Dippy the Dancing Diprotodon by Elaine Ouston, Illustrated by Kevin Burgermeestre

Dippy the Dancing Diprotodon by Elaine Ouston is the first book in the Meet the Megafauna Series, a series that features two Megafauna animals interacting as they would have in the wild. In this book we meet the diprotodon and the marsupial lion. 

Dippy the Dancing Diprotodon is a fun loving picture book that takes the reader back more than 50,000 years to a prey/predator situation. Aimed at early readers Dippy the Dancing Diprotodon provides a non-threatening thrill that educates. 

Dippy loved to dance. The other diprotodon laughed at him. They thought a dancing diprotodon looked strange. With the current rain the eucalyptus trees on the other side of the forest had bright new leaves. Dippy danced off through the forest heading for his breakfast. As Dippy dances, a lion follows. Although Dippy is four times the size of the lion he is no match for his deadly teeth and claws. 

The chase is on. Dippy tries hiding but his size makes this hard to do. The lion leaps ahead into a tree in the direction Dippy is heading. Who will win the battle?

I shared this book with my 9-year-old who loved the thrill and suspense of the chase. Dippy the Dancing Diprotodon opened up endless conversation about the creatures that roamed the earth 50,000 years ago, their size and habitat and the predator/prey situation. This lead to discussion on how we live today and the role the predator/prey situation plays in today's society. How have times changed from then till now? What could have happened to cause these changes?

As a parent and home educator I loved Dippy the Dancing Diprotodon. Elaine Ouston presents us with a story that invites, provokes thought and educates. Her passion for teaching children about the megafauna of Australia shines through in her writing. Having illustrated over 65 children’s books since 1985, Kevin Burgemeestre has used his years of experience to capture the words Elaine provides in an illustrated format. The overall package produced by the team provides the reader with a pleasurable journey that they are sure to revisit. 

Signed copies can be purchased directly from publisher Morris Publishing Australia www.morrispublishingaustralia.com/dippy-the-dancing-diprotodon.html

ISBN: 978-0-9942463-6-3

Review: Jennifer Douglas

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Merlin's School for Ordinary Children Sword of Stone by Margaret R Blake

Sword of the Stone is the second book in the Merlin’s School for Ordinary Children series by Margaret R Blake, following The Ring of Curse’s. It see’s the children start their second year of school, with some of the old student’s returning and some new about to find out what adventures behold them. 

From the back of the book: ...there is a strange and powerful force that surrounds the place and this force seems to remove all hesitancy. Once again invites are eventually dispatched, finding selected children waiting eagerly to gain entrance to the fortified institution.

This year thought, Bridget Lincoln, Tilderly Davis and some of their friends, become savvy to a dangerous scheme about the retrieval of a magical stone and a sword. Everyone feels safe enough about their involvement- or lack thereof - until Bridget and Tilderly, along with three other students, stumble through a portal. Unfortunately, it is not an easy thing to return to the school, for it disappears, into the mists of time leaving everyone trapped inside another dimension. 

Pursued by an assortment of Ogres, Goblins, and Trolls, the children must make tracks to Grave’s End: the last known resting  place of this mysterious and much coveted weapon.

Margaret R Blake does a wonderful job at interweaving book one with book two, Sword of the Stone. It has been some time between books for myself, having read The Ring of Curse's two years earlier,  yet the skillful writing style of Margaret R Blake had me reliving the first read. I felt as though it was only yesterday that I had finished The Ring of Curse’s. There is enough information provided in Sword of Stone for one to have not read The Ring of Curse’s and still enjoy the journey. 

Within Sword of Stone Margaret R Blake shows the growth of the characters as they mature and move into a new year, whilst maintaining their personality and likeness to the previous story. As an author she shows strength and consistency in writing style from one to book to another. New characters and a new adventure are introduced in Sword of Stone in a way that they enhance the previous reading journey and make you want to actually re-explore The Ring of Curse’s, or discover it for the first time. 

If I was to criticise one thing about Sword of Stone it would have to be the border around the edge of each page as I found this an unnecessary distraction to my reading. Putting this slight distraction aside I thoroughly enjoyed my reading journey, connecting with character and plot on many levels. The story flows beautifully with a mixture of laughter, excitement, thrill and magical mystery holding interest from chapter to another. Margaret R Blake writes in a way that provides the reader with a descriptive visual that teases the mind, bouncing the words and actions around in your head as you sit back, relax and enjoy your reading journey. The wonderful thing about books is that they are different for each individual reader. Each reader of the Merlin’s School of Ordinary Children series will travel the same magical road but with a delight and wonderment that is individual to their own reading experience. Margaret R Blake has this all under control as she creates characters in the children and teachers that allow individuals to connect on different levels. Throw in the fantasy and magic and you have a novel that suits all ages from late primary through to adults. 

Merlin’s School for Ordinary Children Sword of Stone, along with The Ring of Curses and other books by Margaret R Blake are available in both paperback and ebook from Amazon.

www.amazon.com/Margaret-R.-Blake/e/B01M310BF2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

ISBN: 978-1-326-74019-1

review: Jennifer Douglas

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