroom.walkerbooks.com.au/home/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Once-a-Shepherd-Classroom-Ideas1.pdf
2. Worlds of Words Volume X, Issue 2 Winter 2018 review by Holly Johnson, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, of ‘Once a Shepherd’ https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/658493/WOW-Review-Vol_X-Issue_2-13_14_w.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
3. Reading Time 10 Mar 2015 ‘Meet Phil Lesnie’ where he talks about illustrating ‘Once a Shepherd' https://readingtime.com.au/meet-phil-lesnie/
4. Kids’ Book Review 21 April 2016 ‘Meet the Illustrator: Phil Lesnie’ http://www.kids-bookreview.com/search?q=once+a+shepherd
5. The Bottom Shelf 17 Jan 2015 review by Barbara Braxton of ‘Once a Shepherd’ https://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/2015/01/17/once-a-shepherd/
6. Kirkus 14 Sept 2014 review of ‘Once a Shepherd’ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/glenda-millard/once-a-shepherd/
7. Kids’ Book Review 20 Apr 2017 Terrific 10: ANZAC Day Remembrance, Bibliography of 10 Australian picture books http://www.kids-bookreview.com/search?q=Terrific+10%3A+ANZAC+Day+Remembrance