Dim's Write Stuff

Strange things can occur around a full moon. So, it's little wonder the nephew of Uncle Larry experiences a questionable episode at that time after said uncle bestows him with a bevy of birthday undies (aka underwear). How he then becomes The Underwear Wolf is the basis of this wonderfully witty and winsome new picture book by Gideon Sterer and the ineffable Charles Santoso . Our young wolf-to-be is like any youngster; when faced with stern instructions about when and how to don his favourite pair of underwear, he blithely interprets them to suit his own impetuous nature. Thus, a furry pair of undies is worn on a ... full moon despite instructions not to.  What follows is an hilarious romp through the suburban streets by the light of the moon, not as a young boy rather as a large-eared, hairier than a thousand hamster s, werewolf. Seemingly under the whim of the moon, our hairy monster takes off with grunts and growls and an uncontrollable urge to rampage his neighbourhood stre...

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...

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...

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...

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a mum. I had a younger sister, my bestie but to fill the sibling gap (and several years before motherhood would be a reality), I had a backyard of furred, feathered and finned buddies. Much like Little A, (my own moniker for him) our main character in Maura Pierlot and A Yi's latest picture book, Our Family Zoo . This little boy's backyard, and kitchen and bedroom are filled to bursting with animals of every description. There are your run of the mill domestic moggies and doggies, the old chook, plenty of questionable reptiles and amphibians not to mention a host of native pet rescues. It's exactly the kind of animal menagerie I yearned for as a youngster, although I did manage to rack up a loft full of pigeons, quails, budgies, ducks, chooks, mice, dogs, cats, rosellas, a galah named Freddie, and at one point, a ping pong eating giant oscar fish. Little A would have been proud. But where my parents drew the line at an Arabian stallion, Li...

When nonsense invites silliness, silliness begets joy. And joy is one of the best things we can feed to our young folk. Unfettered amusement is exactly what you're served in James Foley's , Oh No!   I'm no grammar junkie but as a writer, I do adore a good dollop of onomatopoeia. Oh No! not only promises this from the very first end papers, it delivers it on every single page. Which is great for ramming home the meaning behind this multi-syllabic device, but also achieves the penultimate objective of any picture book, repeat read throughs. Every splish, splash CHOMP ! is accompanied by the query of ' What's that noise? ', because these onomatopoeic words describe sounds which set the scene for the aforementioned silliness and invite further investigation.  It all begins with rapturous applause, or rather a pageful of clap clap clapping for an elephant with a very special cake. Sadly, things soon spiral into a vortex of catastrophic mishaps each more ludicrious ...

When an adult picks up a junior fiction chapter book and is transported back to a time when nothing else mattered but page turning until the end, you know you're on a winner. Why? Because for me, that time, when I was so utterly absorbed by books my surroundings, time and even food failed to penetrate my intense committment to story, was one of the most joyous in my life.  The Silver Series of chapter books aimed at youngsters between the ages of five to nine not only fuelled that transportation, it actually made me feel like one of those book-loving kids again; like I was nine. This cleverly curated ensemble of engaging stories for kids however is first and foremost that; for kids not a wannabe kid again! And it does so with carefully considered intelligence. So far, I've enjoyed the first three. All sport bright inviting covers, clear theme discriptions and ... joy of joys ... rounded edges! I'm not sure why I like that but feel sure kids with differing tactile sensitivi...

Oliver Jeffers' exciting and thought-provoking picture book stories orbiting around the Boy, have a new out-of-this-world addition, Where To Hide A Star . Among the boy’s many loves is his predilection for playing hide and seek with his two besties, penguin and the star. Neither of them is much good at counting or hiding imaginatively but that hardly matters when the real gain behind the game is spending time with your friends. Until one day, through an unplanned misadventure, the boy loses track of the star. Try as he might, he genuinely is unable to find the star so decides to call in the big guns, aka the Martian, who unquestionably knows more about stars than him. Thanks to a neat bit of Martian tech and a good deal of happenstance, they trek star’s whereabouts all the way to the North Pole, where it turns out, it is very much not lost. Star had found a new friend; a girl who has always dreamed of having a star as a playmate. An inevitable Mexican standoff ensues. How do...

Look, it's true, I’m more of a dog person than someone with a fetish for felines, but Itty Bitty Kitty is so utterly adorbs and cute (although whatever you do, DON'T call her that), how could one not want to cuddle her up. Itty Bitty Kitty features in all three tales that appear in each of the four five books (latest in the series out November 2024!) in this junior fiction series. She is teeny tiny. Winsome and mischievous. But don’t let her size fool you. With her tigress attitude and feline smarts, Kitty is the penultimate adventurer, even if those adventures extend no further than her home with her Humans. Told in endearing first person cat-speak, each instalment is sweet and manageable for young newly independent and emerging readers. Engagingly illustrated chapters provide plenty of visual stimulation. Text is punctuated with bolded words that break up the text and signify significance. Typography aside, Kitty’s tales are full of playful fun and cheeky abandon, perf...

Over a slew of silly seasons aka Christmases, I’ve reviewed some truly stunning Christmas inspired books. You’ll find many of them  here  and as curated booklists at  DIM’S re VIEW S . This year, like my intake of dried fruit treats and sugar, I’ve reduced the selection to this humble handful. Droll wit, Aussie flavoured, and spirit-filled are the themes of the day or rather season so, enjoy! Happy Christmas! How Does Santa Go Down The Chimney? by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen Good question lads. This, my non-Shakespearean friends, is the real question, one exasperatingly left incompletely answered. This book is a magical, maddening meandering through the various ways our St. Nickolas aka Santa, is able to silently and stealthily enter the number of dwellings he does in the time that he has. As we follow SC across the rooftops (and under the front doors) seeking answers, other enigmatic quandaries are raised like whether or not he pauses to do laundry between hou...

