It’s an Awesome World with Dallas – WIN!
March 9, 2010 by Tania McCartney · 5 Comments
When American writer Dallas Clayton decided to write a book for his young son, he knew the book’s theme would be on dreaming big. Penning the text in 10 minutes and taking 6 months to complete the illustrations, Clayton may have chosen a big dreams theme for his story, but he surely never dreamed how big his book would become.
Truly one of the most inspiring literacy stories of the past decade, Clayton self-published An Awesome Book a little over a year ago, and began selling it from his website for US$15 a pop. Currently, his sales tally has eclipsed a mind-boggling 35,000 copies – from his website alone, and the book is still going strong.
Kids’ Books Christmas Gift Guide
November 3, 2009 by Tania McCartney · Comments Off
Santa has books in the bag this year with a fantastic array of titles for kids. All kids love a rollicking read, and this comprehensive gladbag mix won’t disappoint.
AN AUSSIE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Kilmeny Niland
We have an enormous collection of Christmas books in our house and one of our favourites is An Aussie Night Before Christmas by Yvonne Morrison and illustrator Kilmeny Niland. It was with much excitement, then, that the daytime version ensued.
Niland has penned this book solo alongside her lovely, sunny illustrations that always include gorgeous unexpected detail – like the plastic Santa climbing a palm tree, the Christmas lights on the outdoor dunny, and Australian animal topiary trees.
In the style of Clement Clarke Moore’s timeless rhyme, the book tells the story of Santa, who lives in a beach shack along with his wife Sheila Claus, on the day before Christmas. With lovely colloquial Aussie language – roos, prezzies and brekkie – Santa’s day before Christmas not only involves a trip to the dunny but the massive task of rallying roos to pilot his sleigh. With helpers named Bruce, Stace, Daz and Tezza, and a belly full of lamingtons, Santa is soon ready to set off on his annual journey – delivering Christmas wonder to kids everywhere. Timeless.
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE AT:
An Aussie Day Before Christmas, AU$15.99RRP hardcover, Scholastic Australia, ages 4+
OPEN FIRE by Charlie Carter
When Napoleon Augustus Smythe finds a mysterious note in the local library asking him to meet real life war heroes from the past, he can never imagine the astounding operations that lay in store. Operations you ask? That’s right – Operation Battle Book.
Wearing his special high tech ‘skin’ suit and equipped with all manner of cool, time-travelling devices, Napoleon (or agent ‘BB005’) opens his very first battle book which sends him screaming back to the past – to Spain in 1587 where he finds himself aboard the ship of the great Sir Francis Drake. His mission? to collect Drake’s DNA for the Warrior Gene Bank.
The first in this amazing series – Battle Boy: Spying on the Past – Carter’s books are designed specifically to engage reluctant readers and so feature large type and concise text that doesn’t compromise on a hightech vocabulary – perfect for cool dude boys in the primary school age range.
Younger competent readers will enjoy a reading challenge and older less competent readers will enjoy a totally rad storyline coupled with relatable text. The books also feature plenty of action-style illustrations and varying text type, making for a read that very dramatically combines history with cool. Education and entertainment? The perfect book, really.
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE AT:
Battle Boy: Open Fire, AU$4.99RRP (special introductory price) Pan Macmillan, ages 6-10. Book two in the series, Red Devil Down (in search of the Red Baron) is out now. Destroy Troy and Blood Axe are due out on the 1st of December.
THE INFINITE MAGIC OF HORSES by Candida Baker
Have a pony lover in your house? Experienced horse-aholic Candida Baker has compiled a lovely collection of heart-warming, true horse stories from around the world, showcasing a deep love for all things equine. In the style of a gift book, this paperback is peppered with quotes and adages that will make any girl sigh.
The book features a beautifully designed layout older readers will appreciate, as well as lovely sepia photographs. Being short stories, younger readers will love dipping in and delighting in stories on race horses, ponies, farm horses, Shetlands, foals, even an Arab stallion.
One dollar from the sale of every book goes to Horse Rescue Australia, a registered charity which rehabilitates abused horses.
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE AT:
The Infinite Magic of Horses, AU$19.99RRP, Allen & Unwin, ages 9+
FREESTYLE FOOTBALL STREET MOVES by Sean D’Arcy
Football maniacs (yes - even Dad and you, Soccer Mum) will certainly learn some cool moves in this funky tome, compiled with the soccer trickster in mind. By tricksters, I mean those extraordinarily talented people who can take a soccer ball and pretty much levitate the thing in mid-air.
