Dim's Write Stuff

Experiencing a verse novel for young people is like discovering chocolate crackles are good for you. It’s a marvellous, heart-enveloping revelation, something you instantly want more of and know you’ll never be able to live without again. These two verse novels, one for juniors and the other for middle graders, by accomplished Aussie writers evoke the best chocolate crackle feels and more besides. You must experience them. Are You There, Buddha? Wise, satirical, poignant and alarmingly en pointe, Are You There, Buddha? reads with the ease and speed of a verse novel but involves the reader with so much immersive authenticity, you feel you have experienced something much greater. Bridget, aka, Bee is a tween wobbling on the precipice of teenage-hood, facing all the terrifying manifestations this transformation attracts. Her body is betraying her in increasingly alarming ways, morphing into a lumpy, bumpy, hairy hideous illusion of her former self. She has just started Year 7 and unlik...

We are all different in some way. Those differences may be indiscernible, as tiny as the smallest birds on earth, or as with Alba, immediately noticeable and something she has had to drag around since birth. Alba was born with what is commonly referred to as a club foot. Twisted in the wrong way and subject to a brace for most of her life, Alba refers to her physical affliction as, Cleo and can’t wait to banish Cleo for a life more normal. Alba’s asthmatic, science-loving best friend, Levi has a desire of his own, to uncover the mystery of their disappearing school librarian and confirm the location of a wormhole that might lead into another region of the universe. For Alba, normal translates into a chance to run in the school’s cross country race, a two kilometre opportunity for her to not just be part of the race but to be in the race . Only trouble is, she has just two weeks between getting her cast off and Cleo into shape before the race. No one believes she can do it, not even...

This is so not my genre but the eye-snagging cover and jazzy back cover blurb hooked me as solidly as a jumping spinning side kick so I found myself spending some unexpected quality time with James Gong , Paul Collin's latest middle grade fiction offering. It does not take long to settle into James Gong's high energy world. Edgy narrative and vibrant characters are driven by a seemingly implausible story line that evolves into a curiously involved teen tale. James Gong is a teen on the precipice of stardom. He's OK at school, has a sister whose bestie seems bent on giving him nosebleeds, and two best mates, Jay and Ethan, who keep his fourteen-year-old world balanced. He is also pretty hot at taekwondo despite a slightly goofy veneer and shaved head. James' prowess on the training floor means he is just a few poomse routines away from earning his black belt, but his reckless and uncontrolled rouge behaviour is not enough to convince Mr Choi, his martial art...

Cancelled holidays equates to cancelled fun and the destruction of expectations for kids and in this great period of change, represents just another significant adjustment they have been forced, not asked, to endure. Although remaining physically grounded may still be the case for many, it does not imply you can't go on adventures. Kids' authors, like me, take off on a daily basis thanks our imaginations. Imagination is one of the most powerful and sure-fired ways to enjoy the ride. Making stuff is another and together with Pippa as my inspiration for taking flight and getting out there , I've knocked up this little video that allows you to soar...by  Making a Paper Plane! This is a very simplified version of a basic paper plane but it flies extremely well, long and high! Pippa and I would love for you to experiment and modify your design to see if you can out-fly us. Send us a video or picture of your completed aeronautical master piece and I'll pop it on ...

The thing that screams most impressively in this tale about the real Turia Pitt , is her raw honesty and dogged determination, a stubbornness to not just never give in but to always push further. True grit is often bandied about as a commodity easily sourced from the self-help section of our bookshops, but this account of someone who has literally been to hell and back, presents life in all its glory, normality and of course horror with unashamed frankness. Having survived the awful fire event in 2011 whilst competing in an outback marathon, Pitt allows the reader to relive her fear, pain and frustrations, before, immediately after being engulfed by flames and then beyond, down the long arduous road of recovery. Along the way she bears more and more layers of herself, some relating to the 'old Turia', others glimpses of the new improved Turia. Improved because as she asserts, if she had not experienced such trauma, her life and future convictions may not have evolved as...

I am pleased as punch to see my short story, Perfect Prue , published in the latest edition of the Kookie Magazine, Issue 6. Perfect Prue   is a short story about competitive cousins, capsizing catastrophes, fitting in and sailing! Grab yourself a copy of this awesome little mag and read it for yourself, soon.  KOOKIE (as in smart KOOKIE) is a girl-powered, award-winning print magazine for ages 7 to 12+. It is chock-a-block packed with interviews, fiction, craft, puzzles, comics, articles on science and nature, art and activism, sports and technology plus pages of reader contributions and pics, sure to keep young female tweens exploring and thinking. This magazine is also 100% ad-free and comes out four times a year (March, June, September, December). I had an absolute ball soaking up its articles and heartily recommend it for any middle grade readers who want a magazine dedicated to thought provoking issues but also FUN! Illustration from Perfect Prue cou...