Dim's Write Stuff

Me and Dr Ruth Wong Perhaps one of the most stimulating sessions I moderated was Dr Ruth Wong's Interactive Narration: Having Fun with Postmodern Picture Book s.  Now although I consider myself a voracious and reasonably well-informed reader of picture books, the term 'postmodern' did befuddle me a little. It wasn't until I delved a little deeper into definitions that I realised, I had been savouring this style of picture book narrative for years. So what exactly is a postmodern picture book and what value do they represent for young readers. Ruth was on hand to explain. Characteristics of Postmodern picture books : Directly addresses the reader, thus acknowledging readers as active agents of the reading process Offers an overt invitation to interact and play or involve the reader with the book, not just the story readers become participants (good for one on one reading) Emphasis on implications for teaching and allowing educators to appreciate learning thr...

Robyn Soetikno and Dimity One of the highlights of the Asian Festival of Children's Content 2017 for me was the honour of moderating a number of sessions for other conference presenters. Through the pre-requisite to understand their topics and their associated backgrounds with Kids' Lit better, I was able to forge some truly rewarding relationships with people from Thailand, Singapore and, in the case of Robyn Soetikno , Indonesia. Robyn's session - Books for Indonesian Girls by Indonesian Girls: How Children's Books Shape Perspectives of the World focused on her new series aimed at young pubescent Indonesian girls.   The I Am Me series is a rigorously researched and thoughtful set of bilingual picture books designed to educate, inform and empower young girls with realistic expectations and useful information about their changing bodies and feelings. Bright, bold and unashamedly unambiguous, Robyn drew on her extensive health care industry background to de...

A memorable part of being involved in this year's Asian Festival of Children's Content was being asked to moderate a number of sessions for other presenters in addition to presenting my own. This was an opportunity I whole heartily embraced for it suggested a much more involved, hands on chance to become more intimately acquainted not only with some erstwhile unknown movers and shakers in the Kids' Lit stratosphere but also the topics they chose to discuss. I discovered, this in turn enhanced my own presentation for I was able to draw comparisons and find connections for delegates attending my session, thus providing a lovely continuity of content discussion. Whilst session moderating here in Oz suggests enthusiastic time keeping, in Singapore it took on a deeper responsibility involving pre-conference hook ups with the session presenters, research of their topic (and books), compilation of topics for Q & A, on site note swapping and general session support. At on...

Throughout the Asian Festival of Children's Literature , I recognised a certain camaraderie of spirit among delegates and presenters alike. There pervaded a keen will to not only create emotionally and socially educational stories (or content) for kids that is both genuine and entertaining but to also somehow ensure that this content reaches it mark. In short, there exists in SE Asian a strong desire to share exciting, meaningful stories with kids from early childhood that offer them more than just a sound base from which to learn and excel academically. Sketch by Favian Ee AFCC 2017 This is no easy feat for we creators, nor for the educators on the front line, in schools and libraries who may sometimes be restricted by mandates to deliver a certain type of content. This restraint of course is not exclusive to Singapore and her surrounding neighbours. So what do teachers really want? This next session highlighted some of the answers. Books Teachers Wish Authors Would Write ...

Winter marks the release of yet more of my picture book stories into the wide blue yonder. This is an exciting time for me and those lucky enough to be flying Virgin Airlines, plugged into the Children's Inflight Entertainment program for that is where you will find my stories, as part of the new Kindergo immersive story app . They are stories aimed for younger audiences, bouncing with fun and frivolity and like my previously published digital narrative, The Chapel of Unlove on the Story City App in 2016, fulfil a maturing desire to expand my repertoire and use of cross media platforms to tell my stories. But what exactly is cross media story telling? What are the various platforms to exploit and how can creators used to pen and ink utilise them? Story Telling Across Platforms with Jyotirmoy Saha This session was moderated by the blatantly cheeky, creative industry crackerjack, Marc Checkley. Between them, they described the conception and development of a Filipino based ...