Sean D’Arcy (author of Freestyle Football Tricks) is an experienced Australian freestyle footballer and was even an official entertainer at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, so he probably knows what he’s kicking about. This well-designed book features a mind-boggling assortment of moves that will not only impress the masses, but teach vital soccer ball handling skills.
The book is helpfully divided into ‘Nutmegs’, ‘Trick Passes’ and ‘Beat Moves’ (just in case you’re out of the loop, nutmegs are the ultimate street football move where the player passes the ball through a defendant’s legs and then keeps on running), and includes several types of each style. Clear colour photographs and graphics helps the reader get a grasp on concepts very easily, and regularly placed ‘Tips’ and ‘Common Problems’ will give kids a gold medal chance. Goal!!
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE AT:
Freestyle Football Street Moves, AU$22.99RRP, A&C Black, ages 8-16
ROBOT RIOT by Andy Griffiths
Griffiths has a talent for storytelling and humour that clearly explains his phenomenal worldwide success as a children’s author. In Robot Riot, part of the Schooling Around series, the author comes through again with the return of a great set of characters headed up by the irrepressible Henry McThrottle.
When new girl Roberta Flywheel joins Northwest Southeast Central School, Henry becomes suspicious when a series of events (no doubt given momentum by the diary he ‘accidentally’ reads) clearly reveal Roberta ain’t what she appears to be. Yes, all signs point to ‘robot’, and Henry takes it upon himself to not only convince his friends Roberta the Robot is a threat to all mankind, but that they must help Henry in his quest to save the school.
Kids will love this whacky tale, which builds nicely to a riotous ending that will even satisfy adults for a quick cup-of-tea read. Fabulous pace, kooky characters, delicious plot and lots of belly giggles.
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE AT:
Robot Riot, AU$14.99RRP, Pan Macmillan, ages 9-12
ALLIE FINKLE’S RULES FOR GIRLS: STAGE FRIGHT by Meg Cabot
Tweens rejoice! Meg Cabot is back with the fourth in her series of sassy reads for girls about to depart kiddydom and enter biggirlhood.
I really enjoy Cabot’s writing style – spoken by the voice of her ten-year-old protagonist, Allie Finkle – a girl intent on making, and breaking, all the rules. Although the voice is fresh and youthful, the author doesn’t compromise a sophisticated and well-written vocabulary that older readers will also enjoy. Cabot also doesn’t hold back on the naughtiness, making for a fiction read that’s a little edgier than some of the spangled pink fluff targeted at young girls.
In Stage Fright, Allie and her friends vie for the role of Princess Penelope in the school’s new play – Princess Penelope and the Realm of Recycling. But when Allie is reluctantly cast as the evil stepmother, her upset and jealousy over missing out on the lead role manifests in a serious case of stage fright.
Can Allie overcome her fears and put on the performance of her life? Or will a turn of events really put her acting skills to the test? With wonderfully clever moralistic subtleties that will lift and inspire young readers (even as they don’t know it), Cabot once again breaks all the boring book rules and offers kids another chapter in her fun and fabulous genre.
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE AT:
Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls: Stage Fright, AU$14.99RRP Pan Macmillan, ages 9-12
SANTA CLAUS: THE MAGICAL WORLD OF FATHER CHRISTMAS by Rod Green
Remember the days when we called Santa ‘Father Christmas’. Not too long ago, that’s for sure. It’s also not too long ago that Santa saturation and adulation was a far less commercial thing. There was an inherent mystery and innocence about our connection with this most historical of creatures. Sadly, the fate of Father Christmas now seems to rest in how many DS games he can cram into his sack.
Santa Claus: The Magical World of Father Christmas brings back the whimsy and tradition of days gone by in this lovely picture book. Combining digitised photographs and computer illustrations, the book takes children on a journey into the past introducing the origins of Santa and taking a peek into his illustrious and very elusive world.
Santa started his incarnation as the Bishop of Myra in Turkey. A rich but generous man, he gave much of his fortune away to the poor, especially kids. Legend says he even dropped gold coins down the chimney of one poor family, and they landed in stockings hung by the fire to dry.
