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y separately published work icon The Bent-Back Bridge single work   children's fiction   children's   adventure  
Issue Details: First known date: 1995... 1995 The Bent-Back Bridge
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

‘Janet has no friends. No friends at all. So when Lola, the new girl in her class asks to meet her at the Bent-Back Bridge terminus after dark, she agrees. Janet would give anything to have a friend ... well, almost anything ...’ (Source: Back cover)

Affiliation Notes

  • This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has an Indonesian translation.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Port Melbourne, South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Lothian , 1995 .
      Extent: 47p.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 0850917042
      Series: y separately published work icon After Dark Gary Crew (editor), Lothian (publisher), Port Melbourne : Lothian , 1995-1999 Z921539 1995 series - publisher children's thriller horror After Dark is a popular series of thrillers, some containing mild horror or supernatural content, written for older children by Australian and New Zealand authors. The books are extensively illustrated, and are targeted at reluctant readers, although their appeal has proved to be much wider. The series is edited by Gary Crew, who has also authored some of the books in the series. After Dark has also been published as a series in the United Kingdom by Franklin Watts. According to the Courier Mail (Brisbane), "All the stories [in the After Dark series] are strong, dramatic and chilling. They are rich in symbolism and meaning. They are well crafted and feature a range of story structures from simple narratives to complex multi-layered plots. After Dark offers the promise of heart-stopping, spine-tingling drama and it doesn't disappoint." Number in series: 1
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Franklin Watts ,
      1999 .
      Extent: 50p.p.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 0749635193; 9780749635190
      Series: After Dark Franklin Watts (publisher), 1999 series - publisher children's fiction horror Number in series: 1
Language: Indonesian

Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.

Works about this Work

Writing on the Edge: Gary Crew's Fiction Alice Mills , 1998 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 8 no. 3 1998; (p. 25-35)
Mills gives an overview of Australian author Gary Crew's work, which she describes as 'characterized by doubt' and offering endings which remain unresolved rather than the formulaic 'happy endings' which permeate conventional children's stories (25). Crew has won many literary awards for his children's fiction, however his stories are decidely ambiguous and post-modern in their 'celebration of doubt' (34), which attracts criticism on the grounds that the texts are too 'difficult and demanding for young children' (25). Mills offers a succinct and insightful discussion which explores how Crew's narratives of child-adolescent maturation play with the conventions of the gothic-horror genre by refusing 'the guarantee of a revelation to come' (34). Mills says 'At his strongest, he brings to the reader's notice the human need to make sense of the world. The power of his fiction derives not from him meeting such needs but from playing upon them' (25).
Review : The Bent-Back Bridge Alison Lawrence , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 10 no. 1 1996; (p. 11-12)

— Review of The Bent-Back Bridge Gary Crew , 1995 single work children's fiction
Review : The Bent-Back Bridge Sophie Masson , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , February vol. 40 no. 1 1996; (p. 29)

— Review of The Bent-Back Bridge Gary Crew , 1995 single work children's fiction
[Review] The Bent-Back Bridge Moira Robinson , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Autumn vol. 4 no. 1 1996; (p. 36 - 37)

— Review of The Bent-Back Bridge Gary Crew , 1995 single work children's fiction
Review : The Bent-Back Bridge Sophie Masson , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , February vol. 40 no. 1 1996; (p. 29)

— Review of The Bent-Back Bridge Gary Crew , 1995 single work children's fiction
Review : The Bent-Back Bridge Alison Lawrence , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 10 no. 1 1996; (p. 11-12)

— Review of The Bent-Back Bridge Gary Crew , 1995 single work children's fiction
[Review] The Bent-Back Bridge Moira Robinson , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Autumn vol. 4 no. 1 1996; (p. 36 - 37)

— Review of The Bent-Back Bridge Gary Crew , 1995 single work children's fiction
Writing on the Edge: Gary Crew's Fiction Alice Mills , 1998 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 8 no. 3 1998; (p. 25-35)
Mills gives an overview of Australian author Gary Crew's work, which she describes as 'characterized by doubt' and offering endings which remain unresolved rather than the formulaic 'happy endings' which permeate conventional children's stories (25). Crew has won many literary awards for his children's fiction, however his stories are decidely ambiguous and post-modern in their 'celebration of doubt' (34), which attracts criticism on the grounds that the texts are too 'difficult and demanding for young children' (25). Mills offers a succinct and insightful discussion which explores how Crew's narratives of child-adolescent maturation play with the conventions of the gothic-horror genre by refusing 'the guarantee of a revelation to come' (34). Mills says 'At his strongest, he brings to the reader's notice the human need to make sense of the world. The power of his fiction derives not from him meeting such needs but from playing upon them' (25).
Last amended 13 Sep 2017 16:13:09
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