AustLit
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Adaptations
-
form
y
Wormwood
( 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.
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has a Japanese translation.
Contents
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On the Bottom,
single work
children's fiction
children's
'When a boy goes fishing with his father, he finds a severed finger with a bear tattoo on it. This tattoo comes to life and directs the boy to its former owner, who is covered with tattoos; all of those tattoos then come to life and attach themselves to the boy.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))
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A Good Tip for Ghosts,
single work
children's fiction
children's
'When twin brothers move to a new school, the bully forces them to go to a haunted garbage tip at night after making them touch a pair of false teeth, or they will be beaten up until they pass the test. But in the end, the ghost who haunts the garbage trip reveals he has been looking for the false teeth. Then, the bully then becomes the victim of the test, as a ghost haunts him as a request from the brothers. Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))
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Frozen Stiff,
single work
children's fiction
children's
'An old man makes a living by collecting dead animals and freezing them in his ice factory. A brutal man keeps a cow locked in his home, and another boy tries to get it back to the countryside.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))
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UFD,
single work
children's fiction
children's
'A boy reports seeing a flying dog, but his family does not believe him. He is bet a thousand dollars if he can prove he saw one, or three years of washing if he can't.'
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))
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Cracking Up,
single work
children's fiction
children's
'A boy gets many punishments from his angry teacher, the worst of which is having to look after the teacher's pot plant for a night. However, the worst part is that two people died in his bedroom at his new house; the spirit of one of them tickles him, causing him to break the pot plant, then the next day at school, the spirit follows him around; as he is the only one that can see it, he gets in trouble for things that it does.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))
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Greensleeves,
single work
children's fiction
children's
'A poor man makes a living by blowing up tree stumps and selling the wood chips as firewood. But when a whale washes ashore, dies, and causes problems for the town, this man is promised a lot of money if he can get rid of it.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))
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Mousechap,
single work
children's fiction
children's
'A boy stays at his aunt and uncle's house; his uncle has started acting like a mouse, so is locked in the basement. His aunt explains that the uncle had previously invented a machine that acts as a mousetrap, but instead of killing the mouse, it causes it to run away. Similarly, a mouse that has been hiding in the boy's room acts like a person; the boy later finds out that if two animals touch the machine at the same time, their brains swap. By Paul Jennings' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))
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Spaghetti Pig-Out,
single work
children's fiction
children's
'A boy is always lonely at school because the school bully never lets anyone associate with him. He is pretty much lonely at home as well because of his lack of technology. But one day, he gets a strange video player whose remote control also works on people. However, the bully eventually steals the remote. Back at school, they both enter a spaghetti-eating contest in which the winner earns a free holiday. The bully, due to eating too much spaghetti via the fast forward function on the remote, throws up and is disqualified from the contest, allowing the boy to win the holiday. Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))
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Know All,
single work
children's fiction
children's
'A family finds a box of old circus outfits that cause whoever wears them to gain the abilities of their original owners. Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Braille.
- Large print.
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Changing Perspectives : The Implied Reader in Australian Children's Literature 1841-1994
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature in Education , March vol. 26 no. 1 1995; (p. 25-38) -
[Review] Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories
1992
single work
review
— Appears in: School Library Journal : For Children's, Young Adult and School Librarians , January vol. 38 no. 1 1992;
— Review of Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories 1988 selected work children's fiction -
[Review] Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories
1992
single work
review
— Appears in: School Library Journal : For Children's, Young Adult and School Librarians , January vol. 38 no. 1 1992;
— Review of Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories 1988 selected work children's fiction -
[Review] Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , July vol. 4 no. 3 1989; (p. 34)
— Review of Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories 1988 selected work children's fiction -
[Review] Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 33 no. 2 1989; (p. 31)
— Review of Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories 1988 selected work children's fiction
-
[Review] Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , July vol. 4 no. 3 1989; (p. 34)
— Review of Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories 1988 selected work children's fiction -
[Review] Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories
1992
single work
review
— Appears in: School Library Journal : For Children's, Young Adult and School Librarians , January vol. 38 no. 1 1992;
— Review of Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories 1988 selected work children's fiction -
[Review] Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories
1992
single work
review
— Appears in: School Library Journal : For Children's, Young Adult and School Librarians , January vol. 38 no. 1 1992;
— Review of Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories 1988 selected work children's fiction -
[Review] Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 33 no. 2 1989; (p. 31)
— Review of Uncanny! : Even More Surprising Stories 1988 selected work children's fiction -
Changing Perspectives : The Implied Reader in Australian Children's Literature 1841-1994
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature in Education , March vol. 26 no. 1 1995; (p. 25-38)
Awards
- 1992 winner West Australian Young Readers' Book Award — Hoffman Award
- 1992 winner West Australian Young Readers' Book Award — Younger Readers
- 1990 winner KROC Awards
- 1989 shortlisted New South Wales State Literary Awards
- 1989 winner YABBA — Fiction for Younger Readers