Rich & Rare: A collection of Australian Stories, Poetry and Artwork ed. by Paul Collins

Ford Street Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781925272116
(Age: 10-14) Highly recommended. Themes: Short Stories - Contemporary, Fantasy, Humour, Adventure, Crime, Science Fiction, Romance, Ghost, Horror, Historical, Poetry. From the pens/computers/wisdom of Australian YA and Children's book authors that grace every Australian Library shelf, comes a collection of stories that each have their own brilliance, but together make this Anthology an absolute winner. From the very first story to the last word in the last poem, emanate a wonderful burst of art - of the written variety. With everything from gentle romance to ghost stories; with reality and fantasy; serious, or twisted and funny; with most pieces wonderful gems of the short story genre, this is a book that every Library should buy, and would make an absolutely wonderful gift for the 10-14 year old reader. Because it is short stories predominantly, teachers will also love this as a resource of short stories to read with their students. I can recommend this anthology very highly, both for the quality of writing and also because there is almost nothing distasteful in any of the stories. Even the ghost and horror stories have an intrigue, although some younger children may struggle with these stories. In most stories, young protagonists deal with life and its twists and turns, settings are varied and there is often the Dahl-esque 'twist in the tale'. As the title suggests, this book is 'Rich and Rare'!
Carolyn Hull