News and events
Sept 2009: ROBOT RIOT! Regional tour NSW, QLD, VIC.
MARRICKVILLE, SYDNEY, BRISBANE, BENDIGO, BALLARAT, SUNBURY, MELB, BRISBANE WRITERS FESTIVAL, MILDURA, DUBBO, ORANGE, BATHURST, LEURA, PENRITH.
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Hi everyone, thanks for making the robot riot tour one of the biggest and best yet! Stand by for THE VERY BAD BOOK tour in 2010.
Click here to read Jeffery E Doherty’s write up of one of the Robot Riot school events in Bathurst, NSW on his blog.
Posted on 3 August 2009 Permanent link to this post Comments (36)
Mar 7–April 1: AUST MASCOT MADNESS TOUR – Melbourne, Gold Coast, Perth, Blue Mountains, Nowra, Batemans Bay
A big bananary THANKYOU to everyone who came along to the events and made this one of the most enjoyable book tours I’ve ever had the pleasure to be on. I really appreciate your support and enthusiasm!
Thanks also to all the booksellers who work so hard at each event, and to Somerset College Celebration of Literature festival on the Gold coast, All Saints Festival in Perth and the Norman Lindsay Festival of Children’s literature in the Blue Mountains.
And, of course, a special thanks to the teachers and students from the following schools from all over Australia who made the other events so memorable: Dardanup Primary School; Djidi Djidi Aboriginal School; Carey Park Primary School; Eaton Community College; Picton School; Parkfield Primary School; Australind Primary School; Australind Senior High School; Moruya Primary School; St Mary’s Convent School; Broulee Primary School; St Peter’s Anglican College; Mogo Primary School; St Bernard’s Primary School; Batemans Bay Primary School; Samuel Terry Primary School; Warrimoo Primary School; Faulconbridge Primary School; Dawson Primary School; Lynwood Primary School; Bert Oldfield Primary School; Shelley Primary School; Our Lady of Lourdes; Blacktown West Primary School; Blacktown South Primary School; Seven Hills West Primary School; St John the Evangelist Catholic High School; Berry Primary School; Cambewarra Primary School; Nowra Primary School; North Nowra Primary School; Illaroo Road Primary School; Nowra Anglican College; Glen Huon Primary School; Ocean Forest Lutheran School; Dalyellup Primary School.
See you all again in July for the JUST MACBETH tour! Information on all events will be up on this blog as soon as they are available.
Posted on 2 February 2009 Permanent link to this post Comments (20)
Feb 22nd–Mar 6th 2009: US SCHOOLING AROUND TOUR -Phoenix, AZ & Southern California
Thank you to all the fabulous students and teachers at the schools below who made my visit so enjoyable!
Benchmark Elementary, Phoenix AZ: Copper Canyon Elementary, Scottsdale AZ: Pinnacle Peak Elementary, Scottsdale AZ: CTA Liberty, Chandler AZ: Fulton Elementary, Chandler AZ: Baldy View Elementary School, Upland CA: Upland Elementary School, Upland CA: Glenmeade Elementary School, Chino Hills CA: Ramona Jr High School, Chino CA: University Park Elementary, Irvine CA: Bonita Canyon Elementary, Irvine CA: Pegasus School, Huntington Beach, CA: Salt Creek Elementary School, Chula Vista, CA.
Posted on 2 February 2009 Permanent link to this post Comments (3)
READ TREASURE FEVER and win an Andy Griffiths Library
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| Have you caught the treasure fever yet?
