Dim's Write Stuff

This book needs more than five stars. It is a universe of stars, magnificent and absolute. For me, it possesses all the qualities outstanding narrative works possess rendering them utterly impossible to articulate just how magnificent they are. See what I mean. Hopeless.How does one describe a thing that fills them, tears them, speaks to them so intimately, so personally, so honestly? Therein lies the true beauty and unfathomable skill Dalton has: he sees things. He notices us. He gets it all and then, quite astoundingly, has the ability to write to YOU the individual with undiluted clarity and unashamed compulsion. Dalton's novels feel as though they are tailored specifically for the individual, every single one of us. His characters slam feet first, boots and all, against your emotional armour with such force, it makes you gasp. This is not a bad thing. It's a magnificent and absolute and real sensation. So, yes, I loved Lola. Everything. The anguish. The agony. The sorrow. T...

Picture books are renowned for tackling a plethora of subjects that illuminate imaginative thought and spark creativity. None more so than those centred around construction, building, making . As an adult, I am constantly moved and enlightened by the ability of humans to design and create homes to shelter in and communities to thrive amongst. Imagine then how enthralling these types of books are for youngsters. This crafty collection of recent releases escorts young readers from architectural triumphs, to design to the notion of ‘home is where the heart (or pet) is’. Enjoy! Digby & Claude by Emma Allen and Hanna Sommerville This hefty picture book is a moving tribute to the re-developmental phase of housing in Australia in the late 1930s. It is also a powerful testimony to change, the evolution of friendship and resilience of community spirit. Digby and Claude unite as a change in the appearance and composition of their street begins; new flats are being built. As the demolition...

It’s that time of year to untangle the LEDs, consume enough sugar to drown Willy Wonka, and hark and herald the angels until you are hoarse. I LOVE it! But for less sensory abuse and a better excuse to take a moment off from the crazy this time of year can induce, turn to a picture book. You don’t even need someone small to share it with although if you don’t own a small person, consider reading your favourite stories at your local library, charity or children’s organisation. Sharing the merry is what it is really all about and this handful of new Chrissy titles is but a teeny selection of what is on offer. To really fill your stockings check out some of my traditional festive favourites either at DIM’S re VIEWS or over at Boomerang Books Blog.  Now, let’s start Rocking Around the Christmas Tree! Jingle Smells  – Fun Rhyming Parody Mark Sperring loves a quirky silly sounding rhyme. Turns out he is partial to a bit of stink too, which becomes the theme and Christmas’s even...

The trouble with advent calendars is their finite nature. Once the occasion is reached or the countdown completed , one is left with a lingering sense of,  'Well, what now? ' Well not this Countdown! In case you've missed the last three week 's worth of cracking Christmas bookish gift ideas, cast your eyes downwards. Here you'll find all the links to take you to all of the afore mentioned must reads. There's something for every taste from thrilling YA to heart-melting picture books and middle grade marvels, fabulous non-fiction and even the odd autobiographical true story by yours truly. You'll be fighting the kids for them and don't worry if good old St Aussie Post couldn't quite deliver on time...these beauties are most assuredly anytime-of-the-year-reads.  It's been a mighty year with monumental challenges but one thing has remained resolute for me; the absolute power a book has to transform, uplift, support, entertain and reassure in times ...

The Pipi Café tucked away in the New Zealand village of Havelock North is not as proprietor and chef, Alexandra Tylee purports, a cake or dragon or dog but rather a pretty pink institution of fine pizzas and local cuisine. And fortunately for us, she is also a cookbook of the most divine proportions. Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook looks less of a cookbook for kids than a regal creation resplendent in its deep red, egg adorned cover. It is the gold crown atop the boiled egg however that hints at rich, tongue in cheek things to come. Tylee wastes no time in getting to the point orientating would-be cooks with kitchen layout and utensils before strutting confidently onto the most important meal of the day, breakfast. Each recipe is allocated a full two page spread, dividing method and ingredients into neat eye-catching panels with nifty informal suggestions scattered throughout offering alternatives, tips and tricks and useful hacks. Tylee flavours each entry with her unique...

I don’t normally share adult fiction here but this recently read novel is pure magnificence and deserves  attention. I value stories that illuminate the dingier parts of history, especially histories that are not that old, like this one. Teens should therefore fin d A Gentleman in Moscow particularly fascinating. A Gentleman in Moscow is a story of grand proportions, immense character and infinite humor. And like all stories of colossal significance, those most successful and long remembered, it is utterly transformative. Therein lies the poetic essence of this tale; it’s essentially about the multitude of ways we are transformed by life as it itself yields to constant change. Count Alexander Rostov's life is one of continual transformation despite the fact that his current habitat confined within the walls of the Hotel Metropol under house arrest remains static. The Count is a gentleman of former prestige and aristocratic bearing whose main occupation of the bourgeois is as obse...

Hattie is six and has been waiting forever for school to start. Interestingly, I picked up this novel, first published in Sweden in 2005, at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown when many a young pupil was itching to get back into their own classroom. Hattie however, an only child living on the edge of nowhere with just a dog and two outdoor cats for company, has never set foot in a real classroom and can't wait to exchange her wild, gloriously unstructured days spent among her mother's flowerbeds for the adventure of cutting and pasting and forming friendships. Having survived the bus ride to school, Hattie attempts friendship with Linda, a girl with little blue eyes and a disposition so timid, Hattie initially mistakes her for a stuck-up angry girl instead of the sweet little princess she really is. Linda's cautious but caring personality is the perfect counterfoil to Hattie's torrent of unregulated candour and cheek. Barely a moment passes that Hattie isn...

Maree Coote's picture books are sublime works of art; dramatic, visually arresting, evocative. Published by Melbourne Style Books, they are expressions of history, culture, art and design. Perfect conduits for conveying accounts and incidents in non-fictional settings in ways young children can enthuse over and understand. When a tiny new born baby disappeared one fateful evening some 40 years ago, an entire nation was instantly polarised. Questions clotted in every lounge room, staff room and playground, quickly congealing into unsubstantiated opinions. Like many, I remember the exact moment I first heard the awful news report on the family television. It's a recollection indelibly inscribed on my memory. And yes, even in our humble household, assumptions were immediately made. You either believed a mother murdered her baby or a dingo committed a crime against nature. Four decades on, several court hearings and a life time of attrition later, this simple picture book ...

Of all the years I reviewed Kids' Lit for Boomerang Books, occasionally a gem was unearthed. A gem that shone so fiercely I barely knew how to describe its beauty. Here is one of those enigmatic gems whose sparkle continues to dazzle. From beneath a mountain of brightly coloured picture books all screaming for review, I spied the oddly unassuming cover of The Duck and the Darklings . Odd because apart from Peterboy’s candle-hat, there was little that was not sombre looking about this picture book. Even the title sounded desolate, quirky. Surely though something fantastical had to be dwelling between those black covers because this was the new creation of two of Australia’s most revered story tellers, Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King. The Duck and the Darklings is less of a blasé five minute read and more of a whimsical journey of despair, discovery, renewal and hope. It opens bleakly in the land of Dark and is about a small child named, Peterboy and his Grandpa, who sha...