lockie_leonard

In a book review about Lockie Leonard, the reviewer wrote, "Lockie Leonard is a friend of mine - not just because I held his hand through his first painful love affair in Lockie Leonard Human Torpedo or stood beside him as he battled the Great South Phosphate and Fertiliser Company and the Angleus Textile Mill to make them responsible for their own waste in Lockie Legend Scumbuster but also because I have met him many, many times in the last twenty years."

Every time I walk into a Year 6 or Year 7 classroom I meet Lockie Leonard."
REACT, April 1997

Discuss what do you think the reviewer meant by that comment.
Do you think it is a fair assessment? Why?

Now read the letter from Tim Winton who is the author, to discover his relationship to Lockie. He says that the stories are autobiographical and that he wrote them "to remember, to hang on to things important to me."
How well do you think he has remembered? How are Lockie's experiences a reflection of your own?

Winton was born in Perth in 1960, which means he was Lockie Leonard's age in the early 1970s. Investigate the sorts of issues that were facing teenagers in that time and compare them to what you have to deal with now.
Which time frame would you prefer to live in? Why?

Winton also says he wrote them "out of respect for that time when I learnt so much".
What do you think he means by that statement?

The inspiration for Winton's creation of Lockie Leonard was his move from Perth to Albany when he was 12.
Has there been an event in your life that has made the sort of difference that Winton experienced when he was twelve? What effect has it had? How do you think a move such as that would change your life?

"I have lived in Paris, the Greek islands and the Irish bogs. Now I spend my time between Fremantle and a small fishing town on the Western Australian coastline. I am married with three children, a dog and a bucket-full of hermit crabs. I travel too much, eat too much and read too much! I love to cook, dive, surf and fish. I hate mobile phones, I'm puzzled by joggers, I suffer travel sickness and selective deafness, I love the blues, jazz, funk and grunge music but I draw the line at rap and techno!"

A Profile of Tim Winton

That is how Tim Winton writes about himself. Read the rest of his autobiography on the Scholastic Profiles site and then using his style as a model, write a similar thumbnail sketch about yourself.

Tim Winton says that he will not be writing any more episodes in the Lockie Leonard saga.

Legend is my third Lockie Leonard book and it will probably be the last...Think I'll cut him loose and send him on his way. See how he gets on. Probably back with his tail between his legs, but that's it. No more.

Tim Winton has decided he will write one more book about Lockie and he has asked you to be his research assistant.
What issues do you think Lockie should confront this time?
How might they be solved?

Write the outline of the new story and send it to Tim at panpublicity@macmillan.com.au

Perhaps he will like your suggestions so much, he will write about Lockie once more.

	Lockie Leonard Human Torpedo Tim Winton Puffin : 1993 ISBN: 0140366512
	Lockie Leonard Scumbuster Tim Winton Piper: 1993 ISBN: 0330360167
	Lockie Leonard Legend Tim Winton Piper: 1997 ISBN 0330360027