There are times I’m drawn back to my childhood. Picking up this book was one of those times. I never understand this book when I first read it, but that was many years ago and I’ve learned much since then. Sounds a bit clichéd but even clichés can be true. ...

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Tracey, in the Aussie Book Bloggers group on Facebook, suggested we do a readalong in the Community Chat with The Secret Garden. Figuring it was a good chance to reread the book and always wanting a new book experience I indicated my interest. When I couldn’t find the book on ...

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This is one of those books I could read many times and still enjoy. I rambled about it recently using a paragraph in Paratalk or Torque? It whetted my appetite and instead of being put back on the shelf it found its way to my To Be Read Pile. On ...

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Today I’m bringing back an old column of mine. It’s where I take a paragraph and examine it in whatever detail I wish. Today I’m taking a paragraph from one of my favourite books of all time. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George is a book I ...

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When I was young I totally fell in love with the books by Arthur Ransome. They were gentle fictional novels which really caught my fancy. They are the reason I enjoy rowing, I’m not particularly good at rowing…I’m more in the camp of go-hard-or-go-home and that’s not terribly good when ...

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A topic on my mind, it’s been there for some time, is how is it possible to find a new story when so many books have been written about a particular topic. So much has been written about The Holocaust and I thought all the stories must have been told ...

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Things have changed but fairy tales used to be our first stories. The first stories we heard and then read. Here I briefly mention how they’ve morphed over time and how they used to be much more gory with the object lesson being easy enough to spot.  The Brothers Grimm changed them making ...

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A couple of days ago I retweeted (and therefore shared on Facebook, yes, I’ve made that automatic) a competition, now closed. In this competition Amy spent a little time looking at her blogging over the last four years and being happy about the progress she’s made with her writing. She feels ...

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I mentioned on Wednesday how I’ve learned the reason why I don’t review children’s books, I’m going to expand on that today and you’ll look at children’s picture books in a whole new light. Over Trimester 3, some people refer to it as the summer semester, I’ve been working on Literature for ...

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On this day I really should be writing something about Carrie Fisher or Richard Adams, but my feelings are a bit raw at present. Instead I’m continuing on with my normal scheduled article and will revisit both of them at some later stage. It was not a good day to ...

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I’m taking two subjects in trimester three over summer. One is about media and I’m having to watch movies for homework, what a trial that is. The other is about children’s literature and it’s really opened my eyes. I’ve always said that children’s books are way too specialised for me and I’m ...

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Robin of Sherwood – Richard Carpenter This book is the novelisation of the TV series, both written by the author of Catweazle, Richard Carpenter. If you haven’t seen or read Catweazle then you’re missing something fabulous. It’s a shame the same can’t be said about this book. Carpenter has included ...

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Bilby Secrets by Edel Wignell & Mark Jackson Edel Wignell, her name caught my eye and when I googled her story caught my brain. Read on MacDuff! Some little facts Her first name rhymes with medal. She lived on a sheep farm in northern Victoria when she was little. She was ...

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