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This image has been sourced from online.
y separately published work icon Unreal! : Eight Surprising Stories selected work   children's fiction   children's   humour  
Issue Details: First known date: 1985... 1985 Unreal! : Eight Surprising Stories
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

A ghost that haunts the outside dunny, a mix of manure that makes hair fall out, two musical ghosts who try to save a lighthouse - these are spooky stories with a surprise ending every time. (Source: Trove)

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon Wormwood Alex Burrows , Jutta Goetze , Piers Hobson , Sue Hore , David Rapsey , Maureen Sherlock , Meaghan Smith , James Beard , John Coulter , Elizabeth Huntley , ( dir. Mark DeFriest et. al. )agent Western Australia : Great Western Entertainment , 2007 Z1845696 2007 series - publisher film/TV children's fantasy

Based on various short stories by Paul Jennings, Wormwood follows the happenings in the small town of Wormwood, where the fact that the town's economy is based on the production and sale of worm excrement is not the strangest thing about the place.

Previous television series based on Jennings's short stories were Driven Crazy and Round the Twist.

Notes

  • Dedication: To Claire

Affiliation Notes

  • This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Korean translations

Contents

* Contents derived from the Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,:Penguin , 1985 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Without a Shirt, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A boy called Brian has a speech impediment that forces him to say "Without a shirt" each time he finishes a sentence. When he is forced to move to a new house in the center of a cemetery because his dog is repeatedly digging, he eventually finds some bones that may be linked to his speech impediment. After fulfilling the task involving the bones and a shirt, he loses the speech impediment. Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist, although "without my shirt" was changed to "without my pants".' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection))

The Strap Box Flyer, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A conniving salesman named Giffen sells a glue that will stick to anything, but stops working after four hours. After getting many innocent townspeople to buy it, he leaves town in his truck before they can track him down for cheating them, then meets a man who has invented a box that can make people fly into the sky. Attempting to try it for himself leads to the biggest mistake of his life.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection)

Skeleton on the Dunny, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A boy called Bob was forced to live with his aunt because of his parents' deaths, but the only toilet at his aunt's house is in an outhouse. Even worse, that outhouse is haunted by the ghost of a man who was dead after looking after the house when the aunt was on a holiday. Was later adapted as the first episode of Round The Twist.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection)

Lucky Lips, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's humour

'A boy who has never been kissed obtains a lipstick that will make nearby girls kiss him. However, it also works on any female, including animals . Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist.'(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection)

Cow Dung Custard, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'Greg has a father who grows vegetables that are tremendous because of all the dung he uses to grow them. The worst batches are one that cannot be smelled, but attracts flies, and one that smells so incredibly bad that it gets him in trouble with the neighbours, but also kills flies. At the end, Greg and his father get into trouble...' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection)

Lighthouse Blues, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A boy comes to an island to help an old lighthouse keeper. However, every Friday night, music plays, and the boy suspects it has something to do with the lighthouse keeper's ancestors. Was later adapted into a plot-arc of the first season of Round The Twist.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection)

Smart Ice-Cream, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's humour

'An ice-cream seller has special ice-creams that have effects such as making people happier, shortening peoples' noses, removing pimples, and making people smarter. A smart boy who is always top of the class gets jealous, because he never gets any of the ice-cream and also because one of his classmates becomes as good as him, so he ruins the ice-cream business by destroying all the ice-cream except the one that makes people smarter. He then proceeds to eat that one, only to find out that it actually makes people less smart.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection)

Wunderpants, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's humour

'A boy is given underpants that, despite their look that would cause him to be teased by the school bully, give him superhuman strength. But when he takes a break during a cross-country race (he is first by a wide margin), those underpants start to shrink, and the bully eventually comes to steal the rest of his clothes. He ends up going home in the nude, causing him to be grounded, but he eventually enters a mouse race in which the winner gets 50 dollars. The boy wins the mouse race by giving the mouse the pants. Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 1985 .
      image of person or book cover 8334390355109559234.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 107p.
      Edition info: A Puffin Book
      Reprinted: 2000 , 1991 , 1994 , 2002 , 1999 , 1986 twice , 1987 tree times , 1988 twice
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Puffin ,
      1985 .
      image of person or book cover 8461439885111341135.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 107p.
      Reprinted: 1993 with ISBN 0140349103 , 1991 with ISBN 0140319654 , 1994 with ISBN 0140370994
      ISBN: 0140319654
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Viking ,
      1991 .
      image of person or book cover 5315433599835216094.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 107p.
      Edition info: 1st American ed.
      ISBN: 0670841757
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 1995 .
      image of person or book cover 8128089920215369242.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 160p.
      Note/s:
      • Published January 5th 1995
      ISBN: 9780140370997
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Uncollected Volume 1: Every Story from Unreal!, Unbelievable! and Quirky Tails Paul Jennings , Ringwood : Viking , 1998 Z834907 1998 selected work children's fiction children's humour Ringwood : Viking , 1998
Alternative title: Een skelet op het toilet en andere knettergekke verhalen
Language: Dutch
    • Heemstede,
      c
      Netherlands,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Altamira ,
      1994 .
      image of person or book cover 886136987034588094.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 120p.
      ISBN: 9069632977

Other Formats

  • Braille.
  • Large print.
  • Sound recording.

