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Today is World Animal Day, a good opportunity to share a sneak peek of my new book. Today I received an advance copy of The Last Light Horse, due for release March 2022 with Fremantle Press. The Last Light Horse follows the story of Sandy, the only Australian horse (of approx. 136,000) to return from World… continue reading »
In my previous post, The Bilby versus the Bunny, I wrote that in Australia our relationship with rabbits is complex. With Easter just a few days away, today’s post features The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan, an extraordinary, thought-provoking title. At first glance, this award-winning book looks like a kids’ title, and it… continue reading »
Are you in the Easter Bunny or Easter Bilby camp? Last year I shared a blog featuring five bilby books, so this year it’s the bunnies’ turn. In Australia our connection with rabbits is complex. As an introduced species, rabbits are a pest that threatens native wildlife. This is reflected in literature; compare the sweet… continue reading »
Have you noticed people wearing purple poppies on February 24th? Or veterans wearing purple poppies alongside their red ones on Remembrance Day? Purple poppies honour the animals that served alongside humans during wartime. Follow this link to find out more about purple poppies. And a selection of books featuring wartime animals can be found on… continue reading »
In Australia, rabbits are destructive pests, so shy marsupial bilbies are the new heroes of Australian Easter Bunny stories. Bilbies look like rabbits. They’re a similar size and they have very long ears. Here are five stories with bilby characters. Three books share the same Easter topic with bilbies as the same central characters, but… 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.
