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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Notes
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Was named as a Children's Book Council Notable Book.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also braille.
Works about this Work
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Children of the Apocalypse
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Apocalypse in Australian Fiction and Film : A Critical Study 2011; (p. 108-134)This chapter explores apocalypse in children's literature with reference to literary attitudes to children, nature and dystopia. Examinations of works by Lee Harding, Victor Kelleher, and John Marsden then focus on how these writers adapt apocalyptic themes for a juvenile audience. Their novels display tyranny, large-scale catastrophe, invasion, and children in danger, and their apocalyptic settings reveal anxieties about isolation, invasion, Indigenous land rights and colonization. (108)
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Cutting it in New Times : The Future of Children's Literature
2006
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 16 no. 2 2006; (p. 5-16) In regards to the future of children's literature, 'both its fiction and its scholarship' (5), Kerry Mallan considers three questions: 'How are new times impacting upon scholars in children's literature?; what new directions are offered by children's cultural texts?; what new tasks can we set ourselves [critics of children's literature] before they are set for us? (5). Mallan's main concern is that new skills are needed to navigate a course through 'the turbulent seas of research priorities' and 'appear relevant to new students and university administration' (6). In her discussion of how Internet fiction has 'contributed to the demise of traditional narrative authority and opened up new formulations of the role of readership in narrative' (10) Mallen refers to a number of International and Australians texts, including Shaun Tan's The Lost Thing (2000) and Gillian Rubinsteins' Space Demons (1986) and Sky Maze (1989). For Mallan, it is imperative that scholars in the field of children's literary criticism 'find new ways of making its presence felt both within the academy and outside of it' without adopting a 'defensive position'(14) however, she concludes by drawing attention to the 'lure of new texts, new technologies, new readings, new readers' suggesting it is equally important to consider just what exactly makes us always desire the 'new' over the 'old' (14). -
Exciting Writing : Gillian Rubinstein
1998
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 12 May 1998; (p. 5) -
Serious Fantasy: Science Fiction and High Fantasy
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Children's Literature : An Exploration of Genre and Theme 1995; (p. 155-176) -
Gillian Rubinstein and Her Women
1994
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , August-December vol. 5 no. 2-3 1994; (p. 113-124) Minchinton examines the stereotyped portrayals of women (particularly mothers) and girls in Rubinstein's novels and questions if perhaps her representations stem from Rubinstein's own childhood experiences of abandonment, grief and loss. In particular, Minchinton addresses Rubinstein's idealised 'earth Mother' as a counterpoint to the harshly portrayed 'working' and 'absent' mothers and asks a pertinent question: ' where does the story end and the personal pain begin?' (113). Minchinton observes a slight progression in Rubinstein's body of work towards a more rounded representation of womanhood and female sexuality, however overall, she argues that Rubinstein's characters '...may as well be heroes [as] they are not specifically female at all' (122).
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Untitled
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 5 no. 1 1990; (p. 32)
— Review of Skymaze 1989 single work children's fiction -
Thought-Provoking Stories for Teens
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 27 May 1989; (p. B4)
— Review of Never Tomorrow 1989 single work novel ; Skymaze 1989 single work children's fiction -
Space Sequel Skyrockets
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Magazine , 13-14 May 1989; (p. 10)
— Review of Skymaze 1989 single work children's fiction ; Honoured Guest 1979 single work novel ; Long White Cloud 1989 single work novel ; The Great Gatenby 1989 single work novel -
The Circular Paths of Adolescent Quests
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 111 1989; (p. 36-37)
— Review of Long White Cloud 1989 single work novel ; Skymaze 1989 single work children's fiction ; The Journey 1988 single work novel -
Untitled
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: Scan , June vol. 9 no. 3 1990; (p. 12)
— Review of Skymaze 1989 single work children's fiction -
A Hero is a Man...???
1993
single work
column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 8 no. 2 1993; (p. 5-9) -
Living with Ourselves : Recent Australian Science Fiction for Children and Young People
1990
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature Association Quarterly , vol. 15 no. 4 1990; (p. 185-189) Nimon observes that Australian science fiction for children tends to present futuristic narratives that are 'earthbound' rather than 'launching into the void between the stars or touching down on remote and wonderous planets' (185). She claims that writers of juvenile science fiction 'find Australia itself to be a challenging terrain...a continent whose people are neither comfortable nor assured in their possession of it' (185). Following a discussion of novels by Lee Harding (Displaced Persons, Waiting for the End of the World), Victor Kelleher (Taronga, The Makers), and Gillian Rubinstein (Beyond the Labyrinth, Skymaze and Space Demons), Nimon claims that as well as the tendency of Australian science fiction for children to remain earthbound, there is a pervasive theme of individualization, 'where the dangers encountered and the foes met are the powers of our own desires and weaknesses; we battle to control our unruly selves' and as such, 'the future lies in our own hands' (188). -
Cutting it in New Times : The Future of Children's Literature
2006
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 16 no. 2 2006; (p. 5-16) In regards to the future of children's literature, 'both its fiction and its scholarship' (5), Kerry Mallan considers three questions: 'How are new times impacting upon scholars in children's literature?; what new directions are offered by children's cultural texts?; what new tasks can we set ourselves [critics of children's literature] before they are set for us? (5). Mallan's main concern is that new skills are needed to navigate a course through 'the turbulent seas of research priorities' and 'appear relevant to new students and university administration' (6). In her discussion of how Internet fiction has 'contributed to the demise of traditional narrative authority and opened up new formulations of the role of readership in narrative' (10) Mallen refers to a number of International and Australians texts, including Shaun Tan's The Lost Thing (2000) and Gillian Rubinsteins' Space Demons (1986) and Sky Maze (1989). For Mallan, it is imperative that scholars in the field of children's literary criticism 'find new ways of making its presence felt both within the academy and outside of it' without adopting a 'defensive position'(14) however, she concludes by drawing attention to the 'lure of new texts, new technologies, new readings, new readers' suggesting it is equally important to consider just what exactly makes us always desire the 'new' over the 'old' (14). -
Children of the Apocalypse
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Apocalypse in Australian Fiction and Film : A Critical Study 2011; (p. 108-134)This chapter explores apocalypse in children's literature with reference to literary attitudes to children, nature and dystopia. Examinations of works by Lee Harding, Victor Kelleher, and John Marsden then focus on how these writers adapt apocalyptic themes for a juvenile audience. Their novels display tyranny, large-scale catastrophe, invasion, and children in danger, and their apocalyptic settings reveal anxieties about isolation, invasion, Indigenous land rights and colonization. (108)
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Gillian Rubinstein
Agnes Nieuwenhuizen
(interviewer),
1991
single work
biography
interview
— Appears in: No Kidding : Top Writers for Young People Talk About their Work 1991; (p. 225-255)
Awards
- 1992 shortlisted YABBA — Fiction for Younger Readers
- 1992 shortlisted COOL Award — Fiction for Younger Readers
- 1990 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers
- 1990 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards — Children's Literature Award