Dim's Write Stuff

The alluring title and intricate cover design of this novel provides instant grab but it’s the immediate saturation of raw authentic atmosphere that really pulls you into Salama’s story. Debut author Zoulfa Katouh pours her heart and soul into Salama but does so with enough measured restraint and humour to ensure this exposé of Syria’s present day atrocities appeals not only to adult readers but also its intended YA audience. And, it’s an allure that lingers all the way to the heart touching end. Salama is a young Syrian girl living in Homs, a city located on the Orontes River in western Syria. A city razed to the ground by Syria’s ugly ongoing Civil war. She lives amongst the destruction surviving on less than nothing, enduring nerves more frayed than the fabric of any remaining normality. Every ounce of energy is directed into maintaining the welfare of others, namely those brought into the local hospital in which she works to be cobbled back together again. She mends, stitches, s...

Illustrated stories about the profound transformative powers of story telling featuring animals as deputies for emotional guidance and reinforcement are a welcome feature on my bookshelves of late. Recent reviews encompassing this premise include TheBeatryce Prophecy by Kate Di Camillo and Sophie Blackall. Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon by the current Australian Children’s Laureate , Gabrielle Wang is another exemplary example. Zadie is the daughter of an immigrant Chinese Australian family in mid 50s Victoria, a period of history where time was more relaxed but attitudes were still coloured by bigoted, post war thinking and ignorance. Zadie fights hard to maintain her inconspicuous status as school and is conscious of being the dutiful daughter at home, helping Ma in their family run milk bar. But her penultimate talent lies in storytelling. Her brother, Teddy calls it her superpower: the ability to pen a story and then have it come true. Dog-loving Zadie is desperate...

A recalcitrant goat, a gung-ho orphaned boy. An exiled self-doubting monk and a battle-scared girl who would be queen. These are just some of the extraordinary characters that people The Beatryce Prophecy . Bubbling with medieval barbarities at a time when misguided kings and ruthless ambition collide with common decency and humanity, this tale embraces an astonishing number of ideas all deftly woven into one rich reading experience thanks to DiCamillo’s sure hand. Beatryce is found blooded and battered in the stalls of Brother Edik’s monastery. She is feverish and unresponsive. The monastery’s arch nemesis, Answelica, an irascible goat who prefers to bite first and consider later, stands guard. She answers to no one but when Brother Edik announces to the goat that he must tend to Beatryce, a reluctant acquiescence occurs on Answelica’s part. And so then begins an incongruous relationship the deepens with time and necessity. Beatryce is nursed back to health but presents a new dan...

This beautiful illustrated middle grade fiction has all the qualities of a permanent place-keeper on one's bookshelf; kids with whom it resonates won’t be able to surrender it. By the creators who brought us Julia and the Shark, Leila and the Blue Fox , presents a balanced and bespoke narrative based on the real life crossing made by an Artic fox across the Artic circle. Fox, known in human circles as, Miso, is driven by her wild desire, to migrate. She knows not exactly where or how long such a journey will take her. Distance is inconsequential. Survival is her daily modus operandi. To keep on going is her sole motivation. Leila, a young Syrian refugee resides in London with her cousin and aunty. Life is relatively trouble free and wholesome, yet there is an artic circle sized hole within Leila that haunts her; the reason why her mother virtually abandoned her for the last six years. When Leila’s mother sends for Leila to join her in Tromsø, Norway, trepidation pollutes hope...

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. 

I love words and am a colossal nerd. What a match! Join me over on @daniveebooks_wordsandnerds for a spirited chat about the love behind the books behind the stories behind the nerd  🤓 😉. We chat about inspiration, creative thought, why I write, what I write and how it makes me feel - young at heart! After your first cuppa enjoyed listening to me, check out some of the other fab interviewees as Dani showcases what lurks in a writer's mind . It's not as scary as it sounds but pure fun - and usefulness too! Click on the image above to access or visit Dani's W & N podcast page and search of Ep. 564 with Dimity Powell . Enjoy!

Neridah McMullin’s latest middle grade fiction is more of a tender-hearted hug than simple story. It is also the perfect example of latching onto an actual historical event and unlocking the story within by utilising those two liberating words: What if? When a steamship is wrecked off the coast of south-west Victoria in the late 1800s, a young parentless mute girl is the first on scene. Instead of waterlogged sailor survivors, she discovers an altogether different kind of flotsam on the beach of her rugged rural home; an Indian rhinoceros, aka, Rhinoceros unicornis . How delightful that this creature’s scientific name reflects the magical qualities of this human animal encounter and ensuing tale. Rhino was part of the exotic cargo of animals bound for the Royal Melbourne Zoo as part of their questionable ‘acquisitions’ projects. Despite sluggish improvements on the captive animal front, the care of these horrendously displaced animals and birds was still woefully misconceived and ...