Kids will love taking a little trip to the North Pole to visit modern day Santa, his mail room, workshop and even his home. They’ll meet Mrs Claus, the elves and the reindeer, and will even learn about the man in red’s magic snowsuit and the inner workings of his sleigh. Just how does Santa travel around the world delivering presents in one night? Find out in this fun and very festive book.
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE AT:
Santa Claus: The Magical World of Father Christmas, AU$14.99RRP, Allen & Unwin, ages 6+
OLD POSSUM’S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS by T.S. Eliot
So lovely when a classic is dusted off and brought out into the bright and shiny future to enchant our own children. Of course, T.S. Eliot is a world-renowned poet and playwright whose collection of light verse has been engagingly captured in this gorgeous hardcover book.
Illustrations by Axel Scheffler (children may recognise his work from Julia Donaldson’s books, among others) bring fun and whimsical visuals to this set of glorious poems, first published in 1939.
From the naming of cats (did you know a cat must be given three names?) through to pirate cats, theatre cats, mystery cats and a sordid pair named Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, these rollicking rhymes and character-filled pictures will enamor cat-lovers of all ages. And yes, dogs make an appearance or two. Lovely.
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE AT:
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, AU$27.99RRP, hardcover and dust jacket, Faber, ages 6+
RILEY AND THE DANCING LION by Tania McCartney
Of course, it goes without saying that one of the best journeys you could take your children on this Christmas is to Hong Kong via my utterly fabulous new book Riley and the Dancing Lion: A journey around Hong Kong.
The second in my Riley travelogue series, kids and adults will have a ball trailing Riley, panda and dragon in their little red plane, as they scour Hong Kong in search of the traditional Chinese dancing lion found only at Chinese new year.
With brand new illustrations by awesome Australian artist, Kieron Pratt, kids will laugh out loud at a series of hilarious and beautifully detailed dancing lions, from rappers to tappers and synchronized swimmers – whilst simultanously taking them on a rollicking adventure around this magnificent city, showcased in a series of black and white photographs. Travel-loving mums, dads and kids will particularly enjoy this series… and that pretty much sums up all Aussie families, does it not?
YOU CAN BUY RILEY AND THE SLEEPING DRAGON ONLINE AT:
Australian Online Bookshop – AU$12.37
Riley and the Dancing Lion will be available from late November and you can get a signed copy at www.taniamccartney.com. From December, the book will be available at various online sellers and a bookstore near you. Riley and the Sleeping Dragon: A journey around Beijing is available now. Riley and the Curious Koala: A journey around Sydney is due for release late 2010.
Riley and the Dancing Lion, AU$16.99RRP, Tania McCartney, ages 0-8.
MADAME PAMPLEMOUSSE AND THE TIME-TRAVELLING CAFE by Rupert Kingfisher
When the young and curious Madeleine is abandoned by her parents, she befriends a curious group of enchanting characters including Monsieur Moutarde and Madame Pamplemousse – the greatest culinary genius the world has ever known.
Madame Pamplemousse (with means ‘grapefruit’ in French) owns a captivating café in the famed Montmartre district of Paris, alongside business partner Moutarde (‘mustard’). Here in this café lies a magnificent coffee machine capable of making an elixir that will transport Madeleine to other times – to Jurassic times, to Scotland in the 1930s, even to the time of the mighty Sphinx. But when Paris and its historic monuments are marked for descruction by a corrupt Parisian government, Madeleine could never imagine the mind-boggling adventures in store.
Accompanied by gorgeously retro ink illustrations by Sue Hellard, this book is a feat in extraordinary imagination. A truly wonderful tale, in the style of the fabulously historical and nonsensical stories of yore, it will absolutely delight any reader intent on taking an unexpected trip – to fanciful literary satisfaction. Wonderful stuff.
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE AT:
Madame Pamplemousse and the Time-Travelling Café, AU$19.99RRP, hardcover and dust jacket, Bloomsbury, ages 9-12
TO THE TOP END: OUR TRIP ACROSS AUSTRALIA by Roland Harvey
Ooh – I love a good travel book and this hardcover picture book by esteemed Aussie illustrator Roland Harvey, takes kids on an absolutely delectable lollop across our wide brown land from Tasmania, across Bass Straight, through the High Plains, via the Riverland, into the Flinders Ranges and over the great deserts of middle Australia.
