Destination
Unknown
edited by Alwyn Evans
Fremantle
Arts Centre Press
108p
pbk
ISBN:
1-86368-341-0
Destination Unknown
is a compilation of short stories written by children in Western Australia
who have received prizes in the middle and upper primary divisions of the
Tim Winton Awards.
The
eleven stories are fantasies featuring unicorns and vampires, talking
paintings and robots and even a dog that goes into space. All are very
entertaining and are well written. There are no illustrations but there
are photos of the authors at the end of each story and a brief biography,
which explains the author’s background and gives the reader an insight
into why the author actually chose the topic for their story.
The
language is not complicated which makes this book good for young children
or for a teacher to read to their class. This book caters for all readers,
especially the reluctant reader who can benefit from reading a short story
written by his or her peers. While the language is not complicated, some
of the stories are quite complex with very clever storylines and endings
that can draw in the older reader, who on first inspection might classify
this book, “too babyish”. There
are short stories that make a good read for impatient readers who can get
distracted easily and go off to do something else. If an impatient reader
were to sit down and read one of the shorter stories in Destination
Unknown they might find they enjoyed reading and move on to novels or
even be inspired to write a short story of their own. The longer stories
in the book can keep the reader transfixed until the end.
I
recommend this book to anybody who enjoys fantasy. For anyone who
doesn’t like reading, give this book a go.
Pat,
aged 12, Canberra, ACT