There's nothing to not like about Stanton's latest junior graphic fiction series, Fluff . Except maybe bullies, which Gilbert and his gigantic fluffy bunny buddy do, with a passion. In fact their borderline self-righteousness and desire to wreak revenge on their arch nemesis, Carl, becomes their soul purpose and the core of this cute and quirky tale which features tonnes of turtles, parmesan cheese, drones and undies in weird places. Kids will love the zaniness, the absurdity, the talking fish (I did) and the extremely brilliant illustrations swimming with motion and madness (the facial expressions alone are a crack up).  What makes a great graphic novel experience superlative are the touches of tenderness secreted amidst the crazy. Stanton does this quietly and with great effect beginning with the 'bit at the beginning' which is in fact the hook for book #2 right there (for me anyways). Along with the series's namesake of course.  We learn that Gilbert lost his f...

Bear and Bird are best friends and that is all you really need to know because the rest of this book and its counterpart, The Picnic and Other Stories , also by the uber talented, Jarvis, is simply a wonderful venture into the relationship between these two. Like the friendship of many small children, Bear and Bird’s is one of unrestrained candour and genuine purity of spirit. They share, care and yes, argue; sometimes over the most inane things, like a spoon. In this collection of four short and super sweet stories, the spoon causes a quaking rift between the two companions prompting Bear to write a letter looking for a new friend. Extreme reactions indeed, that result in a new connection with another lost soul also seeking a new confidant. Ironically, both end up anonymously describing all the wonderful things they cherish and have in common with the other, because of course, unbeknownst to themselves, they have been writing to each. This and the other stories about stars and ca...

Few of us are strangers to the quirky works of author illustrator, Nick Bland (think The Very Cranky Bear series ) which is why it’s always a delight feasting upon his latest creations. Bunny and Bird are best mates and as incongruous as that pairing may sound are the stars of Bland’s new picture book series. How To Catch A Dragon introduces us to the cute couple as they meet in park dressed in warm autumnal colours. Bunny has something special for Bird, a present. His gift-giving motivation is simply because of his regard for Bird as his best friend . Ahhh. Ten points straight up for such beautiful sentiment. Bird is curious and Bunny can’t help himself; he unwraps his present and reveals it’s a dragon egg. If you’re curiosity wasn’t already tickled, it surely is by now. Bird is briefly sceptical but Bunny assures him it’s a bona fide dragon egg because it comes from the dragon-egg shop. No faulting logic there. It also comes with an instruction booklet which describes the kism...

Stressed Anxious Nervous Drunk Overtired Suffering from Tourette Syndrome? Answer: A Streamer No, not a party streamer, but a video gamer who regularly broadcasts live using the Twitch platform . And while this little black duck may be more inclined to dance around with streamers in her hair rather than pretend to understand the online world of live gamer streaming, she can now claim to have yet another SM platform that she barely comprehends! The good news is, she shares this new found space of interactive entertainment with the clever clogs at Story City and did so in hilarious fashion recently as part of their weekly Adventure Hour eps . Let me explain. Several moon dips and rises ago, I was part of an immersive, interactive storytelling project with Story City. The result was a WA Premier's Book Award shortlisted locative digital narrative cheekily entitled, The Chapel of Unlove . This immersive, choose your own styled, multi ending adventure is a slapstick, riotous romp throug...

Holidays are the best. Christmas is up there as one of my favs and to celebrate my chapter junior novel title: PS WHO STOLE SANTA'S MAIL? is featured on SCBWI's 2022 December Reading List. Pop over to their site to explore the huge range of other celebratory titles of the season. To keep the merry going, PS WHO STOLE SANTA'S MAIL? is flying high with Santa at the crazy price of just $10! Click on the contact link, here to order yours and mention the Code: ReadingList2022 Please note: Postage and packaging rates apply both within Australia and internationally. Postage times may vary. No guarantees for arrival prior to Christmas 2022. 

This adult fiction review is sneaking in because it encompasses so many of life's most endearing, harrowing and heartbreaking moments in one glorious golden family-orientated glow, that I believe its appeal is further reaching than just as an 'adult read'.  So here we go ... The hardcover art of this novel portrays a duality of summer nonchalance and flamboyant gaiety, a bit like a freshly shaken frozen margarita. But don’t let that fool you for beyond the dancing title belies a story with substantial heart and a unique poignant jocularity for which author, Steven Rowley is renowned. There is nothing feeble or wanting in The GUNCLE rather it exudes a sticky kind of specialness that adheres to your innards in the most glorious replenishing way, as opposed to a need-to-retch-it-out way. It's summer in California, a land of 360 days of searing sunshine and infinite possibilities. It’s taken less the four years for former TV sitcom star, Patrick O’Hara to acclimatize a...

To coincide with an effort to dramatically cut down on the amount of chocolate consumed this Easter season, I am sharing just a few Easter picture books this year. All guaranteed to assuage your Easter spirit in terms of humour and hankering for family fun time. For more, consider these past offerings from Dim’s Easter Goodie Basket . Or visit your local bricks and mortar bookshop for a sky-full of meaningful Easter reads. Little Wombat’s Easter Surprise Those familiar with, Charles Fuge’s , Little Wombat picture book series will already adore Little Wombat’s goofy allure and his woodland friends – yes he is globally connected on the animal friend circuit.   In this gorgeous Easter edition he is busy hunting for Easter eggs when a familiar looking stranger bounds past. He assumes it’s his buddy, Rabbit and is amazed to find it is actually, Bilby, an unrelated but similar looking cutie. Surprise number one. Rabbit and Bilby share multiple similarities and delight in their new...