A Rose For the Anzac Boys has been on my mind again lately, thanks to all the talk about WW1 commemorations.It's a wonderful story about three young girls, Midge, Ethel & Anne, at finishing school in England. They help with the war effort by rolling bandages...until they hear that Midge's twin brother, Tim has been listed … Continue reading A Rose For the Anzac Boys by Jackie French
Fire is the second book that French & Whatley have done together to address the 2 major natural disasters that have affected Australians in the past few years.According to her afterword, Fire was written in homage to all the hard-working volunteers and professionals who battle bushfires on a regular basis, saving lives, homes and properties, including … Continue reading Fire by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley
Jackie French is prolific...ubiquitous even.It feels like every section of the bookshop has a Jackie French title in it - junior fiction, teen, younger readers, board books, non-fiction, reference, picture books, the novelty section even gardening!Certainly it wouldn't be a CBCA shortlist without a Jackie French title (or two) in its ranks.A Day To Remember … Continue reading A Day To Remember by Jackie French and Mark Wilson
Although I have enjoyed a number of Jackie French books over the years, I haven't thought of her writing as being particularly elegant or sparkling. I usually consider her writing to be more prosaic and deliberate than beautiful. She writes marvelous historical fiction for children, but there are times when you can see her formula at … Continue reading Pennies for Hitler | Jackie French
You know what you're going to get with a Jackie French novel. Her historical fiction is formulaic, but you know what? It's a formula that works. Nanberry is true to her usual winning style. It's easy to read, well-paced, with good dialogue. French finds the human-side to every period of history that she tackles. This … Continue reading Nanberry | Jackie French
How much historical fiction is too much historical fiction? Jackie French's novels for primary aged readers embrace the history, they revel in the history, the roll around in the mud like pigs in love with history...but she does it so well.And it's not just HIStory - Jackie rights the imbalances of most historical records by … Continue reading A Waltz For Matilda | Jackie French
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