Super Saturday & a Sizzling Start

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The moon was full the night they disappeared. Windswept paddocks lay clear and blue under high tatters of cloud. A car lurched, without lights, along the rutted road that ran from the town to the bay. It moved erratically, urgently, as though the driver didn’t know how to drive. The wind whipped away the sound of the engine. p 1 The Quicksand Pony by Alison Lester

I had a super Saturday. Between refreshing dips in the surf, and soaking up the sun on one of our beautiful local beaches, I read two pretty special books. I was captivated by the sizzling start above from The Quicksand Pony by Alison Lester. I’m not going to reveal too much about this book except to say it’s really not Bella the quicksand pony who is central to this story, although she does play a pivotal role in connecting two intersecting stories, but rather it’s the characters of Biddy, Joe and Joycie that are at its heart.

At the conclusion of the book, Alison Lester provides an interesting insight into her life growing up on a farm in the South Gippsland region of Victoria. She talks about her experiences of stockwork and mustering, pony club and the horses she has owned and gives sage advice to aspiring authors and illustrators.  Lester concluded by likening herself to a magpie, collecting bits of information and ideas for stories from everywhere and storing them in her head. She says, “If you love writing or drawing… you just have to keep doing it, every day, and you’ll get better and better.”

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The second book by Randa Abdel-Fattah had an intriguing title, Jodie, this is the Book of You. Jodie is going into year 6, struggling to come to terms with her mum and dads divorce, dad’s new relationship as well as dealing with being bullied at school and online. Jodie and her friends find a mysterious book in the library that gives her confusing advice. It’s the first of four in this series.

3 thoughts on “Super Saturday & a Sizzling Start

  1. Hi Mrs Riding,
    I have just read your blog and guess what 3J will be doing tomorrow?
    That’s right reading your blog and planning our own 3J blog…
    Happy Blogging

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