Dim's Write Stuff

A person's identity, their story may begin before the day they are born. From that day though, their living, growing narrative takes shape and form, evolving into a tapestry of ancestorial significance. For many First Nations peoples, that tapestry is a possum skin cloak. Possum Skin Cloak describes not just a precious article of clothing, it's a picture book that stitches together the delicate weaves of belonging, family and cultural identity. Penned by Aunty Faye Muir and Sue Lawson , Possum Skin Cloak , begins at birth with the wrapping of a newborn in the warmth of possum skin. It's a practical way to keep baby dry and warm and safe but also close to their mother's heart. As the child grows, so too does their story, their connection to Country and their understanding of their place within it all.  The handcrafted cloak is cobbled together with additions and subtractions, imbued with language, sacred stories and places . Understanding. The appreciation of one's...

  As a semi-frequent visitor to Singapore and unashamed appreciator of her creatives and the kids' content they produce there, it fills me with immense pleasure to introduce, Yashika Mody as she invites us to learn more about the genesis of her latest picture book realease, FUNcles . So, sit back, grab a cup of kopi (or your favourite caffeniated beverage) and enjoy! "Hi, Uncle!"   "Thank you, Aunty!" "One kopi (local Singaporean coffee), Uncle!" For those of us living in Singapore, these are phrases that you’ll hear on almost every corner, street, and neighbourhood. You'd be hard-pressed to find a child or adult refer to community elders by their formal names; instead, we use terms of respect and endearment like 'Uncle' and 'Aunty' here. It's one of Singapore's most memorable cultural traditions, but you can find beautiful parallels all around the world—from the Philippines to Latin America, and even in Hawai'i! Th...

Culture can be as ingrained and omnipresent as sunshine for kids. Their interpretation of the world around them is of course influenced by those in their world; their immediate family, peers and community. It becomes the norm, unquestioned and hard to relinquish. As a 'third-culture kid' growing up in Singapore, Yashika Mody is well qualified to commentate on the unique qualities of socially accepted cultural norms having experienced them all her life; like the use of the words Aunty and Uncle within Singaporean communities. FUNcles is a picture book penned by Mody and illustrated by Adriena Fong that highlights one small lad's confusion after he adopts this terminology for everyone he knows. The results are both heartwarming and hilarious. Told in comforting first person, we first meet this boy in his classroom where he is assigned a worksheet to complete about his family (tree). He immediately proclaims that he has a gazillion uncles . Undeterred by the self-perceived ...

From the vast red centre of Australia to the war-torn terrain of central Europe, Joey is one of those characters who inadvertently sees more of the world than anyone ever anticipated. And he's not even real. Well, he is to Art. But how exactly does this intrepid little kangaroo traverse so many miles much less survive them? Joey Gets His Wings by Catherine Bauer and Jennifer Horn shines a beguiling light on this incredible tale based on real-life events. Sweet Joey, the childhood toy of Art begins his tale in Australia's outback under a blue umbrella of sky, just as any young kangaroo might. Together with Art he weathers the melancholy rhythm of country life and shares Art's dream-filled nights of flying off to explore the world.  When Art is old enough, he joins the Australian Flying Corps and is sent off to the Great War with little else but fierce determination. Fortunately, little Joey with his address-embroidered red scarf and jolly smiling face, accompanies him....

It's no secret, I love chickens. Good old chooks, suppliers of revered cackleberries. So, when There's A Chicken In The House blew in like a hen through an open door, I was secretly joyed beyond words. That this is a long-awaited reteaming of picture book greats, Sonya Hartnett and Lucia Masciullo also gave me much to crow about.  It's a simple enough tale about an errant chook who interprets a windblown open door as her personal invitation to see how the other side live. The young mistress of the house is a ball of consternation, attempting to warn those in charge of animal behaviour and then trying in vain to remove said chook according to orders. Alas, the plucky pullet assumes an air of sky-high indifference and continues her inspection through the house until she ends up in the big-sister's-bedroom. Having already disgraced herself in the bathroom because ' There's no limit to how bad a chicken can be, ' according to Dad, our protagonist is terrified...

There's a lot swirling around in the universe, depending on which one you're orbiting through. For a diminutive soul like Leif, the cosmos can assume overwhelming proportions which despite his heroic Viking namesake, aren't always easy to overcome by yourself. My Tiny Universe by Maryam Master , is a close up exposé of a universal problem; the art of being big when you feel so stupendously small. It takes us a while to realise the full extent of Leif's physical health limitations because he is the kind of kid to deflect concern and pity with intellect and absurdly rationalised thought. This is relayed through his impressive vocabulary and method of delivery which unfortunately also excludes him from more mainstream schoolyard conversation and interactions. Readers have scant time to dwell on this however because as Leif introduces himself, we immediately glean a potentially new and different side of his personality. One with arsonist qualities. One who is no longer th...

