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y separately published work icon Water Wings single work   novel   young adult  
Issue Details: First known date: 1996... 1996 Water Wings
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Pearl's life is decidedly wonky. Her dad's run off, her mum doesn't love her, her cousin Mitch is mad and her guinea pig's in the freezer. The only thing she can think of to straighten things out is a grandmother. A sweet, gentle, apple-pie grandmother. All the other kids have one, fussing, knitting and leaving lipstick slobber marks on their cheeks, so why doesn't she? Then she inherits Gran, and things are never quite the same again...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Macmillan ,
      1998 .
      image of person or book cover 3433650685891246328.gif
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 139p.
      Note/s:
      • Published January 9th 1998
      ISBN: 0330350145
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Macmillan ,
      2001 .
      image of person or book cover 879451283490645302.gif
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 139p.
      Note/s:
      • Published September 7th 2001
      ISBN: 0330398253
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Puffin , 2015 .
      image of person or book cover 7709450631008969904.gif
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 139p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 26 August 2015
      ISBN: 0143308920, 9780143308928

Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
  • Braille.
  • Large print.

Works about this Work

Subversion or Socialization? : Humour and Carnival in Morris Gleitzman's Texts Kathryn James , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature in Education , December vol. 35 no. 4 2004; (p. 367-379)
"Like their counterparts elsewhere, Australian children favour humorous novels; comedic writers consistently dominate the preteen and early teen fiction market in Australia. Regardless of its popularity, however, in comparison to more serious writing, humorous literature has received little critical attention. Of the studies aimed at this area, most have tended to concentrate on the various stages of development in childrens preferences for humor, its strategies, forms and appeal, with very few examining the ideological assumptions informing particular texts. Yet, this article argues, humorous books are no less concerned with culture, value and meaning than any other kind of fiction for children. As Morris Gleitzmans texts illustrate, by highlighting the cultural processes involved in the construction of language and meaning, inviting readers to play with ideas about language, social roles and behaviors, and creating characters who act in ways which are oppositional to usual socializing expectations, humorous literature, especially in carnivalized forms, has the potential to problematize unquestioning acceptance of various ideological para-digms, values, social practices and rules."
Treading a Fine Line : Morris Gleitzman's Provocative Fiction Jeri Kroll , 1999 single work criticism
— Appears in: Something to Crow About : New Perspectives in Literature for Young People 1999; (p. 157-170)
This work examines how readers understand popular fiction as opposed to literary fiction. "Using Gleitzman's two most challenging works, Water Wings and Two Weeks with the Queen, as benchmarks, I investigate this issue, looking particularly at how he balances humor and pathos in his treatment of sensitive material." (Kroll, Jeri, 1999, p. 157)
Untitled 1997 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , May vol. 41 no. 2 1997; (p. 38)

— Review of Water Wings Morris Gleitzman , 1996 single work novel
In Search of a Suitable Grandmother Stephen Matthews , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 January 1997; (p. C9)

— Review of Paris and Sandylands Mary Tucker , 1996 single work novel ; Javta's Ghost Robert Morrison , 1996 single work children's fiction ; Water Wings Morris Gleitzman , 1996 single work novel
Untitled 1997 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , May vol. 41 no. 2 1997; (p. 38)

— Review of Water Wings Morris Gleitzman , 1996 single work novel
In Search of a Suitable Grandmother Stephen Matthews , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 January 1997; (p. C9)

— Review of Paris and Sandylands Mary Tucker , 1996 single work novel ; Javta's Ghost Robert Morrison , 1996 single work children's fiction ; Water Wings Morris Gleitzman , 1996 single work novel
Treading a Fine Line : Morris Gleitzman's Provocative Fiction Jeri Kroll , 1999 single work criticism
— Appears in: Something to Crow About : New Perspectives in Literature for Young People 1999; (p. 157-170)
This work examines how readers understand popular fiction as opposed to literary fiction. "Using Gleitzman's two most challenging works, Water Wings and Two Weeks with the Queen, as benchmarks, I investigate this issue, looking particularly at how he balances humor and pathos in his treatment of sensitive material." (Kroll, Jeri, 1999, p. 157)
Subversion or Socialization? : Humour and Carnival in Morris Gleitzman's Texts Kathryn James , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature in Education , December vol. 35 no. 4 2004; (p. 367-379)
"Like their counterparts elsewhere, Australian children favour humorous novels; comedic writers consistently dominate the preteen and early teen fiction market in Australia. Regardless of its popularity, however, in comparison to more serious writing, humorous literature has received little critical attention. Of the studies aimed at this area, most have tended to concentrate on the various stages of development in childrens preferences for humor, its strategies, forms and appeal, with very few examining the ideological assumptions informing particular texts. Yet, this article argues, humorous books are no less concerned with culture, value and meaning than any other kind of fiction for children. As Morris Gleitzmans texts illustrate, by highlighting the cultural processes involved in the construction of language and meaning, inviting readers to play with ideas about language, social roles and behaviors, and creating characters who act in ways which are oppositional to usual socializing expectations, humorous literature, especially in carnivalized forms, has the potential to problematize unquestioning acceptance of various ideological para-digms, values, social practices and rules."
Last amended 26 Mar 2020 14:18:07
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