Works about this Work

y separately published work icon Voracious Children : Who Eats Whom in Children's Literature Carolyn Daniel , London New York (City) : Routledge , 2006 16055228 2006 multi chapter work criticism

'Voracious Children explores food and the way it is used to seduce, to pleasure, and coerce not only the characters within children's literature but also its readers. There are a number of gripping questions concerning the quantity and quality of the food featured in children's fiction that immediately arise: why are feasting fantasies so prevalent, especially in the British classics? What exactly is their appeal to historical and contemporary readers? What do literary food events do to readers? Is food the sex of children's literature? The subject of children eating is compelling but, why is it that stories about children being eaten are not only horrifying but also so incredibly alluring? This book reveals that food in fiction does far, far more that just create verisimilitude or merely address greedy readers' desires. The author argues that the food trope in children's literature actually teaches children how to be human through the imperative to eat "good" food in a "proper" controlled manner. Examining timely topics such as childhood obesity and anorexia, the author demonstrates how children's literature routinely attempts to regulate childhood eating practices and only award subjectivity and agency to those characters who demonstrate "normal" appetites.

'Examining a wide range of children's literature classics from Little Red Riding Hood to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, this book is an outstanding and unique enquiry into the function of food in children's literature, and it will make a significant contribution to the fields of both children's literature and the growing interdisciplinary domain of food, culture and society.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Popular as a Dirty Word : Investigating Literary and Cultural Biases Through a Study of Paul Jennings Jeri Kroll , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Crossing the Boundaries 2002; (p. 261-281)
Round the Twist with Paul Jennings Steven Paulsen (interviewer), 1995 single work interview
— Appears in: Sirius , June no. 9 1995; (p. 10-13)
Know the Author : Paul Jennings Alfred R. Mappin , 1988 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 3 no. 2 1988; (p. 10-11)
Untitled Robyn Collins , 1986 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 1 no. 2 1986; (p. 24)

— Review of Unreal! : Eight Surprising Stories Paul Jennings , 1985 selected work children's fiction
Untitled Robyn Collins , 1986 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 1 no. 2 1986; (p. 24)

— Review of Unreal! : Eight Surprising Stories Paul Jennings , 1985 selected work children's fiction
Untitled Jo Goodman , 1986 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council Of Australia , April no. 99 1986; (p. 58)

— Review of Unreal! : Eight Surprising Stories Paul Jennings , 1985 selected work children's fiction
Know the Author : Paul Jennings Alfred R. Mappin , 1988 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 3 no. 2 1988; (p. 10-11)
Round the Twist with Paul Jennings Steven Paulsen (interviewer), 1995 single work interview
— Appears in: Sirius , June no. 9 1995; (p. 10-13)
Popular as a Dirty Word : Investigating Literary and Cultural Biases Through a Study of Paul Jennings Jeri Kroll , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Crossing the Boundaries 2002; (p. 261-281)
y separately published work icon Voracious Children : Who Eats Whom in Children's Literature Carolyn Daniel , London New York (City) : Routledge , 2006 16055228 2006 multi chapter work criticism

'Voracious Children explores food and the way it is used to seduce, to pleasure, and coerce not only the characters within children's literature but also its readers. There are a number of gripping questions concerning the quantity and quality of the food featured in children's fiction that immediately arise: why are feasting fantasies so prevalent, especially in the British classics? What exactly is their appeal to historical and contemporary readers? What do literary food events do to readers? Is food the sex of children's literature? The subject of children eating is compelling but, why is it that stories about children being eaten are not only horrifying but also so incredibly alluring? This book reveals that food in fiction does far, far more that just create verisimilitude or merely address greedy readers' desires. The author argues that the food trope in children's literature actually teaches children how to be human through the imperative to eat "good" food in a "proper" controlled manner. Examining timely topics such as childhood obesity and anorexia, the author demonstrates how children's literature routinely attempts to regulate childhood eating practices and only award subjectivity and agency to those characters who demonstrate "normal" appetites.

'Examining a wide range of children's literature classics from Little Red Riding Hood to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, this book is an outstanding and unique enquiry into the function of food in children's literature, and it will make a significant contribution to the fields of both children's literature and the growing interdisciplinary domain of food, culture and society.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Last amended 19 Nov 2020 12:04:26
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