Interview with Kate Simpson How to Move a Zoo
Hi Kate, and welcome to the Book Muse
How did you find out about Jessie the Elephant’s story?
My publisher Anna McFarlane introduced me to Jessie’s story. She visited an exhibition at the Museum of Sydney called How to Move a Zoo and was really taken with Jessie’s journey across the city. She messaged me the following week, encouraging me to visit the museum. She was hoping I’d be inspired to write Jessie’s story…and she was right!
Why did you want to tell Jessie’s story in particular, rather than another animal?
There was something really charming about the idea of an elephant walking through the streets of Sydney while the local residents were still tucked up in bed. Jessie wasn’t the only animal to be transported on foot (among others, the camels also walked) but the peculiarity of an elephant, so far from its natural environment, really stuck with me. (And if I’m honest, I just think elephants are more fun than camels.)
How did the history of the zoo moving from Moore Park to where it is now at Bradley’s head shape and inform the story overall?
In preparing to write this book, I researched the history of both zoos and the process of moving the animals from one site to the other. It’s always tempting to try to cram as many fun facts as possible into a book like this, but I really wanted to focus just on one small snippet - Jessie’s journey from the old zoo to the new. The history provides a frame for the story and I hope that people who’ve read the book might be interested to learn more about this peculiar moment in Sydney’s history.
I’ve been to Taronga Zoo many times over the years, and never heard of this story whilst there – do you think having this story available now will give people a richer idea of the history of Taronga Zoo?
I certainly hope so! In the past few years, the move from Moore Park Zoo to Taronga has been the subject of a museum exhibition and an episode of Tiny Oz on ABC television. Even so, most people I speak to haven’t heard the story before. I hope that bringing the story to a new audience will spread the word about this captivating piece of history. I think it adds richness not just to our understanding of Taronga Zoo but also of Sydney itself.
This is a story and part of Sydney’s history I had never heard of before – what is it about untold or hidden stories that you love writing about?
For me, all the excitement of history happens at the micro level – the level of an individual or even of a single moment. I’m not saying that the big picture isn’t important – of course it is – but the charm and the human connection happen when we learn about the tiny details. I love to write about the hidden stories because they are what give me a thrill when I first learn about them myself, and then I can’t help sharing what I’ve learned with others.
If the whole story of Jessie’s journey isn’t as sweet and as gentle as your wonderful book, how did you strike the balance between history and making it accessible and calm for younger readers?
Thankfully, Jessie’s journey to Taronga Zoo was trouble free…at least, that’s how it was reported at the time. However, there were certainly elements of zoo life 100 years ago that would not be appealing to today’s readers. Owen Swan and I were fortunate enough to visit Taronga Zoo’s archives when researching this book. While there, we were shown the pointed metal pokers that were used to control and discipline the elephants in years gone by. I like to believe that these weren’t used on Jessie. By all accounts she was a gentle animal and easily controlled. However, I do know they had trouble with other elephants of the time that weren’t nearly so docile. I’m sure they got the sharp end of the stick on many occasions. It’s an interesting part of history and certainly contrasts with the more humane approach to animal care taken by the zoo today. But it wasn’t a fact that fitted in with the sweet and gentle story we were trying to create.
Owen’s illustrations are wonderful – especially the map of 1916 Sydney. Do you know if he studied maps of the time to create that?
Owen does a lot of research to try to make his illustrations as historically accurate as possible. I was amazed at the types of questions he was asking himself e.g. what type of clothes would a ferry operator wear in 1916? For the map, yes, Owen researched maps of the time and was able to find a 1916 map of Sydney that he could use as the basis for the map in the book, making sure that the style fitted the period but also that all the streets and their names were correct.
You write excellent books focusing on facts – is it hard to take an event like World War One in Anzac Girl, and write about it realistically but in a way that doesn’t terrify or worry younger readers?
It’s a difficult balance. Anzac Girl has a number of quite dark moments, when Alice suffers heartbreak, physical danger and a deep despair for the future. I think the key is always balancing that out with a sense of hope that is equal to whatever darkness you’ve woven into the story. And of course the age of the audience matters. Anzac Girl is for slightly older readers than How To Move A Zoo, so they can handle something a little darker, as long as there is also some lightness there for them to hold onto. Even so, there were features of Alice’s story that I explicitly chose to leave out of the book because I felt they were too traumatic.
Literature can bring history to life – do you have any recommendations for Jessie’s story for readers to explore beyond your book?
If they’re in Sydney, I would absolutely suggest they try recreating Jessie’s journey for themselves. Sydney Girls High School now stands where Moore Park Zoo used to be and from there, readers can take the same stroll that Jessie did, through the city, across the Domain and to Bennelong Point, where the Sydney Opera House now stands. Readers won’t be able to catch the ferry from that location as Jessie did, but if they continue around Circular Quay, they will be able to take a ferry to the zoo. It’s not a short walk all up, but there are always buses available if they get tired.
Also, if kids enjoyed How to Move a Zoo, they might also like to read another of Owen’s books, My Friend Tertius, which was written by Corinne Fenton. It’s the true story of a WWII code breaker and his pet gibbon and it’s a really fabulous book!
How important do you think it is to make history accessible to people of all ages, and what impact do you think this can have on how we interact with the world?
Kids love history! They can’t get enough of stories about ‘the olden days’ when their parents were young and TV shows came out one episode at a time. In the children’s book world we often talk about how books can be a mirror (of a child’s own experience) or a window (into someone else’s). Many of the best books are both. History is part of opening that window and helping children put themselves in the shoes of others. Anything that helps a child understand that their experience is not the only experience helps them to approach the world with empathy and an open mind, which can only be a good thing.
Do you hope that this book will be used in educational contexts for older children as well as entertainment for younger children?
Definitely! I’m a big believer that picture books aren’t just for young children. There’s so much that kids of all ages and even adults can get from picture books, whether fiction or nonfiction. And yes, I do think there’s plenty about Sydney’s history that older children could learn from this book and I hope that educators use it in that context.
Finally, can you tell us what is next in the pipeline?
It’s a busy couple of months for me! How To Move a Zoo is out in June and then I have a children’s nonfiction book called Unreal! (illustrated by the amazing Leila Rudge) that will be published in July. After that, I don’t have anything in the publication pipeline, but I’ve been scribbling away at a few picture book manuscripts that hopefully might be published one day.
Is there anything I missed?
No.