Home > Archives for February 2020
When I was young I loved this book. It was part of a series of Beginner Books created by Theodor Geisel (Dr Seuss) and his wife, Helen Palmer as replacements for boring school readers. Robert the Rose Horse is my anthropomorphic book choice for Valentine’s Day 2020. As an author I’m inspired by the brilliance… continue reading »
Why do people wear purple poppies? A: To commemorate and remember animals who served during wartime. And the animals have their own special day. In Australia the National Day for War Animals is February 24th, just over two weeks away. I first became interested in wartime mascots when I was researching Lighthouse Girl, the first… continue reading »
Across Australia children are labeling pencils and covering books, getting ready to start a new school year. For some that might be daunting. So who better to help manage their anxiety than a friendly animal character? Many young readers will know Fiona the tidy pig, created by former Australian Children’s Laureate, Leigh Hobbs. Fiona the… continue reading »
Dianne is the award-winning author of 19 books for children and teenagers.
Her PhD research into the Crafting of Animal Characters in Australian Children’s Literature resulted in two novels, Dog with Seven Names and Shark Caller. The latter, a cross-cultural quest novel, was a CBCA Notable and shortlisted for WAYRBA. The former, also a CBCA Notable, won the Speech pathology awards, was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Awards and will be published in China.