Readers visit an incredible cacophony of famous desert landmarks before taking a cool dip at the Great Barrier Reef and its stunning islands, then continuing on to the lush rainforest and coastal marshes of the Top End.
With glorious, scattered, kid-like prose and featuring absolutely stunning and eye-swamping illustrations and the most deliciously curly text, wrapping its way around rivers, mountains and rocks – I have to say this is one of my favourite books to appear on the market in recent times. Funny, detailed, packed with wonderful Aussie flora and fauna, I dare any Australian to read this book without puffing their chests out in home-grown pride. An Aussie must-own.
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE AT:
To the Top End: Our Trip Across Australia, AU$24.99RRP, hardcover, Allen & Unwin, ages 6-10
Grandmother Turned Children’s Author, Mimi King
October 11, 2009 by Tania McCartney · Comments Off
When Australian grandmother of eight, Robyn Smith, took on the exotic nom de plume of Mimi King, it wasn’t the only major change in her life. After a lifetime of teaching and reading countless children’s books to both her students and her own children, King took the only logical step necessary – she wrote her own children’s book.
“Being a published author has not been a specific goal of mine,” King tells Australian Women Online, “But I have wanted to produce children’s books for a long time. I’m not sure if that makes sense but to me, being a published author is a side benefit that comes from producing a book in order to bring pleasure to children.” Read more
Children’s Author Ingrid Jonach
September 28, 2009 by Tania McCartney · Comments Off
Oh, I love a kids’ chapter book that aims so directly at its audience, you can hear the bulls-eye thud of its literary arrow.
Talented young Australian author, Ingrid Jonach (pictured), has created a warm, funny and frank character in her Frank Frankie series of books aimed at 7-12 year olds. The first in the series – The Frank Frankie: The Newspaper That Helps People – follows the story of ten-year-old Anne Googanstein (known as Frankie to her friends) and her passion for local news. Frank local news. Read more
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages
September 6, 2009 by Tania McCartney · Comments Off
Having voraciously read all the Harry Potter books, I must admit it didn’t even dawn on me to pick up a copy of the companion novelettes – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages.
I guess I thought they were really reserved for Pottermaniacs (okay, so I’m also a Pottermaniac but certainly not to the degree of those of lesser age than mine). As both books have been recently re-released with brand new covers, I thought it high time I launched myself into their pages.
And lo – it was fun in there.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a textbook written for the Hogwarts students by Newt Scamander, is a beastly good read. With a foreword by Albus Dumbledore, a brief history of Muggle awareness of magical beasts, Ministry of Magic classifications and a comprehensive A-Z listing of all manner of paranormal creatures, any aspiring wizard will be adequately armed against any manner of beast from the Flobberworm (rating X) to the Chinese Fireball dragon (rating XXXXX).
Pre-warned is certainly pre-armed, but learning more about these various creatures is also quite entertaining and will provide plenty of fodder for discussion over a butterbeer or pumpkin juice. Read more
Children’s Book Review: A Taste for Red by Lewis Harris
August 12, 2009 by Tania McCartney · Comments Off
“…What happens if your sixth-grade science teacher is also your immortal enemy..?”
I must admit, I’m a little bit chicken. Part lioness, part monkey, part chicken. I’ve watched legions of fans devour the Twilight series (some young enough to be my own kids) whilst standing from afar with a wreath of garlic around my neck and my knees clacking. But most of these readers seem to have survived this sordid tale of vampire romance.
For me, vampires are just downright creepy, but with such a deep global fascination for these creatures, it got me to thinking: what am I missing out on?
Enter: A Taste For Red by US author Lewis Harris (pictured). I e-met the worldly, intelligent and very funny Harris by chance recently, and was intrigued to learn about his new book aimed at very young vampire fans — those aged 8-12.
If 8-12 year olds could read this, surely this lioness-monkey-chicken woman could give it a go? Still, it was with a little trepidation that I began reading this gorgeously bound, bright red hardback novel. Read more
Beatle Meets Destiny – A book for teens and the teenager in all of us
August 9, 2009 by Deborah Robinson · 2 Comments
Beatle Meets Destiny is the first young adult novel from former advertising copy writer and author of Two Canadian Clubs and Dry at the Martini Den, Gabrielle Williams (pictured). Set in Melbourne, the book has just been optioned to be made into a major feature film.
