ASO READER’S NOTES
TITLE:
One Minute’s Silence
AUTHOR:
David Metzenthen, illustrated by Michael Camilleri
PUBLISHER:
Allen & Unwin
PRICE:
$29.99
ISBN:
9781743316245
PUBLICATION DATE:
August 2014
AUDIENCE:
8-14
READER:
Carolyn Walsh, Allen & Unwin
SYNOPSIS
One Minute’s Silence is a powerful and moving picture book for older readers about the
ritual we observe at 11 a.m. on November 11, and what Gallipoli means to us in this context.
The story opens in a contemporary classroom as the clock is about to strike the important
hour. Teenagers appear bored and apathetic at their desks, one eating an apple, another
surreptitiously playing with a mobile phone, and one seemingly fast asleep. Yet, turn the
page and we discover this student is not sleeping, at all. He is using the minute to transport
himself and his fellow classmates to the 1915 landing of troops.
This play on perspective takes an even more sophisticated turn when the battle is shown
from both the Aussie and Turk points-of-view. We witness the horror of diggers mowndown by machine gun fire, while simultaneously feeling the fear and desperation of the
Turkish soldiers and nearby villagers. (One of the many remarkable double-page spreads in
this book shows the ANZACs as faceless, menacing demons in slouch hats because that is
how they are seen by a Turkish mother desperately protecting her young child.)
Notwithstanding the realities of war, One Minute’s Silence ends on a positive note. The
scene returns to the contemporary classroom and the students appear more emotionally
engaged, the original sleeping boy now looking directly at the reader as if to challenge us to
take a similar journey next Remembrance Day.
The book ends with an extract from a speech by Turkey’s first President, Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk, given in 1934. In it the statesman talks of how the fateful campaign brought the two
nations closer together and provides the perfect note concluding note.
AUTHOR STYLE
In an intriguing and sometimes shocking interplay between words and illustrations, One
Minute's Silence turns the perhaps overly-familiar version of the Gallipoli story on its head
Images of the bored teenagers prepare us for the ‘usual’ Gallipoli story, replete with gung-ho
clichés about ‘wild colonial boys’ dashing ‘across the shivering Turkish sand’. The text
reminds us that ‘you can imagine’ such a thing: in other words, we have heard it all before.
The twist, however, is on the next spread: ‘But can you imagine...’. What follows is the
other side of the battle, with equally heroic language, but less time-worn phrases, and the
faces of the now-engaged school kids inserted into the lines of Australian and Turkish
troops.
These alternating scenarios continue with graphic sepia-toned illustrations reminding the
reader of the horror of war - the damage done by bullets and bombs, the constant presence of
flies and countless corpses. Sparse but evocative language complements each illustration,
underscoring the tragedy experienced by both sides.
HOW THE IDEA FOR THE BOOK FORMED - IN THE AUTHOR’S OWN WORDS
‘The idea for this book came about when I was thinking about the hour we lose when
daylight saving begins. I wrote a picture book about times past and people gone [which
eventually became] a story about the one minute of silence we observe for our fallen
soldiers.... [a] magical minute of reflection.
‘I was walking my dog thinking about this, and came up with the concept of what we can
imagine in one minute’s silence... and what we might find more difficult to imagine –
although it really did happen.
‘And so the story of the Aussies and Turks who fought at Gallipoli is presented, asking the
reader to imagine the battle from both sides as they went about the business of trying to kill
each other.’
WHAT DAVID METZENTHEN HOPES TO ACHIEVE WITH THE BOOK
‘The essence of this story is to present two sides of a conflict that traditionally we only ever
see from our perspective. We can imagine ourselves to an extent, yes, but if we try, we
might be able to imagine our enemy, and see that he is not so different from us.
‘I would also like people to know that although we were an invading force at Gallipoli, the
leader of the Turks welcomed our dead as sons of his country. It was a beautiful gesture and
its significance should never be forgotten or over-looked.
‘And I [wanted] to celebrate courage, loyalty, and the concepts of mateship being universal.’
AUTHOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION
David Metzenthen is the much acclaimed, awarded, loved and respected author of over 30
books, and his most recent book for teenagers, Jarvis 24, was the winner of the CBCA Book
of the Year for Older Readers in 2010. He has a knack for getting inside the head of his
young male protagonists, and for addressing topics that are quintessentially Australian.
ILLUSTRATOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Michael Camilleri is a Melbourne artist who creates books, comics and visual theatre. His
illustration work features in The Devil You Know by Leonie Norrington and on the album art
and accompanying picture book for Martin Martini's Vienna 1913. He lives with his partner
Katherine and their son Ruben. You can visit him at www.epicboy.com
EDUCATIONAL APPLICABILITY
Themes include: Gallipoli, the universal tragedy of war, Remembrance Day
One Minute’s Silence sits comfortably within the Australian Curriculum’s General
Capability: Intercultural Understanding through historical fiction.
Suggestions for discussion and classroom activities:

Preparatory Research Exercise: Encourage students to find out as much as possible
about the following areas BEFORE reading the book:
 Reasons for Australia and Turkey’s involvement in WW1
 Location of Gallipoli and its strategic importance
 Timeline of major events between troops landing and withdrawing
 Why we stop for a minute of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day
of the eleventh month
Encourage students to look into their own family history and find out if they had a
relative who fought in WW1 (on any side).

Before reading One Minute’s Silence ask students to consider the title and cover
design. What sort of story do students expect this to be? Will it be predominantly
fiction or non-fiction? Who might it be about? What things on the cover give clues to
the answers of these questions? If students are struggling with this task prompt them
by asking these questions:
- Why might the illustrator have chosen to show two faces on the cover that are very
similar but, on closer inspection, have some subtle differences?
- What significance does the use of sepia tones have?
- Why is the only colour used on the cover the red/orange of the title?
- What does a circle and small crosses make you think?

Read the book once and in a general class discussion invite students to discuss their
initial reaction to the story and how the book’s primary message might be reduced to
one sentence.

Compare and contrast the two double-page illustrations of the contemporary students
sitting in their classroom. What might be the significance of the later image?

Language exercise: Why has the author repeated the lines, ‘...you can imagine’ and
‘can you imagine....’ throughout One Minute’s Silence? Hint: the first always relates
to the well-established story of Gallipoli and the second relates to the lesser-known
experience of the Turkish troops and civilians.

Visual exercise: Examine the image of the boy’s face in close-up on the second
double-page spread. In what ways do perspective, orientation, contrast (with the
image in the previous spread), tonal changes and concentration of pencil stroke
create a sense of entering the boy’s internal world of imagination.

Ask students to form into groups of two or three to discuss the significance of the
close-up images of the clock, fly, bullet and gun?

Essay Questions: In what way has your reading of One Minute’s Silence enriched
your understanding of Remembrance Day?
or
How does President Ataturk’s 1934 speech, from which an extract appears on the
final page of the book, reflect the messages contained in One Minute’s Silence?
MARKETING AND SELLING POINTS

David Metzenthen won the CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers in 2010.

One Minute’s Silence will feature prominently in the Allen & Unwin Primary and
Secondary School newsletters.

Review copies of One Minute’s Silence will be mailed broadly to relevant media.

A specially produced poster will be sent to 2000 primary and secondary schools in
Australia and New Zealand during July 2014.

The book will be advertised in the October edition of Literature Base.