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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'When a group of close friends leave the dusty outback orphanage where
they've grown up for a summer holiday together at the coast, their
future is full of possibilities. But the chance that one of them, just one, might gain a real family to
live with calls everything they thought they knew about themselves and
each other into question.' Source: http://www.uqp.uq.edu.au (Sighted: 24/05/2012).
Adaptations
-
form
y
December Boys
( dir. Rod Hardy
)
Australia
:
Becker Films
,
2006
Z1226930
2006
single work
film/TV
'1960s outback Australia. Four boys in a convent orphanage watch younger kids leave with newly adopted parents, fearing their time may never come. The Reverend Mother sends them to the seaside where they meet a young autocratic couple that would make perfect parents. As men, they remember sabotaging each other’s efforts to be the chosen one, only to discover that the real meaning of what it is to be a family, is to be one of the December Boys.'
Source: Screen Australia.
Notes
-
Dedication: To Ted Willis, under whose baronial roof this story was conceived, for his long years of friendship and encouragement.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Orphans at the Beach : Re-visiting Michael Noonan's The December Boys
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Foreign Literature Studies , June vol. 31 no. 3 2009; (p. 140-146) 'There is renewed interest in The December Boys and other books by Michael Noonan in large part because the former was made into a film.Richard Becker who made the film called The December Boys a compelling and charming story.It suggests that film and indeed book audiences frequently try to reconnect with an idealised childhood,looking to the past as a way of critiquing the present.This paper will explore the way The December Boys explores notions of childhood,of a child's need to belong,of Australia's past and its fascination with its landscape.The interest in the book suggests that there is still a readership for works about a 'childhood past' which resonates for a 'childhood present' and for those who still hanker over their own lost childhood.' -
[Review] The December Boys
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , November vol. 22 no. 5 2007; (p. 38)
— Review of The December Boys 1963 single work novel -
[Review] The December Boys
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Books from Our Backyard : Must-Read Books from Queensland 2006; (p. 85)
— Review of The December Boys 1963 single work novel -
[Review] The December Boys
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 20 no. 2 2006; (p. 79)
— Review of The December Boys 1963 single work novel -
[Review] The December Boys
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , March vol. 85 no. 8 2006; (p. 24)
— Review of The December Boys 1963 single work novel
-
[Review] The December Boys
1991
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 35 no. 3 1991; (p. 30)
— Review of The December Boys 1963 single work novel -
[Review] The December Boys
1991
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 6 no. 1 1991; (p. 32)
— Review of The December Boys 1963 single work novel -
Pick of the Week
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 4 March 2006; (p. 30)
— Review of The December Boys 1963 single work novel -
[Review] The December Boys
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , March vol. 85 no. 8 2006; (p. 24)
— Review of The December Boys 1963 single work novel -
[Review] The December Boys
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , November vol. 22 no. 5 2007; (p. 38)
— Review of The December Boys 1963 single work novel -
Novel Bound for Big Screen Gets More Mysterious with Every Chapter
2005
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2-3 July 2005; (p. 3) With production of a film adaptation of December Boys due to begin in late 2005 no copyright-holder has yet been found for Michael Noonan's estate. -
Orphans at the Beach : Re-visiting Michael Noonan's The December Boys
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Foreign Literature Studies , June vol. 31 no. 3 2009; (p. 140-146) 'There is renewed interest in The December Boys and other books by Michael Noonan in large part because the former was made into a film.Richard Becker who made the film called The December Boys a compelling and charming story.It suggests that film and indeed book audiences frequently try to reconnect with an idealised childhood,looking to the past as a way of critiquing the present.This paper will explore the way The December Boys explores notions of childhood,of a child's need to belong,of Australia's past and its fascination with its landscape.The interest in the book suggests that there is still a readership for works about a 'childhood past' which resonates for a 'childhood present' and for those who still hanker over their own lost childhood.'
Last amended 12 Oct 2012 09:39:22
Settings:
- Australian Outback, Central Australia,
- Coast,
- 1930s
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