The Paul Jennings phenomenon began with the publication of Unreal! in 1985. Thirty years and nine million books later, young readers all around the world continue to devour his stories. In this special volume, Paul has personally selected 30 tales from his entire collection to mark the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his first book. You'll find a girl made of ice, a dog who digs holes in the cemetery, a see-through boy, magic lipstick, a haunted toilet, a lie detector at school, two musical spirits who try to save a lighthouse - and lots, lots more. Unbelievable, unmentionable and uncanny, these classic stories will surprise you, leave you tongue-tied, spook you, make you cry and have you laughing out loud.
Author
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database. Paul Jennings was born in Heston near London, and at the age of 6 emigrated to Melbourne, Australia on a boat. He was on the boat for 5 weeks with his family. He attended Bentleigh West Primary School and Caulfield Grammar School. After graduating from school, he went to Frankston Teachers College (now part of Monash University) and became a teacher. He taught students at Frankston State School, Kangaroo Flat State School, the Turana Youth Training Centre, and the Royal Children's Hospital State School in Mount Eliza. He later went on to study at the Lincoln Institute of Health Science (now part of LaTrobe University) and became a speech pathologist, then worked as a Lecturer in Special Education at Burwood State College (now part of Deakin University). In 1979 he became Senior Lecturer in Language and Literature at Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education (now part of Deakin University). In 1985, Jennings' first book of short stories, Unreal! was published, during which he worked as a lecturer and wrote part-time; in 1989, he made the decision to devote his full time to writing. Many of his short stories, published between 1985 and 1991, were also adapted into the first and second series of the popular Australian television show Round the Twist. Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (2000).