When your name is John Lennon but everyone calls you ‘Beatle’, your twin sister is born six weeks after you in the following year, and your kooky mum has raised you on a diet of horoscopes, superstitions and signs from the universe, the word ‘coincidence’ isn’t in your vocabulary. So when 18 year old Beatle meets 18 year old Destiny McCartney, he knows it must be fate. However, there is one complication, Beatle already has a girlfriend and the way he sees it, breaking up with Cilla just isn’t an option. For one thing, Cilla is Winsome’s best friend.
It’s not that Beatle is a bad guy (although by his own admission he is ‘a two-timing bastard’), it’s just that sometimes you have to do the wrong thing to know what is right. And isn’t that what being a teenager is all about – messing up and learning from the experience?
In another suburb of Melbourne, Destiny McCartney has accidentally defaced a piece of irreplaceable antique furniture for a year 12 art project. But how was she to know the chair’s tapestry lining was sewn by Wallis Simpson? It’s too late to fess up to the woman next door and besides, Destiny and her friends Mathilde and Netta, have their hands full after deciding it would be fun to answer a personal ad from a stalker looking for work. Oh, and did I mention her sister’s cat is missing?
Hmm…Beatle’s evil twin did ‘find’ a cat recently. Beatle thinks his crazy sister isn’t above a little catnapping, especially if it meant getting her own back on Mr McCartney (Destiny’s brother), the high school teacher who dumped her after they were caught snogging in his car.
Funny, clever and very entertaining, Beatle Meets Destiny is a story of chance, change and everybody doing the wrong thing. And I guarantee you’ll really enjoy it! To borrow a phrase from the author’s agent: ‘this is a book for teenagers and the teenager in all of us’.
Only one thing puzzles me about this novel: How does a woman in her forties manage to write so convincingly about suburban teenagers and the world they inhabit? For the answer, I went directly to the source, author of Beatle Meets Destiny, Gabrielle Williams.
Gabrielle Williams is the first to admit that she’s mined her own children’s experiences, language and general teen-angst for this novel.
From her home in suburban Melbourne, Gabrielle told Australian Women Online, “I spent a lot of time eavesdropping on my children’s conversations with their friends – not that they know that, of course.”
“I also got my teenagers to read an earlier draft. It’s really important to get the voice right and teenagers, as you know, can just spot bullshit. I wrote a party scene in an earlier manuscript which isn’t in the book. I took the scene out after my daughter said to me: That is so not what happens at parties. You just don’t understand what happens at teenage parties. It was then that I realised that things had changed since I was teenager.”
Gabrielle says she is grateful for the feedback given to her by her teenage son and daughter, which has helped her to avoid one of the most common errors adults make when writing for children, the assumption that nothing has changed since they were kids. Of course things have changed and so too, has the business of writing for teens.
Remember when teen fiction was often dark and depressing? Well, thank heavens that has changed. Although no-one could deny that some teenagers have it rough, most teens are pretty happy overall and so why shouldn’t this be reflected in the books they read?
“I think there are a lot of books out there for young adults which have a grim storyline – bad things happen to kids in books,” said Gabrielle Williams. “But I wanted to write a book about kids that are pretty happy – they’re not self-mutilating, they’re not Emos, they’re not totally depressed, and they don’t hate the world.”
But what impressed me most about this novel is that unlike so much adult fiction, the main characters choose to do the wrong thing and personally, I think it makes for a much more interesting read than most of the adult titles that come across my desk. Nothing frustrates me more than reading a book where the characters always do what is right – seriously, who does that in real life?
“Beatle is the sort of boy you’d like to have as a friend. I wanted him to be a character that people liked but I also wanted him to do the wrong thing – and I wanted there to be no doubt that he’d done the wrong thing,” said Gabrielle Williams.
“I really think teenagers are gorgeous and I know they can give you grief. But generally they are lovely and they are experiencing the world – and it’s so exciting and interesting.”
Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams is published by Penguin Australia and is available from book retailers for the recommended retail price AU$19.95.
Click Here to Read An Extract on the publisher’s website.
YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK ONLINE
Australian retailers:
SeekBooks.com.au – AU$17.96
The Nile – AU$17.99
QBD The Bookshop – AU$19.95
Fishpond.com.au – AU$19.95
Children’s Book Review: Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool by Odo Hirsch
July 24, 2009 by Tania McCartney · Comments Off
It’s just so glorious to read a magical story that’s not steeped in the stereotypical fairies, wizards, goblins or mysteriously shifting worlds that appear in the blink of an eye or through some unseeming earthly portal.
