Ned Kelly & the Green Sash

Mark Greenwood (author)

Frane Lessac (illustrator)

Walker Books, Australia: 2010

ISBN: 9781921150876

Genres: picture book, historical fiction

Issues: crime, poverty, social condition

Ned Kelly is a name that can start an argument in Australia. To some he's one of the country's greatest heroes; to others he's an anti-hero, a notorious bushranger.

He started out as the son of a convict, a lad from a poor Irish family. He was trained to steal at an early age to help feed his family. One day Ned rescued a drowning classmate, the son of a wealthy landowner. It was a daring act, showing great courage and quick thinking. How and why did such a brave lad soon become the violent criminal know to history?

A fictional autobiography, Ned Kelly and the Green Sash explores the social and economic conditions of early Australia – conditions that drove many to petty crime. Greenwood questions why Kelly moved from the petty thefts that were common at the time to the dramatic armed robberies that so divided public opinion. A thought-provoking text, one that encourages readers to move beyond the black-and-white judgements of 'law-abiding' and 'criminal', Ned Kelly and the Green Sash acknowledges the poverty, prejudice and confused upbringing that had a significant impact on Kelly's later choices. Greenwood makes it clear that judgements such as hero or murderer are too simple.

Lessac is an internationally recognized illustrator and artist. Her naïve style gouache images have embedded details that give the reader the impression of seeing a snapshot of the action. The figures appear still but the movement within the image carries an energy that draws the reader further into the story, reinforcing the intensity of that moment in the narrative.