Dim's Write Stuff

Understanding where you are from and appreciating it are two of the most important endeavours you can experience in life. Today, I am compelled to give my little Aussie flag a bit of a wobble because those patriotic juices, that deliciously dress ‘the salad bowl of culture and race that typifies our beautiful country’ are bubbling madly after reading Tania McCartney’s sparkling new picture book, An Aussie Year: Twelve Months in the Life of Australian Kids. More than a nondescript chronological listing of dates and events, An Aussie Year is countless moments of pure joy. It is fantastic factual fun. It is a riotous romp through the enthralling landscapes and cultures and flora and fauna of our land. And for me, it was a walk back down that footpath of life to a time when many of these sensations, sights and events were first captured in the wet concrete of my childhood memories.  McCartney has left very few stones unturned in this marvellous collection of celebrat...