Dim's Write Stuff

What are little boys made of? Is it really frogs and snails ; everything that is not sugar and spice and all things nice that are otherwise attributed to the makeup of girls? Should blue be the only shade that maketh the man? Debut author illustrator, Scott Stuart blows these outdated tropes well and truly out of the water with this deliriously amusing and tender picture book, My Shadow is Pink . Our intrepid main character’s little face is a picture of consternation after he concedes that his shadow is not the strong blue that trails the other males in his family. His is a delicate shade of rose and mirrors that which he loves most: sparkles, dancing, twirling and dressing up. Despite his father’s reassurances that his shadow will adopt a more ‘manly’ appearance one of these days , and the little boy’s own yearning to fit in with the other acceptable shadow groups, he is unable to dismiss his conflicting feelings. Then one day an invitation to let his shadow dress up in its favour...

If lovers of middle grade fantasy aren't immediately drawn in by this title and its alluring woodsy cover, then like me, the blurb promising an unforgettable adventure ... set in the Stone Age, might do just the trick. Charlie Merriam loves life, living on the edge of an ancient forest. Charlie has a clutch of close buddies to share neck-breaking adventures with. Days are filled with wild expeditions, getting filthy (Charlie is a tween afterall) and parental well-meaning remonstrations. Only one thing could enhance this happiness more; the arrival of a new brother or sister. When baby brother, Dara, is born with a life-threatening abnormality, Charlie's hopes of happiness plunge into a morass of despair. Charlie's parents are consumed with worry. They can barely process their own feelings let alone deal with their first-born's fear, so Charlie bolts, into the familiar sanctuary of the forest. There, Charlie finds a boy, dressed in deerskins, lying face down in the ...

Young children may not be consciously aware of it but every interaction and reaction they encounter builds their unique sense of self. Identity: a cryptic collection of characteristics, mindsets and personality traits that describe who you are to the world. But who are we really? And why is it important that children understand and develop their sense of self? What I love about this small collection of picture books is their ability to combine the notion of loving who you are in relatable visual story lines without explicitly forcing ideals down our throats. When less emphasis is given to maintaining differences and energies refocused on the actual joys of living, greater understanding and harmony is assured. So, let’s start our journey of self-discovery… Who am I? Philip Bunting is well-known for his strikingly simple artwork and nimble narratives. His ability to dress non fictional facts with tongue-in-cheek- humour ensures maximum enjoyment and depth of learning. This book not ...

Most modern epistolary novels for tweens and teens veer towards a collection of email exchanges or even sms text messages to relay story plot and character reaction. Shooting Stars is a refreshing step back into genuine epistolary storytelling through the use of diary entries with one remarkable point of difference; our main character has never met another person his age, in his entire life. Egan Tucker is fifteen. He is a teenager of rugged burly appearance, can smell danger (literally) from a mile away and can slaughter and butcher a wild boar in less time than than it takes to fry bacon. Egan likes to dance in the rain - naked. He moves without shoes and his best mate is a dog, named Jack who'll bite your arm off if you mess with his toy bunny. Their's is a wild, carefree existence, deep in the heart of a tiny bush valley hidden from civilization. No TV. No internet. No other human interaction...except for Moma, Egan's fearless and indomitable mother. Through Egan...

Me, trying to adapt to the swings and roundabouts of life There's a lot of useful information and enlightening blogs percolating about the writers-verse about the importance of self-help, patience, and mental plasticity in this whirlpool of changing times. When physical security - our health - is compromised, then it follows our mental well being may be affected. Stress (including eustress, aka good stress) keeps us on our toes, one leap ahead in the scramble to live another day. But it needs some adjusting to, just like change. To say that this pandemic affliction has been good for me (as an author) is a slight distortion of reality and not meant to sound flippant or disrespectful . How can such universal pain be a good thing? But to say that I have learnt much and benefited by the confinements and challenges thrown up in all our faces, is no exaggeration.  In this article published in Weekend Notes on line zine by Belladonna, I and several other well-know children's authors ...

Most of us have believed in monsters at some point in our lives, whether metaphorically or from when we believed they dwelt underneath our beds and behind our bedroom doors. This extraordinary middle grade fiction not only reignites the notion that we coexist with all manner of devilish beasts, it bravely intimates that not all of them are bad. Could there be some that fall somewhere in between good and bad? Is it possible to love a monster? Sam hatches one fateful night in the vast underground lair where all monsters dwell and begin. He is a curious and inexplicable creation never before seen by the noxious collection of pixies, ogres and trolls. Resembling something of an imp, the grumpy gargoyles adopt him as one of their own. Displaced and unexplained, Imp (aka Sam) learns more and more about his new world with each passing minute, however not the answer to his existence; why he looks like a human but behaves like a monster. From atop his cathedral spire home, Sam adapts to garg...

Bjorn is a bear who lives in a cave. It meets all his needs and even sports a mailbox out front where letters sometimes arrive . Bjorn is not the sort of bear to boast about his various wins in life, like his acquisition of a three-seater sofa. His responses are always considered and calm. In fact, Bjorn thinks a sofa may actually take up more room than it's worth in his tidy compact cave. This is quite the opposite to his woodland friends who think a three-seater sofa is their ticket to comfort and happiness. They quickly assume full sitting rights, which crowds the cave even more until Bjorn cannot think about the sofa without feeling unhappy. To him, the sofa is not great so he decides to give it away. After Rabbit declares that it would make an ideal woodland sofa for everyone to share, Bjorn retires to his cave without it, and is happy. This is just one of the handful of introspective, wickedly playful chapters about Bjorn and his buddies. Through regular deliveries to his m...

The Through My Eyes series is an extraordinary up-close and personal collection of novels that depict harrowing, gripping stories about children from various nations around the globe - from their unique view point. This one, Hasina's story is about one girl's experiences of persecution during the political upheaval of Myanmar in the late 80s. Hasina enjoys a humble yet rich childhood in her ancestral home in the lands of Rakhin, a province on the western side of the Arakan Mountains. Together with her baby brother, Araf, she and her village friends attend their aunty's makeshift home school because the village one is no longer in operation thanks to the conflicts between the police, Army and local governments. In fact many of the freedoms of the past have been sacrificed as growing religious intolerance spreads across the conflicted former lands of Burma. It is occasionally difficult to bend one's understanding around so much unrest. This sadly common abhorrent aff...

What do meat pies, hot chips and the land of the Pharaohs have in common? As it turns out, quite a lot thanks to a curious looking, bald-headed bird with stilt-like legs and a beak that arcs like an oversized hairclip. The Straw-necked Ibis is an instantly recognisable suburban bird to even the youngest of humans thanks to its ungainly appearance and potent guano pong. Yet this hilarious tribute to one of our most misunderstood rubbish bin visitors, allows the humble Ibis to take on a glorious new role. Mother Ibis nests high above her suburban kingdom in a palm tree that is home to three adorable fluffy chicks. Despite the eclectic furnishings of their treetop home, the chicks learn from their mother not only how to survive in this modern world but gain a sense of their ancestry and history. For you see, their ancestors used to grace the banks of the Nile in Egypt and were once regarded regally rather than in distain. So when did it go so awry and Ibis became synomous with the term,...