DMAG are giving away the COMPLETE SET of Andy Griffiths’ books, a SIGNED Andy Griffiths poster and heaps upon heaps of chocolate coins. Now THAT’S what we call a treasure. FOR MORE DETAILS GO TO |
| http://www.dmag.com.au/competitions.asp |
Posted on 10 June 2008 Permanent link to this post Comments (13)
TREASURE FEVER: more reviews
The book is simple, silly fun. Silly students, sillier teachers, a silly school, and a silly situation all add up to a silly story. Pretty much what you would expect from Andy Griffiths, but without the bum jokes. I am becoming quite a fan of Andy Griffiths and there is no denying that the kids (especially boys) love him.
http://bookboy.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/treasure-fever-by-andy-griffiths/
I enjoyed Treasure Fever so much that I almost missed my lift. I was supposed to be looking out of the window for my friend Elwys, but got carried away with the book. Elwys said it must be a good read so I lent it to her. She enjoyed it too.
Dulcie Groves, 85, Golden Square
Andy Griffiths is already such a big name in children’s literature. His work continues to entertain and amuse, his most recent novel is no exception. I really enjoyed this book and kept reading sections out loud to my co-workers! For now, I’ll leave you with Mr Brainfright’s important lesson no. 1: When you’re breathing, it’s very important not to fall out the window!
http://www.robinsonsbooks.com.au/
Posted on 1 June 2008 Permanent link to this post Comments (14)
TREASURE FEVER: Latest reviews
I loved Treasure Fever! so much I finished it in a day.
–Andrew, Age 10
Treasure Fever!, the first book in a series called Schooling Around, makes no attempt to be moralistic or educational. It’s simply fun; a rambling series of events that entertain from the first to last word. The action is fast-paced, with quick dialogue, short chapters and some zany characters.
The tale is told from the point of view of Henry McThrottle, a fifth-grade student whose class has a new teacher. The outrageous and nonsensical Mr Brainfright uses teaching methods as unlikely as his name. “Mr Brainfright’s important lesson No.1: When you’re breathing, it’s very important not to fall out the window.”
It’s no accident that the truly batty characters in Treasure Fever! are adults; it’s empowering for kids to encounter seniors they can make fun of and feel superior to without fear of reprisal. It’s joyously subversive. There’s Mrs Cross, the angry disciplinarian; Principal Greenbeard, the wannabe pirate who speaks in pirate catchphrases; Mr Shush, the edgy librarian; and Mr Brainfright, whose introduction sparks a series of events that has Henry and his classmates searching the school for buried treasure.
That Henry and his friends are victorious in the end is also satisfying for young readers. The kids team up to overcome and outsmart the school bully, Fred Durkin, and the interfering teachers (who display varying degrees of insanity). It’s an adventure set in familiar territory (school), with a great sense of urgency and anticipation.
For a change, Griffiths steers clear of the scatological (poo/bum/fart stuff) but there’s plenty of nonsense, which he does well. Treasure Fever! actually shares some features of Roald Dahl’s work. For example, Mr Brainfright jumps off the page with a similar absurdity that made Dahl’s chocolate-maker, Willy Wonka, an eternal favourite (perhaps incidentally, Brainfright also wears a purple jacket.)
Griffiths is popular because his readers don’t see an ulterior motive at play in his work. His stories, including Treasure Fever, are easy to read, entertaining and silly. Unlike some more critically acclaimed, award-winning books, reading them is not a chore for kids – it’s a LOL, LMAO pleasure. And the fun is set to continue in September with the release of the second book in this new series: Pencil of Doom.
–The Sydney Morning Herald
Posted on 1 May 2008 Permanent link to this post Comments (11)
TREASURE FEVER! Now available with free pencil case!
Treasure Fever is the first in Andy Griffiths’s highly anticipated new Schooling Around series: a set of four novels chronicling the amazing goings on at Northwest Southeast Central School. Imagine a novel length treatment of one of the short stories from the JUST! Series and you’re getting warm. Imagine one of the BUM trilogy novels without the bums… and you’re getting even warmer. Imagine a funny, charming and exciting novel set in a most unusual school… well you don’t have to imagine it because SCHOOLING AROUND is already here! Along with stunning cover artwork from world renowned artist Nathan Jurevicius, they are sure to appeal to both confident and emerging readers of all ages. They are also ideal for both parents and classroom teachers to read aloud.