Dim's Write Stuff

One is never too old, nor delightfully too young, to widen one's knowledge of the natural world. Especially when that natural world is a veritable ocean of wonders and mysteries and ... cetaceans! Following on in his exquisitely illustrated and concisely factual picture book series, What's That? Myke Mollard has triumphed with his latest volume focusing on our own hemisphere of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Each category of these ancient ocean dwelling mammals is divided into clear sections and this is where realisation spawned into renewed understanding (for me!). That a toothed whale and porpoise are one in the same, that there are several species of dolphin whose appearance is similar but habitats and behaviours differ and that the roto-tail jump is a unique signature move for the Striped Dolphin.  Introductory information about each species found in or around Australian waters and coastlines is revealed in compact paragraphs. Tantalising titbits are showcased in floatin...

One of my all-time absolute Aussie animal favourites is the dingo. It is often also one of the most misaligned of native Australians thanks not to its reputation or standing as an apex predator but because of our own human occupation of its territories. It's time to get a more realistic appraisal of this fascinating wild canid which is exactly what Dingoes Up Close  by Jane Forge does. This no-nonsense non-fiction picture book doesn't mess around with text boxes and flashy fonts. It delivers straight forward, easy to read facts in clear narrative blocks. Serif font is used to describe the dingo's history, introduction to Australia, habitat and unique behaviours. Uncommon words are capitalised and bolded for emphasis and focus.  Particularly interesting are the explanations of dingo human interaction. First Nation groups were as important for the welfare of the dingo as the dingo was for them. The relationship between some indigenous groups and dingoes was almost spiritually...

How does one grow something, from nothing at all, into one's dream no less? Bella, the new little cutie on the block has worked out a way. Bella's dream is no easy peasy desire either. It's her very first bicycle. And like many youngsters, the 'getting' of one's ultimate wish becomes the ultimate fixation. In Bella Grows a Bicycle , Bella has to work hard to realise her heart's desire. Creative duo, Lellie Lopter and Chiara Franceschetti show us how she does so while embracing a backyard bursting with thought provoking implications. Financial empathy and marketing savvy might not be first and foremost on the minds of primary schoolers, however their sense of cause and effect, if ... then concepts and personal gain are almost instinctive. Building on this, Lopter introduces us to a typical family scenario of, "I want ...!" versus, the almost shameful admission, of "It's too expensive". I still utter this to the family at large, solvi...

It's interesting the number of kids' stories I'm encountering of late addressing social issues surrounding AI and tech advancements. It's little wonder actualisation of this concerning reality is becoming more subject-worthy in kids' lit. Ask any older Gen Alpha or Gen Zer how they feel about the advent of these often-invasive AI platforms and you might be surprised by their response. Middle grade and young adult author, Emily Gale takes this premise and massages it into an action pumped adventure taking us into The Wild Unknown . Incredulously, some 11 or so years ago, I penned a virtual reality YA short story set in 2040. That date seemed eons away at the time but it's the exact decade Eddie and his mate Kit find themselves in The Wild Unknown;  2045 to be precise, but a skip and hiccup around the future corner! It's an interesting future, too. Sophisticated AI tech dominates human existence, dictating outcomes wherever possible, guiding humans who appare...

Several years ago, one of the punchiest, high-powered middle grade fictions I've ever encountered fuelled my interest and reading appetite. Two Wolves by Tristan Bancks gave young readers a crime-based thriller firmly centred around two young children, Ben and his seven-year-old little sister, Olive. Roll forward five years (12 real life ones) and another action infused, edge-of-your-seat drama that will keep kids reading long into the night punches in with,   Raised By Wolves . Although featuring the same Silver family members , Raised By Wolves reads successfully as a stand-alone novel with only a smattering of discreet references to the former that never slacken the pace. Olive is now 12 and fighting her own inner two wolves; the need to know if her errant, criminal father loves her or not with the urge to cut him loose forever. Ben meanwhile is on the precipice of graduating Police Academy fulfilling his desire to fight crime; an ironic twist of fate considering his family m...

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...