Literary Studies : Literature for 0-18 (8141)
2009

Texts

y separately published work icon Deadly, Unna? Phillip Gwynne , Ringwood : Penguin , 1998 Z517608 1998 single work novel young adult (taught in 20 units)

'"Deadly, unna?" He was always saying that. All the Nungas did, but Dumby more than any of them. Dumby Red and Blacky don't have a lot in common. Dumby's the star of the footy team, he's got a killer smile and the knack with girls, and he's a Nunga. Blacky's a gutless wonder, needs braces, never knows what to say, and he's white. But they're friends... and it could be deadly, unna? This gutsy novel, set in a small coastal town in South Australia is a rites-of-passage story about two boys confronting the depth of racism that exists all around them.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

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y separately published work icon Tales from Outer Suburbia Shaun Tan , Shaun Tan (illustrator), Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2008 Z1450931 2008 selected work single work short story art work young adult (taught in 13 units)

'do you remember the water buffalo at the end of our street?

or the deep-sea diver we found near the underpass?

do you know why dogs bark in the middle of the night?

Shaun Tan, creator of The Arrival, The Lost Thing and The Red Tree, reveals the quiet mysteries of everyday life: homemade pets, dangerous weddings, stranded sea mammals, tiny exchange students and secret rooms filled with darkness and delight.'

Source: Back cover.

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y separately published work icon Girl Underground Morris Gleitzman , Camberwell : Puffin , 2004 Z1123984 2004 single work children's fiction children's (taught in 1 units) 'This is a story of friendship, courage and a bit of crime. Bridget wants a quiet life. Including, if possible, keeping her parents out of prison. Then a boy called Menzies makes her an offer she can't refuse, and they set off on a job of their own. It's a desperate, daring plan - to rescue two kids, Jamal and Bibi, from a desert detention centre. Can Bridget and Menzies pull off their very first jail break, or will they end up behind bars too? Sometimes, to help a friend, you have to dig deep.' (Source: Author's website)
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y separately published work icon Sleeping Dogs Sonya Hartnett , Ringwood : Viking , 1995 Z238800 1995 single work novel young adult (taught in 8 units) The misanthropic, sadistic father of five children, ages 12 to 25, Griffin Willow runs a trailer park on his dilapidated farm in rural Australia. Isolated from all outside influences, even the neighboring small town, the Willow family has created its own oppressive, sheltered, and decaying world. Despite abuse from their father and a silent, withdrawn mother, all five children live at home and help run the trailer park. Twenty-three-year-old Michelle and her younger brother Jordan have found solace in an incestuous relationship, which they carefully conceal from their parents. When Bow Fox, an itinerant artist, comes to stay at the park, their 15-year-old brother, Oliver, accidently reveals their secret. So begins an agonizing, irreversible progression of violence and betrayal. (Source: Trove)
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y separately published work icon Love Like Water Meme McDonald , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2007 Z1358425 2007 single work novel young adult (taught in 2 units)

'Cathy arrives in Alice Springs from cattle country, looking for a new way to live. But new is a serious challenge for a girl who's used to being measured by her actions, not her feelings. Feelings are slippery, like water. Hard to hold onto.

Jay is working for the local radio station, far from his own saltwater people, wary of this no-water country. He's searching for something, trying to survive.

Margie is a wild city girl, up for a good time, confronted by a world she's never known and a friend she can't always understand.

When lives collide at the heart of the country, no one stays unchanged.' - back cover

'More than a love story, this is a bold, confronting book about friendship, love, sex and identity at the heart of Australia, where black and white, bush and city collide.' (Publisher's blurb)

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y separately published work icon Mister Monday Garth Nix , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2003 Z1066371 2003 single work children's fiction children's fantasy (taught in 1 units) 'Arthur Penhaligon is not supposed to be a hero. He is supposed to die an early death. But then he is saved by a key shaped like the minute hand of a clock. Arthur is safe - but his world is not. Along with the key comes a plague brought by bizarre creatures from another realm. A stranger named Mister Monday, his avenging messengers with blood-stained wings, and an army of dog-faced Fetchers will stop at nothing to get the key back - even if it means destroying Arthur and everything around him.'
(Source: Back cover)
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Description

On successful completion of the unit students will: demonstrate in written and oral forms an ability to critically and creatively analyse the formal and aesthetic qualities of the studied works; demonstrate orally and in writing a creative and critical understanding of critical and theoretical engagements with the field of young peoples literature.

Other Details

Levels: Undergraduate
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