Dim's Write Stuff

Ripping up roots can cause wilt; in saplings at least and, as it turns out, in young human beings like Queenie Jean Anderson. Queenie is a girl with a passion to rock and roll. At least, she plays a mean guitar but what she has in raw talent, she lacks in confidence. Stricken with stage fright and the belief that her ex-bestie, Sparrow, will out best her every time, Queenie chooses to flee at every given opportunity rather than face the possibility of abject failure. Leaving, exit stage left, is one thing but when she and her mother are forced to move from their rented ramshackle home, aka Peachy, things take on a more desperate and tension-filled tone. Salvation comes in the form of temporary refuge in Queenie’s mum’s place of work, the Diamond Sands Seniors Village. Adaptation is the key to survival and Queenie soon becomes the oldies’ favourite but the situation is short-lived and so begins a hopscotch journey from one place of abode to another. Throughout this pell mell of movi...

Fate and circumstance are curious things that can set storytelling wheels in motion with the most extraordinary outcomes. From the dexterous mind and unfathomable imaginings of Kate DiCamillo comes a new, spellbindingly illustrated fiction that bewitches and bemuses. Five exquisite puppets each with a personality and power peculiar to their maker’s whimsy are locked in a trunk after their former master forsakes them, their story and himself. And that is where their real story begins. An adventure, a quest, a parody of unfortunate near disasters, twists and awkward turns that involves each of the puppets in turn and ultimately as a one for they are all in the same story. Of this they are certain and so vow to each other to remain in the telling until the end. Their journey evokes wonder in simple beauties that are easily overlooked; the colour of moonlight through an open window for instance. The vagaries of misguided vanity. The heartbreak of unrequited expectations. And like the ...

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...

I’m currently embracing all things Aussie and story. This means my awareness and appreciation for the stories created on Traditional Country, Sky Country and Sea Country is slowly but surely growing. It’s a wonderful study to be part of, acknowledging the stories, culture and history of our First Nations people and basking in their enormous pools of knowledge. This new release from the creative brains of Brentos is not just another picture book listing the conservational status of our unique Australian wildlife, it is a colourful ode to the Aussie bush and surrounding seas connecting readers with the heart and soul of the land on which they reside. And it’s a corker. Sadly though, not every creature is thriving alongside our human existence or more accurately, because of it. Australian Animals From Beach To Bush , clearly identifies species from coral reefs to inland skylines that are vulnerable, endangered or currently doing okay. Definitions are coloured coded prior to journey...

Katrina Nannestad has well and truly cemented her position as one of Australia’s most accomplished historical fiction writers with her latest novel, Silver Linings . Most of us are aware that clouds have them, silver linings that is, but what exactly do they mean and do they really exist? Nettie Sweeney sure thinks so. Nettie’s story, set in the 1950s, reads as a middle grade novel yet champions Nettie Sweeney as the young protagonist who has just started primary school. Nettie’s tender years, beguiling naivety and childlike foibles are neatly offset however by the fact that she is the fourth daughter of a farming family with the ability to write and think beyond her years. Couple this with the assured determination of a person set on visiting the moon and you’ve got a character exploding with charm, wit and wonder. In short, Nettie is larger-than-life adorbs! Nettie’s singular desire is for a mother to love and cuddle having lost hers at birth. Her dreams come true in the shape o...

Beauty comes in many forms: the bizarre, the whimsical, the wondrous. Author illustrator and two-time Caldecott Medallist, Sophie Blacknall embraces the very best of beauty in her visual and imaginative picture book narratives creating imagery that makes your heart swoon. Here are two of her latest masterpieces. If I Was A Horse When I was much shorter, I dreamed of owing a horse. It was a dead-end desire however my love for all things equine never diminished so instead of walking, I galloped. Instead of speaking, I whinnied. Instead of sitting in the shelter shed at lunchtimes, I careened around the school oval …like a horse. I didn’t just want a horse. I was a horse. This is the premise of Blackall’s 2023 release; exploring what a child would do if she were a horse. This joyful expose of imaginative play and sense of self is splendidly supported by Blacknall’s exquisite illustrations created with a combination of media including watercolours, pencils, and collaged materials res...

As a young tween, the closest phenomena I encountered resembling pestilence and epidemics was the odd mouse and locust plague. Both highly irregular, indescribably disturbing occurrences that eventually, mercifully passed. For the generations before me, war assumed similar levels of upheaval and unrest. Imagine though being born into an era of extreme disruption, disease and prolonged uncertainty as your 'new normal' as  recently experienced by many modern-day Gen Alphas. How would you function? What expectations of the future would you possess? Would you want to escape to a better place? This is the unspoken premise of Wendy Orr’s latest middle grade fiction, Honey and The Valley of Horses . ‘Horses’ was my immediate pull card as I’m sure it will be for hundreds of equine enthused fans but the horses in Honey’s tale are much more than decorative incidental whimsy. They inhabit an enchanted valley and hold the key to the family’s survival and subsequent escape. Beset by t...