Friday First Chapters #17: Zana Fraillon reads ‘Song Of A Thousand Seas’

September 8, 2025

In this episode of the Your Kid’s Next Read Friday First Chapters series:

Zana Fraillon reads ‘Song Of A Thousand Seas’

Zana Fraillon reads from her new verse novel ‘Song Of A Thousand Seas’

About Zana Fraillon

Zana Fraillon (she/they) is an internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning author of books for children and young adults. Her work has been published in over fifteen countries and is in development for both stage and screen. She has a doctorate in creative writing, and degrees in history and teaching.

Zana’s passion for empowering young people to find their voice is a feature of both her books and her work with writers of all ages. Her latest two verse novels are Song of A Thousand Seas and the multi-award-winning The Way of Dog.

Find out more.

About Penny Harrison

Penny Harrison is a children’s author, book reviewer and journalist living in Naarm/Melbourne. She has written 13 internationally published picture books, including CBCA Notables The Little Things and Bronte: Me & My Boots.

Penny has worked as a journalist for more than 20 years, contributing to publications such as The Sydney Morning Herald, Herald Sun Home Magazine, The Weekly Times and House of Wellness.

She is an editor with Kids’ Book Review and part of the Author Pen Pals program.

Find out more.

About ‘Song Of A Thousand Seas’

All day long we can hear

that Sea howl prowling wild

inside our brains and every part of us is straining

to feel it taste it twirl it whirl it swirl it

inside our body

again.

Houdini the octopus lives in an aquarium, but she misses her home in the wild Sea. She doesn’t like the visitors who bang on her tank. Or the way she can’t feel the sun on her skin or the wind rippling the water. It’s a dull existence for a creature with nine brains.

Then one day she meets someone who is different to the other visitors. Juno’s busy brain buzzes with so many questions and thoughts that Houdini’s skin tingles with wonder.

But the singing of the Sea is growing stronger and harder to resist. Can Houdini make Juno understand what she needs before it’s too late?

Find out more.

Published by University of Queensland Press

Friday First Chapters #3: Sandy Bigna reads ‘Little Bones’

First Chapters #5: Ashleigh Barton reads ‘How To Sail To Somewhere’

First Chapters #6: A. L. Tait reads ‘Willow Bright’s Secret Plot’

First Chapters #14: Helen Edwards reads ‘The Disappearing Circus’