Paul Jennings. Image: Monash University.
WE DON’T NEED TO TELL you that Paul Jennings has come a long way since lecturing primary school teaching students in the 1980s at what was then the Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education.
(Actually, I can remember Paul reading us bleary eyed third years the draft of his very first book and asking us for feedback. ‘Not bad,’ we said. Hell, what did we know? – Carol).
We have invited Michaelie Clark from Warrnambool Books to each week choose a reading highlight for people who love books and, where possible, to pick a work by a local author. Michaelie has this week chosen Paul’s new series for young adults:
“The imagination of award-winning Warrnambool author Paul Jennings has soared to new heights with his latest series, Don’t Look Now. The four book series, illustrated by Melbourne cartoonist Andrew Weldon, tells the story of Ricky, a boy who desperately wants to be famous – and has the means to be.
You see, Ricky can fly.
The only problem is, Ricky can’t stay airborne if there’s anybody around to witness it. If anyone were to see him flying, he would promptly fall out of the sky and surely plummet to his death, leading Ricky to quite a conundrum…”
(Does anybody see an analogy here between Ricky’s problem and the fears that hold all of us back if we know somebody is watching us? I like it already – Carol).
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