Since Edith Blyton sent us on Wishing Chair and Magic Faraway Tree adventures, and CS Lewis penned his superlative Narnia series in the 1960s?, writers everywhere have pounced on magical tales set in parallel worlds and crammed with all manner of things stereotypically ‘magical’. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – but anyone who loves fantasy will admit that these stereotypical elements are becoming dangerously close to being overdone.
As an adult reading young fiction – and indeed, Hirsch’s books are enjoyed by children and adults alike – I felt totally drawn in to Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool. Hirsch has the lovely ability to write simply yet evocatively; I could clearly see the strawberry fields in the opening chapter; I could sharply imagine the streets in town and see the family’s grand old dilapidated house as if I had closed my eyes and happened across the screening of a film behind my eyelids.
Darius Bell is the youngest son of Hector and Micheline Bell, descendants of the noble Bell family, who live in a grand old mansion that is quietly falling to pieces. The beautiful Bell House and land were originally granted to the family many generations before, and as the Bell men believed in all play and no work, the coffers very soon ran dry, leaving the current generation of Bells reliant on a skeleton staff. This staff live on the property for free, in exchange for services.
But cash flow isn’t the family’s only problem. In order to retain possession of the house, each generation of the Bell family has to come up with a Gift for the local authorities. This Gift requires no value – it can be as simple as a flower from the garden, but as the Bells are a family of proud noblemen, each of the past generations presented a Gift that was both grand and beautiful – something to impress the local townspeople and prove the Bells were still living large. Read more
Children’s Book Review: Cicada Summer by Kate Constable
July 24, 2009 by Tania McCartney · Comments Off
The dreamlike opening of Cicada Summer was a little painful to read. Having lost my mother far too many years ago, it was a little heartbreaking to realise, within moments of opening this junior fiction novel, that its young lead character was motherless.
Moments into the dreamlike sequence, Eloise – an artistic, thoughtful and observant girl – is woken from her motherly reverie by the playful, verbal nips of her father, a man with a delightful penchant for calling his daughter a profusion of cheeky pseudonyms – “El for Leather! Elastic Band! El Dorado! Elbow Grease!”
Eloise and her Dad are in the car on the way to his home town of Turner to view the site of a new convention centre he is building. When they approach the site, Eloise is intrigued to see the ruins of an old house on the property – a somewhat spooky-looking dwelling she is reluctant to explore.
Egged on by her bantering Dad, Eloise walks from room to room in the dimly lit house, when she suddenly feels a rush of cold air – then a voice calling “I’m coming!” – before the ghost of a young girl appears at the bottom of the stairs. The girl stops and turns to stare at a shocked Eloise before disappearing into thin air.
Who was this ghostly girl? A girl who looked so familiar to her?
Eloise’s estranged grandmother, Mo, also lives in Turner, and when her father ‘drops’ his daughter off for a visit and then promptly disappears to sort through his business dealings, the empathy one feels for this young, motherless girl is palpable. Read more
Childrens Book Review: Angel Cake by Cathy Cassidy
June 27, 2009 by Tania McCartney · Comments Off
It’s been a very long time since I’ve read a young fiction novel. So long, in fact, that when I finished reading Angel Cake by British author Cathy Cassidy, I felt thirteen again. Really. It was like stepping back in time, feeling all those adolescent emotions once more. It also felt wonderful to be reminded of the raw power of friendship in the teen years – a commodity that can become so complicated and delicate as we age.
Admittedly, Angel Cake isn’t aimed at 40-something women. It’s aimed at 9 to 14 year old girls, yet the book was oddly compelling to this over-the-hill reader. Indeed, Cassidy recently told Australian Women Online that she frequently receives emails from older teens and even parents, complimenting her books – something the author says is a bit of a buzz.
“It’s a real privilege to get such direct feedback from my readers,” said Cassidy, who says her website – www.cathycassidy.com – has become a real vehicle to connect with her readers. “It’s very interactive. [Readers] can post reviews, ask questions, send in artwork of a fave character, post a poem or enter the writing comp and check out my tips for young writers.” Read more
Discuss our Book of the Month "Stillwater Creek" on the 
