When I was seven, I sat in the window of the music store and had my very first piano lesson. And the very first thing my teacher asked me was if I was ready to learn Italian, “because Italian is the language of music”. Just like that, fireworks fizzed and exploded in my head. Even…
Today didn’t start well. In fact it started at 4.45am as 2-year-old Ben angrily pounded on the nursery door “LET. ME. OUT”. Excellent. Another 3 words in his repertoire and more evidence for the neighbours that we’re keeping the children hostage. It took 4 attempts to get 3-year-old Alice downstairs and a further 2 attempts…
As a boisterous bambino, my brother Brett slotted neatly into the reluctant reader category. Mum loves to regale us with the story of how bouncing Brett would only ever sit through two picture books. And even then, he mostly did so while standing on his head. The first book was aptly entitled ‘Big Mouth’ (sorry…
I’m always fascinated to read about the oddball creative processes of great writers. …Victor Hugo wrote ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ entirely in the buff. Under tremendous deadline pressure, he placed himself under house arrest, stripped naked and coiled himself in a grey shawl. …Agatha Christie insisted that her architect make room for a big…
There’s a silly old bear of very little brain (but great wisdom) that goes by the name of Pooh. And at the ripe old age of 91, we get to cherish a new story starring his rumbly tummy and loyal friend Piglet. Giles Andreae, Picture book veteran and award-winning author of ‘Giraffes Can’t Dance’, brings…
I bought a thing into the house the other day. It was big and blue. In Australia, we call it an esky. Here in England it’s known as a coolbox. The big blue thing was just about the right size for two toddlers. So in they got. It was a boat. It was a train.…
I’ve got a big head. I don’t mean that I’m full of my own self-importance. Rather, that my head is physically quite large. I know this because… 1) I can’t wear hats. As my Aussie Mum would put it… all hats on me look like “a pimple on a pumpkin”. 2) When I was a…
Staycations seem sensible. You artfully dodge the perils of flying with a 3 and 1 year old (see my review for Mr Postmouse Goes on Holiday), but then have to work extra hard at being on holiday. You are, after all, still on home turf. We pitched up at a cabin in the woods and…
In Australia we’ve got a phrase for everything. And if you’re not an Aussie, it’s a fair bet you won’t have a clue what we’re on about. For instance, if we want to wish someone bad luck, we might say… “I hope your chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny down”. I’m not making…
If you’re lucky, your Dad, like mine, is a bit of a hero. Now, that’s not to say he’s perfect. Dad doesn’t always get stuff right. Like the time he washed the underside of the boat and unwitting wound up with a barnacle in his ear. First we knew of the barnacle was Mum complaining…
When I think back to my childhood, it’s like a slowmo rerun of the ‘Wonder Years’; barefoot brats pedalling through suburbia, spokey dokes clacking and Joe Cocker wailing in the background. Fast-forward a couple of years and I’m leafing through a Judy Blume while Roxette’s ‘Dressed for Success’ reverberates from my boombox. Then… High school.…
You can see a lot of things from our very narrow veranda in Australia. The very narrow veranda runs along our very yellow house, which faces the cobalt Coral Sea. And when you sit on the very narrow veranda, it’s a bit like sitting in the aisle of a bus. So Mum and Dad bought…
At the time of writing this, it was very early on Tuesday 23rd May. I woke up, switched on the news and children were fleeing a concert in Manchester. Children. Parents were on the radio, desperate to find their missing kids. It was, and it still is, unbearably heart breaking. Someone, somewhere, once wrote: “As…
My Dad’s name’s Dave. He always goes by Dave. Not Dad. Just Dave. It suits him. Once, when Mum was high on Novocaine at the dentist, she called for her ‘Man of Steel’. That’s because Dave runs an Australian steel business. Dave… The Man of Steel. It has a certain ring to it. Making a…
So much for waking up to the sound of birdsong… It’s 05:30. I’ve woken to a sodden nappy on my face. Ben, our one year old, likes to clamber into the bed and lie not near us, not beside us, but on us. If we’re lucky he’ll offer to share his dummy. The kids wake…
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Ooh, this sounds fantastic!
Great review, thanks for posting the pictures. Really makes a difference with picture book reviews. Will order for the store…
I often hope to find interviews with Margaret Wild who fascinates me and whose work I adore. Thoroughly enjoyed this…