Dim's Write Stuff

The Twelve Days of Christmas with Roald Dahl This redunculusly good collection of festive activities to make and do by one of the world’s favourite story tellers, Roald Dahl is more fun than Dim’s Christmas Countdown. The Twelve Days of Christmas is a nifty little novel-sized compendium broken into twelve chapters that celebrate the most scrumptious and jolly best bits of the silly season. And you know there’ll be a fair amount of silly with Dahl at the helm of this particular sleigh ride. Each chapter is a line out of the beloved Christmas carol and highlights a classic Dahl title; One Matilda in the Library ; Two Smelly Twit s… Five Golden Tickets …and so on. Everybody’s favourite characters get an airing and each chapter relates in some obscure, tricksy way to the novel’s theme. Cleverness aside, this book is a genuine cache of Christmas craft and art, gob-smacking recipes (you must try the Chocolate and Brussels Sprouts pie ) , puzzles, pranks, gift ideas and mind-benders de...

When I was much shorter and younger, I loved engaging TV shows that leapt from one activity to the next. Variety was indeed the spice of my young life. It still is. So when Lauren and Anthony, founders of The Side Show Factory - a place that houses their fantabulous entertainment shows for kids, wanted to involve a certain little pigeon as part of their engaging and stimulating program, how could I refuse. Story Surprise is about all the things that put the happy in glee: music, stories, art and craft; all tied together with nifty interactive song and dance routines that are guaranteed to get kids up and moving. There's a bear in there too; Mick the Teddy is cooler than icy poles and a hoot to watch.  The 15 minute or so high energy episodes more than satisfy the young at heart but are brilliantly tailored for the under sixes. Each themed  Story Surprise  video incorporates educational snippets, easy to make and do activities, craft, audience shoutouts and catchy origi...

Cancelled holidays equates to cancelled fun and the destruction of expectations for kids and in this great period of change, represents just another significant adjustment they have been forced, not asked, to endure. Although remaining physically grounded may still be the case for many, it does not imply you can't go on adventures. Kids' authors, like me, take off on a daily basis thanks our imaginations. Imagination is one of the most powerful and sure-fired ways to enjoy the ride. Making stuff is another and together with Pippa as my inspiration for taking flight and getting out there , I've knocked up this little video that allows you to soar...by  Making a Paper Plane! This is a very simplified version of a basic paper plane but it flies extremely well, long and high! Pippa and I would love for you to experiment and modify your design to see if you can out-fly us. Send us a video or picture of your completed aeronautical master piece and I'll pop it on ...

They've been around for a while, jigsaw puzzles that is, since the 17th Century in fact. I reckon there is nothing more frustrating and fun, challenging and rewarding nor consuming and relaxing as completing a humble puzzle. It's oddly addictive; you can't just fit one piece and walk away to feed the cat. I don't have a cat but if I did, it would be starving by now because like thousands of others around the world at the moment, we are 'puzzle people'. There's something intensely therapeutic about persisting with such a simple yet complex situation. It's an outcome we should be able to control (unless your cat eats a piece) and that gives one a sense of tenacious purpose; to finish it, for me at least. For others it might be the absolute joy of recreating something so utterly pretty and spectacular. Perhaps that's why so many confined to their homes right now are dragging out old favourites and spending more money than they would on an oversea...

For practically every single one of us, this Easter will be some sort of departure from the norm. We are normally on the road somewhere, camping in the Kombi with the pooches - together. Or else we'd be spending long lazy days on the bank of a river fishing with mates - together. Often this special weekend is spent hosting a colossal barbie with family - together. It's a time for rebirth and celebration. This year, of course, will be slightly different. Crazy as it sounds, my little family pod are not entirely sure what to do with themselves or each other away from the usual external stimuli. I suspect many others are experiencing this odd 'What now?' sensation on some level, too. One thing is for certain, it's a fantastic time to reconnect, reinvigorate old family fun rituals, invent new ones and...drag out the camping games for lounge room use. Before you get suckered into a five hour Monopoly marathon though, why not continue to explore the plethora of ...

Get out your Easter bonnets and fluff up your cotton tails; it’s time to hit the Easter Egg trail again. While Easter, like Christmas, holds different significances for different people, one thing remains true. It is a time for gathering together around loved ones, celebrating new life and continued hopes for joy and peace. Sharing the pleasure of reading together is an excellent extension of this notion, one I whole heartedly encourage you to do this Easter (with appropriate sanitation procedures in place of course!). This clutch of Easter inspired board and picture books are guaranteed to make snuggle times as sweet as any chocolate egg. Enjoy and Happy Easter! Little Bilby’s Aussie Easter Egg Hunt I admit I love a bit of glittery foil bling at Easter time. Little Bilby’s Aussie Easter Egg Hunt features sufficient sparkle and bling to make it a tactile and visual feast. Mes’ eggcellent Australian fauna infused picture book inspires interactive story time sessions encouragi...

There are probably as many glorious books tucked away on bookshop shelves celebrating the magic of motherhood as there are ways to say ‘mum’. These are but a sprinkling of newish picture books for significant female role models to share with their kinderlings this Mother’s Day – or any day. Welcome: A Mo Willems Guide For New Arrivals When you see the name, Mo Willems , you know chuckles are in store. Supremely clever, witty and super super cute (in a non-cutesy way), this robust hardcover board book is the ultimate new arrival gift. Postmodern and interactive in style and format, it begins with YOU or at least a reflection of the young tot you might be reading this to thanks to the inbuilt mirror. It continues with a message of thanks and relief, an invitation to lie back, relax, and enjoy the stay then features several notifications that baby might enjoy such as cats and stories. There are cautions that happiness may not prevail at all times, ice creams inevitably will be...

If you are aged between 9 - 15 years and are busting to release the scribe within or you know someone who fits this description, scroll down, click the links and register now for one of these awesome school holiday writing camps. These camps will remove the mystery and inject the fun into your stories, allowing you to gain all the gooey, gut-wobbling, groovy EXPERT advice you need to make them as good as a professional author's. I'm super lucky to be involved as a facilitator for these writing camps. Not only are they unbelievably useful, they are mind-blowingly fun, too. So join me these school holidays. The camps I'm involved in for July 2018 are: 40th Meanjin Writers' Camp - Griffith University Mt Gravatt QLD 2 - 3 July Write Like An Author   - Somerset College, Gold Coast QLD 9 - 12 July Click on the flyers below for full course details and the opportunity to register, NOW.  

Life should be about caring and sharing right? And while I concede there's a rightful time and place to smoast (trendy new term and semi-acceptable behaviour for social media boast, but not quite as trendy and acceptable as gangnam style ), I do care to share other things when time permits. And what better time than the school holidays? Sick of dragging the kids in and out of the pool? Tired of endless outings to the local shopping centre? Free-activity'ed out? Broke from repeated visits to other 'worlds'? Seen all the age-appropriate new release movies? Then why not get back to basics with your kids or someone else's if you are short on kids and big on love and time. OK this is where it gets a bit bookish...but this is a wonderful way to spend time with your under 10 year olds, while generating a little creativity at the same time. It takes place over a week - 5 days, but could be condensed to less days or increased to cover the number of days yo...