Monthly Archives: July 2017

Dr Boogaloo And The Girl Who Lost Her Laughter

What would happen if you lost you laughter?

Where would you look for it?

How would you get it back?

Can you live without laughter?

Would you even want to?

Well, this happened. To a girl called Blue. And unless you’re familiar with musical iBikes and banjos that make you weep, you’ll never believe what took place next! Come on a strange and fantastical adventure to The Boogaloo Family Clinic of Musical Cures and discover a world you’ve never heard of, before but deep down in your soul, always knew existed.

Here it is folks! The hardback edition!

Here’s what it says on the back cover

Enchanting, timeless and surprising – this extraordinary novel will touch the hearts (and ears) of children and adults alike.

Dr Boogaloo was no ordinary doctor. Not at all like the one you might visit if you had a sore tummy. No, Dr Boogaloo was a very different type of doctor. He treated folks who suffered from rather unusual complaints. And how did he treat them? Why, with the most powerful medicine known to mankind . . . Music!

Blue was no ordinary girl. For starters, her name was Blue. But what was truly extraordinary about Blue was the fact that she hadn’t laughed for 712 days. Not a hee hee, a ho ho or even a tiny tee hee.

According to Dr Boogaloo, music can cure anything. (Of course, you need the right dose of the right music. No point listening to a jive if you’re in need of some boogie-woogie, and you can’t just substitute a toot for a blow!) But no laughter was definitely a case for alarm.

Can Dr Boogaloo compose a cure before Blue loses her laughter forever?

A big thank you to Daniel Gray-Barnett for the illustrations. An iBike is no easy draw!

IN STORES OCTOBER 2

“A hilariously sad tale of laughter, friendship and the magic of music.”

The Ballad of Dexi Lee

From the minute she woke and rolled out of bed

one thing was sure, there was trouble ahead

Meet Dexi Lee! Dexi Lee is an ordinary girl..

Except for one thing.

Her hands are GIGANTIC!

Everything she does leads to absolute chaos. But one day she meets some extraordinary animals and suddenly life doesn’t seem so gloomy…

Probably my most favourite thing about this book are the illustrations. They are paintings by the multi-talented Lucy Culliton. One of Australia’s greatest painters. Lucy loves to paint animals. She has a farm full of them. She has more pets than anyone I’ve ever met. You can tell how much Lucy loves animals from her paintings. When Lucy agreed to paint Dexi I was thrilled. It’s such an honour to have my work alongside hers. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the chaos poor old Dexi whips up…

And a dip at the pool made for battering seas,

tossing children like corks

into neighbourhood trees,

 

 

“A wonderful heart-warming tale of difference and happiness.”