I am always delighted when parents in our school community take the time to drop in to the library. Lately, I have had several dropping in to ask me what books they should buy their children and young adults for Christmas. I have also had several emails asking me the same thing. I decided to [...]
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am always fascinated to hear the ‘story behind the story’, especially when its the back story for a novel that I loved. Recently, at the Text Novel Presentation Evening, Lia Hills, Author of The Beginners Guide To Living, spoke about her inspiration for writing her [...]
The task of choosing a suitable class novel is a daunting one. Trying to find the perfect balance in a text, one that will engage the students, provide rich material for class discussion and lend itself to a myriad of teaching opportunities, can mean that we spend hours researching and seeking a text that we [...]
REVIEW: “God, Mum, where are you? Are you disappointed I’m crap at all this? You never told me what to do when you died, but you should’ve, because it’s the only thing we can be sure of. Death gets us all in the end.” (Page 5 The Beginners Guide To Living.) There is a saying [...]
Another BOOK BIRTHDAY! I have waited a seemingly endless span of time to share my thoughts on this book with all of you… Would you believe me if I told you I had found the perfect book? I can envision most of you emphatically shaking your heads at the screen in denial. The savvier readers [...]
HAPPY HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO LEANNE HALL!!!!! Finally, I get to post my review of Leanne’s unforgettable book, This is Shyness… If you’ve ever had one of those strange and seemingly endless nights where the impossible feels possible and the very darkness seems imbued with the promise of dangerous adventure, if you’ve ever met someone [...]
WOW. I realise I run the risk of sounding like a complete idiot by starting my review with this word, but I kid you not. Its where I am at. I’m going out on a limb here and making assumptions that most all of us have had to read Shakespeare at some point in our [...]
On the back of this book is a cover quote from Neil Gaiman. The Master of the short, quirky, scary story said…‘Funny, moving, tender, brave and dangerous. She is unique and should be declared a national treasure, and possibly be surrounded at all times by a cordon of armed marines.’ I am in awe of [...]
My whole life I have loved history and I am always intrigued to meet people who do not view history with the same awe and reverence I do. Over the years I have learned that a love of history is borne from the way in which the history is taught. As a little girl my [...]
