Growing up in Australia was wonderful. I especially loved
the Australiana children's stories, many of which are now perennial favourites.
They include:
This is still under construction...
enjoy what's here!
"Snugglepot and Cuddlepie"
by May Gibbs. This is a wonderful story about two gum nut babies... it's a
world full of adventure and of big bad banksia men ... I was terrified of banksia bushes for
many years!
"Bib and Bub" by May Gibbs.
These came out as a comic strip which I avidly read. The book is available.
"The Magic Pudding: Being the Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and His Friends Bill Barnacle & Sam Sawnoff"
by Norman Lindsay. This story recounts is the adventures of Bunyip Bluegum, Bill Barnacle
and Sam Sawnoff, the penguin bold, and their amazing, everlasting, and
very cantankerous puddin'. It's a very unusual pudding. And though the
puddin' thieves are cunning and masters of disguise they are not a match
for the puddin' owners.
"The Water-Babies" by Charles Kingsley.
One of my aunts read this to me at an early age. It was magical and I still have
the book stored in Australia.
It was sometime during 5th grade that something switched on
in my head and I discovered the joys of reading. From then on I began to
devour books, sometimes one a night... needless to say schoolwork often
suffered. My love of reading continued all through high school and on into
my adult life. Here are some of my school day loves:
During late primary school (grades 5 & 6) I discovered the "Dimsie" books by Dorita Fairlie Bruce. The "Dimsie"
stories were about a girl in boarding
school and all the trials and tribulations she went through. Incredibly they
can still be found through Amazon, though at a price... (click image)
Then I discovered
the "Biggles" books by W. E. Johns and fell in love with all things to do with flying.
There are many "Biggles" books and each one was an adventure to be
lived! They seem to have been reprinted and are now available through Amazon
(click image).
My love of flying
took me to books about the famous pilots of World War II, including "Reach
for the Sky", the story of Douglas
Bader, the legless flying ace. I was so impressed with his story, I even had
a goldfish name "Douglas Bader"!
Anne of Green Gables
by L. M. Montgomery. I have a boxed set and read through the eight books
every year or so. There is something very pleasurable in doing so. Maybe I
got back to a child state. I don't know but I can get lost in the delightful
tales of Anne's adventures.
I also have the videos and enjoy
watching them. However, I must say that I do not like the video entitled, "Anne of Green Gables, the
Continuing Story." The story was so drastically changed it really spoiled
things and I am glad I didn't buy it. Some day I would like to get a
DVD set of the books.
Narnia
Chronicles
by C. S. Lewis. I actually didn't discover the Narnia Chronicles till I was
an adult. However, the stories still appeal to the child in me. This is a
set I also read all the way through every year or so. I especially love the
description of the creation of Narnia when Aslan sang it into being... it
still gives me goosebumps to think about it.
(Interested in
buying? The images at left is a link for the book sets. Image at right is link
to DVD set.)
Little Women
by Louisa M Alcott. I first read this as a young teen and enjoyed this story
so much. However, I always remember how upset I was when Jo died. It was so
hard to
deal with, it did not seem at all fair.
More
recently I've
enjoyed the the movie
starring Winona Ryder.
by Norman Lindsay. This story recounts is the adventures of Bunyip Bluegum, Bill Barnacle
and Sam Sawnoff, the penguin bold, and their amazing, everlasting, and
very cantankerous puddin'. It's a very unusual pudding. And though the
puddin' thieves are cunning and masters of disguise they are not a match
for the puddin' owners. 
Little Women