By Casey Neill
Thousands of Preps across the state will soon read Annabelle Hale’s tale of ‘delightfully destructive’ birds masquerading as monsters.
The Eltham author and illustrator’s The Bin Monster, released in July, will be among five books gifted to Prep students across Victoria in 2026.
“I was blown away. It was so exciting. I wasn’t expecting it,” Annabelle said of the book’s inclusion.
A panel of experts also selected Chooks in Dinner Suits, written by Diane Jackson Hill and illustrated by Craig Smith; The Concrete Garden, written and illustrated by Bob Graham; Frank’s Red Hat, written and illustrated by Sean E Avery; and Sharing, written by Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson and illustrated by Leanne Mulgo Watson.
The State Government initiative is designed to spark a lifelong love of reading and lift literacy outcomes.
“I just think it’s such a good initiative to get copies of books out there for kids to take home and encourage that early love of reading,” Annabelle said.
“They get to own their own copies, and have the same books as their friends and talk about them.”
The Bin Monster is Annabelle’s first release as both author and illustrator, following illustrator credits for four other books.
“I really enjoyed the process of writing it as well,” she said.
“I would like to do more writing, I have so many ideas.
“I think of them as seeds. I get the seed of an idea.
“You have to cultivate it and water it and grow it into a story.”
The metaphor stems from Game of Thrones author George RR Martin describing himself as a gardener.
“Sometimes it grows in ways he didn’t expect,” she said.
“You’re never fully in control of it.”
The seed for The Bin Monster was planted when Annabelle listened to a podcast episode about cockatoos breaking into bins in Sydney.
“I love stories about animals and humans coming up against each other, and animals outsmarting humans,” she laughed.
“I’ve always loved birds. They’re delightfully destructive.”
An encounter with a cockatoo at a park with her then one-year-old daughter nurtured the seed.
“It was screeching and my daughter was scared,” she said.
“They sort of sound like monsters if you don’t know what they are.
“The Bin Monster is about a girl trying to figure out what kind of monster is breaking into her neighbourhood’s bins at night.”
She hears their screeches in the darkness and finds rubbish strewn everywhere in the morning.
“The neighbours are all trying lots of things to stop the monster – stacking bricks on the bin, jamming sticks into the lid,” Annabelle said.
“She keeps imagining that it must be a monster with strong arms, strong teeth…
“It turns out it’s cockatoos.”
She hopes her readers will find fun in the cheeky story.
“I think back to when I was a kid, and a lot of my favourite books were just fun to read or they were about topics that I really liked,” she said.
“I hope they perhaps have a little think about the animals that we live around and live with.
“Mainly, I’d just like them to enjoy the story and hopefully keep encouraging that love of reading.”
