Stories for Eight Year Olds edited by Linsay Knight

‘Stories for Eight Year Olds’ a collection of short stories from eleven well known Australian authors. There’s something for everyone. Paul Jennings starts off with a tale about UFD – Unidentified Flying Dogs. Jacqueline Harvey’s narrative poem warns about the dangers of Grandparents’ Day at school. There are giants and magic carpets, photo-hogs, visitors from other worlds and a wealthy cat. There are stories about the perils of having a sister, the healing powers of cake and of jokes taken too far. Each story is about fifteen pages long, with a contents page at the front and a bio section at the end. Black and white illustrations are scattered throughout.

You can be the judge. Am I the biggest liar in the world or do I tell the truth? There is one thing for sure – Dad believes me.

Anyway, I will leave it up to you. I will tell you what happened and you can make up your own mind.

It all starts one evening about teatime. Dad is cooking the tea and Mum is watching Sixty Minutes on television. Suddenly there is a knock on the door. ‘I’ll get it, yells my little brother Matthew. He always runs to be the first to the door and the first to the telephone. It really gets on my nerves the way he does that.

Stories for Eight Year Olds is a collection of short stories from eleven well known Australian authors. There’s something for everyone. Paul Jennings starts off with a tale about UFD – Unidentified Flying Dogs. Jacqueline Harvey’s narrative poem warns about the dangers of Grandparents’ Day at school. There are giants and magic carpets, photo-hogs, visitors from other worlds and a wealthy cat. There are stories about the perils of having a sister, the healing powers of cake and of jokes taken too far. Each story is about fifteen pages long, with a contents page at the front and a bio section at the end. Black and white illustrations are scattered throughout.

Stories for Eight Year Olds is a delightful and wacky collection of short stories, perfect for the independent reader who wants to try a few authors without committing to a full length novel. A sampler of light-hearted and cautionary tales to dip into. A perfect way to introduce some of Australia’s foremost authors for the age group. Recommended for … eight year olds!

Stories for Eight Year Olds

Stories for Eight Year Olds edited by Linsay Knight
Random House 2012
ISBN: 9781742756608

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.