Dim's Write Stuff

Aside from the groovy sounding title, the thing that strikes you first about debut author, Alison Stegert’s Boogie Woogie Bird , is the jaw dropping detail of Sandra Severgnini’s illustrations. I have known and lived with curlews, notably, the Bush stone aka the Thick-knee curlew for some time and am gobsmacked by the level of exactness both of these creators have imbued within their adorable character, Curlew. Curlew cries his plaintive call, alone and forlorn, night after night. He needs a friend, more than a friend in fact. A mate. Someone to share his random pile of leaves with. But his yearning cries aren’t cutting it, at least not for Fairywren who insists that fancy dancing is what he needs to win someone’s heart. In a priceless, side-splitting promenade of boogie woogie moves, tangled legs and knocked knees, Curlew finally concedes that curlews can’t dance in spite of the detailed instructions bestowed upon him by some of the best ‘dancing’ birds in the business aka Aussie bus...

From the author who gave us the heart-jolting ,  Exit Through The Gift Shop , comes another show-stopping middle grade drama.  No Words  pulls no punches telling the story of 12-year-old refugee, Aria and moves with the same tumultuous pace as  Master’s  former novel. Don’t equate the tempo of this narrative with a rushed outcome however because Aria’s tale is told with measured sensitivity and precision. It just happens to be in the same voice as your typical upper primary school kid with as much energetic beat and bounce. Which is ironic when the story centres around Aria’s distinct  lack  of voice. Aria hails from old Iran, Persia having fled his country with his older brother and father. There was no time for goodbyes. No time to mourn the loss of his beloved mother. No time to digest the horror of their situation. We learn through the broken recall of Aria that his mother was persecuted for her liberated feminist beliefs. But that is not the main ...

Challenger Deep might not be your typical resort pool-side read but this mind-splitting psychological YA fiction had me from the first glimpse of its ambiguous cover art (of the Australian edition) and the first improbable, incongruous lines: There are two things you know. One: You were there. Two: You couldn’t have been there. Plus, Neal Shusterman, so … this is what accompanied me to the sunbeds. Deep, mysterious, soul crushing, Neal Schusterman oscillates fifteen-year-old Caden Bosch between reality and madness with unnerving accuracy in an intensely immersive narrative about mental illness. I’m not sure why it took me until now to dip into this one but if stories have a way of finding you at the exact time you need them, then Challenger Deep hit its mark with me. Life often resembles a rollercoaster ride. In recent times, mine’s been more of a washing machine of anguish and tortured emotions. At least you can open your eyes on a rollercoaster. Let out a scream now and then. Perh...

I’m known to spend my brief lunch breaks pouring over my latest read, gingerly page turning with one hand. Shoving food down with the other. There are usually accidents thus there is always a sheet of paper towelling or a servette present, as well. Let me tell you; if Love Stories by Trent Dalton is your current lunch date, you’ll need a few extra rolls of paper towelling. Not because the stories within ignite a voracious appetite but because they unbottle a sea of emotions that by the very last pages even the most robust 3 ply paper towel could not possibily absorb. Love Stories is not a wanton sob fest however. It’s more of a two-armed hug. It’s warm and intimate. Compassionate and global. It cleaves your heart open then carefully welds it back together, better than it was before even if you’re a bit like me; someone who has never succumbed to the pull of Valentine’s Day, who regards romance as improbable as a lottery win. Someone who has craved love since she could toddle after...

I've been a tad quiet on the reviewing front of late - choking on that old chestnut of life. So the irony of participating in a panel of motivated and moving Kids' Lit advocators and creators is not lost on this little black duck. Despite possibly having  the lowest of social media engagement of this astounding panel line up, Ken, chief taco maker from the equally astounding podcast, Reading With a Chance of Tacos , still found reason to invite me along. And I'm glad I did! Chatting alongside the incorrigible Rory H. Mather , the savvy Vikki Conley and the social media phenomenon that is kids' book author, Scott Stuart was not only illuminating and insightful but a bagful of fun besides. Tackling social media, creating (and maintaining) a meaningful presence while actually getting on with the business of writing are just some of the tasty morsels we ruminate over in this episode: How To Build a Community through Social Media . For me, it's all about a bunch of Es:...

Have you ever left a book on the shelf for months and months, eager to read it but not quite in the right mood to do so? Other titles assume a kind of procrastinate preference over your erstwhile looked-forward-to folio until suddenly, it beckons, loud and unrelenting. Read me, read me now! I love the synchronicity of reading the right book at the right time. This is how I experienced, Kate Foster’s latest novel, The Bravest Word, at time when life needed a little more explaining and the soul a little extra massaging. Without getting over personal or dwelling on the genesis of this story or Foster’s motivation for writing this book, The Bravest Word , is honest and raw and incredibly uncomplicated in its complexity. Matt is an only child with the world at his eleven-year-old feet. He is on the cusp of football legendary-stardom and the start of secondary school. He has loving parents and buddies who always have his back yet for reasons unknown to him, mystifying and confusing, h...

God love our mums. I know, I know; it’s no longer Mother’s Day. But that’s not quite true is it? Each and every day is a testament, or should be, to the stoic, tireless, selfless, fatigue-hazed, love-filled actions of mothers – everywhere. They walk with their hearts exposed, vulnerable, fierce, at times, uncertain. Always there, which is the crux of this unique picture book on motherhood, A Mother Is a House . Rather like a kangaroo nursing her joey in her pouch, safe, contained and snug, I cherished pregnancy, mourning the day when bub would eventually want out. But how does a baby perceive this perplexing first coming of age? What do they make of their mother? Sustainer of life. Guardian. Advisor. Mountain. House? A Mother Is a House affords readers a baby’s fascinating view point of this relationship from moments before their birth to their first tentative steps some 12 months later. Brief descriptive declarations carry reader and baby through the day to day activities baby’...