Dim's Write Stuff

It's no secret, I love chickens. Good old chooks, suppliers of revered cackleberries. So, when There's A Chicken In The House blew in like a hen through an open door, I was secretly joyed beyond words. That this is a long-awaited reteaming of picture book greats, Sonya Hartnett and Lucia Masciullo also gave me much to crow about.  It's a simple enough tale about an errant chook who interprets a windblown open door as her personal invitation to see how the other side live. The young mistress of the house is a ball of consternation, attempting to warn those in charge of animal behaviour and then trying in vain to remove said chook according to orders. Alas, the plucky pullet assumes an air of sky-high indifference and continues her inspection through the house until she ends up in the big-sister's-bedroom. Having already disgraced herself in the bathroom because ' There's no limit to how bad a chicken can be, ' according to Dad, our protagonist is terrified...

There's a lot swirling around in the universe, depending on which one you're orbiting through. For a diminutive soul like Leif, the cosmos can assume overwhelming proportions which despite his heroic Viking namesake, aren't always easy to overcome by yourself. My Tiny Universe by Maryam Master , is a close up exposé of a universal problem; the art of being big when you feel so stupendously small. It takes us a while to realise the full extent of Leif's physical health limitations because he is the kind of kid to deflect concern and pity with intellect and absurdly rationalised thought. This is relayed through his impressive vocabulary and method of delivery which unfortunately also excludes him from more mainstream schoolyard conversation and interactions. Readers have scant time to dwell on this however because as Leif introduces himself, we immediately glean a potentially new and different side of his personality. One with arsonist qualities. One who is no longer th...