Harriet is one busy little primary schooler. To help herself navigate the many different personas a young girl needs to be in order to facilitate all the roles a young girl needs to fulfil, Harriet utilises a veritable millinery of hats. Hats help Harriet manage whatever situation she finds herself in. She has a hat for listening, a Get-To-The-Point hat, even a Calm-Down Hat for when feelings flair up uncontrollably. Harriet's hats enable a high level of self-regulation creating a beautiful, relatable metaphor for self-help. Trouble is there are a few too many. When it's time to decorate the school hall for a big dance, the sheer variety of coping devices eventually overwhelms her. Harriet is unable to choose which hat is best to fulfill a variety of tasks. This leads to a metaphoric collapse of not just her towering pile of hats but also Harriet's sense of self.  Best mate Bernie advises her to just be herself but after wearing her assortment of different selves for so lon...

What's your favourite colour? It's a great character defining question, but have you ever considered why you like the hues you do. Do you even know from where colours originated or how they are made? The second most asked question I get asked as an author of picture books is: 'Did you draw the pictures?' The answer is a hard, NO! I can't draw a straight line well. But that doesn't mean I am not fascinated by colours and how they are employed to  visually tell my stories.  One can appreciate great art after all, even if one can barely wield a paintbrush. The Mystery of Colour by renowned artist and master paint maker, David Coles is a non-fiction picture book that not only sates the appetites of those like me, but provides a substantial reference point for artists and the curious at heart, aka kids! He begins with that introductory question and establishment of his considerable creds as a real life colour-maker. Yes! Imagine creating beautiful new shades of col...

Mouse is perhaps one of the most beguiling pervaders of FOMO you're ever likely to encounter. He resides in a cosy house in a field as big as the entire world within the warmly hued pages of Where The Heart Is   by uber-talented Shirley Marr and Michael Speechley . And fortunately for us, is brave enough to share his tale about friendship and loss and fear of missing out. Each autumn Mouse farewells not just the summer and its lively glow but also those friends he made then: the Monarch butterflies, the swallows, the geese. All depart to mysterious southern climes much like we humans seeking solace from winter's grim countenance. When the last leaves settle and the last wings flutter out of sight, everything is still and empty, like Mouse's heart . He yearns to seek the wild wide blue skies for himself so packs up his things and sets off, after lunch as it were. At first the thrill of something new, heading into the unknown is the adventure he always thought he wanted a...

Alishba The Great could be a tale touted as moral-driven and whilst helpful notions of self-belief and esteem feature on every page, this picture book by Faeza Samnakay and Sam B , is in fact a delightful and colourful ode to finding one's inner strength and siblings. Alishba hails from a land of antelopes, elephants and passionfruit vines. From the first glowing illustrations depicting Mt Kilimanjaro, we might deduce it to be Tanzania. She is as vibrant as the colours shown to depict her, bold, bouncy and well educated. As she grows, we learn about four precious gifts her family bestows upon her. I personally think her most obvious gift is her nurturing family but more about that later ... From each of her parents and brothers, Alishba receives a cape, each a different colour, a tangible, solid reference to the aphorism that accompanies it: Care, Courage, Determination and Flair.  Her relatives take great pains to explain what each truism means for her and any future she forges ...

Occasionally, one happens upon a book that resonates hard, impacts deep and lingers on. Sketch by Jacques Goldstyn is one such book; a picture book for older readers that speaks to those that feel contrary to the norm. And in a month where I seem to be happily adrift on a sea of art-infused books, Sketch is a tale that sits satisfyingly among them. Sketch is born to parents whose hearts are compassionate and wise. From the outset, he wasn't quite like other babies despite everything being anatomically 'normal', he wasn't drawn quite like anyone else . His parents didn't care, loving and nourishing his energetic joie de vivre and wild exuberance along with his deep-seated love of art.  It is this passion however that further distances Sketch from his more ordinary contemporaries. Sketch lives in a town that is orderly, plain and depressingly practical. His divergent way of thinking and drawing simply does not correlate with such boundaries which is bearable until...

