Rain Stones

by Jackie French

A collection of five short stories. Two stories have a fantasy theme and the others have a more conventional approach. The author also wrote "Smudge the Wombat" and "The Roo That Won the Melbourne Cup".

Genres: Short Stories, Childrens, Fiction, Australia

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 1991

About the author

Jackie is an award-winning writer, wombat negotiator and the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2014-2015. She is regarded as one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors, and writes across all genres - from picture books, history, fantasy, ecology and sci-fi to her much loved historical fiction. In her capacity as Australian Children’s Laureate, ‘Share a Story’ will be the primary philosophy behind Jackie’s two-year term.

Reviews

[Wendy Lovatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the descriptions of the setting...you can really imagine being there. I especially liked the afterword at the end of the book, hearing about the author's life and how she came to write.
I agree with the author about books sometimes being for everyone, not necessarily just for children or just for adults.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally reading Jackie's very first book she published in Australia. She is SUCH a gifted story writer. The best part of reading her old books is seeing the growth and development in her writing and her stories over the years.

[Pip · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Collection of stories revealing that the country is a magical place... with an extra dimension to be found by those whose hearts and minds are open to the possibility.'
Rain stones - drought, indigenous, hope
Afternoon with Grandma- Alzheimer's, life, interests and dreams, ambition, relationships
Jacob saw - different perspectives, blind, senses
Dancing dinosaurs - believe, care, respect, protect

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found them quite delightful and full of the wonder of nature that is often missing in adults these days. I did find that a couple of the stories pushed their "the land is special" message a little hard but overall they were an enjoyable bundle and reminded me of one of my old addresses that had a creek down the back where I and my sisters would explore.

[Sue Bowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. A brilliant book of short stories.