Dim's Write Stuff

It's been a rotten old year for throwing inhibitions to the wind and embarking on wild new adventures. Just surviving 2020 has been adventure enough for many but if you're like me, having your wings figuratively clipped dampens that vital 'looking forward to something' expectation that travel, planned or impulsive invariably brings. The mere thought of going somewhere different, stumbling upon new treasures, stuffing myself on exotic cuisines (made by someone else) and experiencing sunburn in places other than my backyard stimulates and sustains me like nothing else can (with the exception of ice cream). So, what do you do when these things are no longer accessible in real life? You READ of course, because as all self-respecting lovers of Kids' Lit know, ' The more that you read, the more that you'll know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go' ...Dr Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go! To go someplace  that captures the spirit of adven...

There are as many spooktacular Halloween reads for kids out there as there are varieties of bloodshot eye candy, but these two treats are among my top picks this year. There’s Something Weird About Lena I loved the disturbing humour of My Dead Bunny by picture book duo, Sigi Cohen and James Foley . Their follow up title, There’s Something Weird About Lena , is just as creepy and … comical! Lena is one disturbed little girl only she doesn’t think so. She glads about her new school with disconcerting detachment, pulling pranks on her unassuming classmates with hideous abandon. Despite her beguiling grin and carrot-coloured mane of hair, Lena’s mean tricks and horrible hijinks soon have her classmates cringing. What’s worse is the nerve melting noises she issues every time a prank is pulled. She howls and shrieks, and whoops and growls like a hideous hyena. Lena couldn’t be further away from normal if she tried. So, sick of her constant creepy capers, a posse of Lena’s classmates...

It’s been a funny old year – understatement of the century – for creators notwithstanding. Many authors and illustrators have had to learn to adapt, to tuck and roll with the constricting challenges presented by a world in lockdown. Online presentations and virtual connections are the new axioms which have sustained many of us, me included, however they are not for everyone. And with Book Week just around the corner and a relaxing of Covid restrictions (for some states of Australia), the traditional school visit is something to look forward to…or is it? For many, especially those at the beginning of their careers, a school presentation can be a thing of infinite stress and anxiety. You want to connect with your audience; it’s why you’re writing kids’ books after all, I hope! But you’ve never left your secluded writerly tower let alone stood in front of a hall of wriggly six year-olds and delivered a rock star quality, life-altering presentation to them. How the heck do you do it?? Gr...

Hues of winter blues and greys are enlivened by splashes of magnificent emerald green that are, quite simply, Jimmy. Follow the smattering of Jimmy’s green feathers and you’ll soon reach Jack’s story. Jack stays at his Dad’s house now and then. These visits are often strained and painfully quiet as though being together is more of a requirement than a pleasure. Jack wonders about the silences and his dad. Are these symptoms of loneliness, an emotion Jack knows well? How can Jack change these uneasy encounters with someone he is supposed to love? After Dad brings home a stray parrot named Jimmy, Jack feels even less worthy of his father’s love. Jimmy is loud and funny and clever, and full of surprises that amuse and endear him to everyone he meets. Jimmy fills Jack’s father’s house with noise and the type of presence Jack wishes he had causing Jack to retreat into silence and improbable thoughts. He simply cannot deal with anymore ‘surprises’ in his young life, especially ones that se...

As opening lines go, this one has a doozy. So the premise is; young reclusive teen, never the class favourite, sees a dead man in the local lake. Or does he? We are left hanging on that particular ledge but not for long. Burton's direct narrative and crisp style soon acquaints readers with 15 year-old Shaun's mining town home, his dust-covered school and the people who matter most to him: his best mate Will, the girl he's sweet on, Megan and his over-worked widowed mother. There's one person whose presence, like the undercurrent of a riptide is never seen but keenly felt, and ripples throughout this tale adding a delicious air of tragic mystery and meaning,well two if you also count the man in the water. Shaun is a awkward teen with no clear ambition other than to shake the grief and confusion of losing a parent that has settled on him. He is part of his school's celebrated debating team but knows that if it weren't for Megan's adroitness and Will's wit,...

I am a staunch believer in normalising life and keeping it as real as possible for kids. I endeavour to present these convictions through my own picture books, daring to tackle subjects that many adults may argue have no place in picture books. Yet as these superb examples demonstrate, desperately hard to accept subjects, namely loss and grief can be beautifully dealt with in ways that enlighten, embrace and evoke calm. Love and loss are irrevocably linked. They represent life. What better topic for small humans to encounter in picture books? Tree Lynn Jenkins and Kirrili Lonergan’s Lessons of Lac series is handful of simply executed but powerful exposes into the lives of the LACs (aka Little Anxious Creatures) and the Calmsters (aka their friends who counterbalance concerns with gentle advice and abundant support). In this episode, Loppy the LAC relies on a giant Tree as a place to practise mindfulness and entreat calm especially when he is worried or upset, like before taking a...

Stories are for listening to, right? So if watching an animated story time session is not your thing, why not settle back and LISTEN to it instead? If you've got kids in the car or need an audible distraction for your little ones, tune into Little Rockers Radio  every morning (11.00 am) and afternoon (5.00 pm) this week for some online Pippa pitch perfect fun. Little Rockers Radio is a  live streaming program  24/7 online radio station specifically tailored to entertain and enlighten children from birth to six years of age and their parents! Apart from story time there are sessions devoted to songs, nursery rhymes, yoga, mediation and much more.  Pippa's story time sessions are delivered by the uber animated, entertaining duo, Anthony and Lauren behind Story Surprise. In fact you can tune into their Little Rockers Radio podcasts for dozens of other fun story time adventures.