Realisation can be a slap in the face when you're convinced beyond all reason that a thing is so. Even more so for the very young who cling to conviction like a shipwrecked sailor to flotsam. When enterprising naturalist, Maeve lands her first fish, she is determined to give it the best life possible. It's just that life doesn't always go to plan. Fish Don't Hop by author illustrator, Jojo Leslie, is the divine proof that change is inescapable or rather can result in escape. Let me explain. After a rousing session at the local pond, Maeve nets what she believes is a tiny fish. Her mother gently points out that while it looks and behaves very much like a fish, it is indeed not a fish . Maeve is resolute. Mumma is wrong and this fish needs a home, which she dutifully sets out to establish.  Maeve's fish has everything it could want not least of which is Maeve's vigilant attention. It's through this constant observation that Maeve notices her fish's chan...

One can be transported in many ways: A familiar scent, a tune well-loved, a donkey. Stories, artfully composed, are stupendously capable of transporting us in ways often difficult to fathom. The stories that flow from Suzy Zail's pen are such transports. Art, a deeply nuanced way of portraying story, is another. A New Kind of Beautiful is Zail's latest YA offering that embodies both; the art of storytelling within the story of one girl's relationship with art, told with casual yet carefully considered care and creativity.  Paige is a high school student with clear plans for her future. She exalts in art and is determined to clinch the Year 10 Art Prize; an accolade she believes is her conduit into an elite art school in New York. She is an accomplished artist creating real-life paintings with intense polestar focus. She also has Stargardt disease; a rare, chronic, degenerative eye condition causing severely reduced central vision. In what feels like less than a blink of ...

Video games have had quite the bad rap over the last few years. They’ve shouldered much of the blame for the burgeoning literacy crisis and children’s waning attention spans. They’ve been accused of encouraging violence. And while I agree that excessive time spent playing games is not good for anyone, I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom, either. Today, I’m a children’s author and professional opera chorister. Around the turn of the millennium, though, I was simply a kid who played a lot of games. Computer games, PlayStation games … I even had a Pokémon-themed Game Boy. As a primary-schooler, I’d go to my best friend’s house after school and we’d play on her computer. One of our favourites was a game called Storybook Weaver, which helped you write and illustrate your own stories. We wrote about a llama called Lissette. She dinged like a bell whenever you clicked on her, a gimmick we found endlessly funny. Pictured: The author receiving a computer game for Christmas Could we have h...

All of us wish at some point to be someone other than who we are, ostensibly to improve our lot or in the case of our young protagonist in this spirited new picture book by Trygve Skaug  and Ella Okstad , improve the world around him. If I Were Prime Minister invites us to join in the fantasy and appreciate the way a child-run community could be deployed. Pulsing with dynamic prose that weaves whimsically above and throughout each spread, If I Were Prime Minister , delivers a visual eye-fest of stimulating images each dutifully depicting our erstwhile prime minister's litany of promises. These include guarantees of a swimming pool in every garden, libraries open every day, extra screen time (ahem), spontaneous fireworks, cleaner oceans, and my personal favourite, compulsory playtime as a subject taught to adults (who arguably have forgotten how to play).  This fun foray into fantastical, impulsive desire is more than a catalogue of wishful thinking. It subtly reflects the w...

  A day out at the beach evokes a rainbow of emotions. Excitement, anticipation, urgency. How children compress, distil and then express these feelings is the subject of a jolly series of picture books ...! Said Rabbit by European author illustrator, Marjoke Henrichs . This one, Again! Said Rabbit stars the same little roguish Rabbit and his extremely patient and yielding parents.  Like any self-respecting, ego-centric youngster, Rabbit loves being the centre of attention. He possesses big bold feelings and conveys them with equal fervour and assurity. Despite Mum and Dad's announcement that beach time is time to relax, games are immediately launched, kites are flown and sandcastles are constructed. Rabbit thrills from one high energy activity to the next crying out, ' Again!'  to continue play.  It's a refrain recognised worldwide by parents whose soul job it seems is to entertain and engage, incessantly. Until ... Dad needs a little lie down! To change it up...

Do you remember making abstract ink art with your toddler? You know, the type involving splodges and straw blowing? Perhaps you were more into spotting cloud shapes. Maybe finding patterns in chaos is more your thing. The geometry of the natural world and its accidental occurrences is not something we consciously celebrate. These two picture books however standout because of their focus on simplicity and artful creativity. Read on, or better, experience the incisive visual literacy of these books first hand. What's That Splat by Johanna Bell & Amelia Luscombe I love the feel, look and premise of this book. Let's talk about the bevelled, rounded corners first. These give the book a cosy, comfortable feel suggesting there's nothing scary inside here, just a bit of fun. Lusciously thick GSM (page density) guarantees a long life of frequent page turns and reinforces connectivity with the target audience, ostensibly two-year-olds and above, plus it's easy to turn. Colou...