To Be Published Soon

Among new books for South Seas reading lists to be published in the next few months is Many a Green Isle, a book of

by Judy Tudor.

: ' P.„ T „ ACIFIC Publications Ltd. expects to release it about September.

Judy Tudor, is editor of Pacific Publications’ series of Pacific year books and handbooks. Many a Green Isle covers her fascinating experiences in the Pacific from before World War 11, when, shortly after she married, she went to live on a goldlease six days’ walk inland from Wewak, New Guinea.

At the time she would rather have gone to South Africa, but she found New Guinea a pretty good substitute, one reason being that “the European men outnumbered the European women to an extent that couldn’t fail to gratify any female in her right senses”.

After she joined the editorial staff of Pacific Publications in 1942, and became a travelling correspondent and editor of PIM, her concern was with all Pacific Islands rather than one. Many a Green Isle, an entertaining book, is not a deep and serious study of Islands affairs, but since not even the South Seas has escaped political pressures, it is impossible to deal with the area without touching on politics. Thus the author

occasionally dips her pen in acid.

“ * e manner well known to regular ntoed “ " lS

" unle «■*•" f " «*»

To he published about the same time, also by Pacific Publications, is Little Chimbu, a childen’s book written and illustrated by Nancy Curtis.

Like Judy Tudor, Mrs. Curtis is a New Zealander. She is married to Inspector Bill Curtis of the Royal Papua-New Guinea Constabulary, and at present they are stationed at Minj, in New Guinea’s Western Highlands. They have lived in the territory for the last 12 years.

Almost all Mrs. Curtis’ spare time is devoted to painting and her dis tinctive line and wash pictures of somewhat off-beat native characters are snapped up eagerly in the ter ritory and in Australia. (Pacific Publications’ Christmas cards last year were from some of these paintings).

With what time she has left over she makes up delightful stories for the 5-year old Curtis twins, Nia and Ngaire. Little Chimbu, was one of these. It combines her imaginative writing with her even more imagin ative illustrating, Little Chimbu, who is also about five and has a large tummy and a very small grass skirt, has amazing adventures with Kind Lady Croco diles, cranky cassowaries, floating

islands and kokomo-birds—in colour and black and white.

Champion To Be Republished

Former New Guinea man, Malcolm Wright, now of Melbourne, whose book on his wartime coastwatching experiences, If I Die, has been sel ling well, will have a second book out in October. This is The Gentle Savage, which tells of experiences of New Guinea patrol officers between the wars.

Its publishers are Lansdowne Press, of Melbourne, which in the same month will also publish the first reprint of Ivan Champion’s Across New Guinea from the Fly to the Sepik, which was originally pub blished in 1931.

The original was only about 1,000 copies, and it has been a scarce col lector’s item. Ivan Chamption him self, now in retirement in Queensland, said recently that he didn’t own one.

It’s a first-rate account of the cros sing of New Guinea, by Karius and Champion in 1928.