Rich and Rare, an Anthology Edited by Paul Collins
Published by Ford Street Publishing
Rich and Rare is a collection of short stories, poetry and artwork by an impressive group of children’s authors, including award winners Libby Hathorn and Gary Crew, and new Australian Children’s Laureate, Leigh Hobbs.
Grouped into genres such as horror, humour, romance, ghost and poetry, over forty otherwise unrelated offerings are given a cohesion by Editor Paul Collins, and a warm introduction by Sophie Masson.
It must be said that not all contributions in this anthology carry the same appeal and unfortunately it is often times the most engaging stories that finish just as they start to really kick in. By the same token though, the purpose of a good short story is to leave you wanting more, and in the majority of cases, this is what Rich and Rare delivers.
With enough diversity to cater to a broad range of tastes, Ford St’s collection of seasoned authors dish up some real gems for the discerning young adult reader.
The ‘Contemporary’ section opens strongly with the story of a possessed violin that brings its former owner Luisa back to life, followed by a thought-provoking analysis of the modern day culture of materialism in Thingless. Reaching a peak in the nail biting Trapped, the anthology changes pace with consecutive genres of adventure, crime, fantasy and science fiction. Standouts include the haunting story of a teenager’s disappearance in I Can’t Sleep, the culturally-rich Lion Heart, the morality tale of The Two-Faced Boy and the striking illustrated fantasy The Black Sorrows.
Overall though, the stories that resonate most are the ones that represent their genres the most faithfully. From the touching teenage romance Sugar is Sweet to The Ghost in the Stereoscope’s tale of a vengeful spirit, to the brilliant humour of Masters of Chefery, a thinly-veiled parody of a television show we all know and ‘love’.
As the reader, I found the experience most enjoyable when I could identify an author’s work to the particular genre to which it has been matched. All of the works in this anthology could justifiably be called rare but this was when it was at its most rich.
A who’s who of Australian children’s authors, poets and illustrators, Rich and Rare offers originality at every turn and some truly memorable offerings of short prose.
CKT Book Reviewer
Author/Illustrator: Various
Title: Rich and Rare
Publisher: Ford Street Publishing
ISBN: 9781925272116
Published: October 2015
Age: 9+
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'Emerging from one's chrysalis of anonymity into the prodigious world of creative children's writing and publishing is a daunting prospect. Georgie Donaghey's Creative Kids Tales is a superlative source of inspiration and information for the bourgeoning writer and illustrator. She has created an invaluable platform from which writers, both developing and established, can view, promote and share each other's work, and most importantly aspirations. A fun, friendly, and informative forum that everyone in the kids' lit industry can benefit from.' Keep it up Georgie! - 
'Creative Kids Tales is a great forum for people who spend most of their working time alone. It is interesting and inspiring to see and hear what other authors and illustrators have to say.' - 
'Creative Kids Tales deserves all its accolades. Thanks to its creator, the site provides brilliant support, inspiration and encouragement for anyone who loves creating children's books. I have no hesitation in passing on your link.'
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'Creative Kids Tales is a unique and valuable online resource for new and established authors. The site provides a wealth of information and insight into the children's writing world.' 'Thanks for all your support, Georgie, and keep up the good work.' - 
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'Buckets of thanks to Georgie for creating Creative Kids Tales. There’s a wealth of wonderful information and resources for everyone interested in creating books for kids – and a warm sense of community.'
'I stumbled on to Creative Kids Tales by accident. I thought it was kid's tails. I'd been doing some research about goats and how their tails were actually a fifth leg, a very long time ago. Or did I just dream that? In any case, I was bitterly disappointed at first to find not tails, but tales. However, while I was at the site I had a wander around, and soon discovered that it was even better than a goat's site - no kidding! This is a brilliant haven for writers, new and not so new; a place to showcase their work and to learn from others.' Well done, Georgie. You've done a fantastic job. - www.enterprisingwords.com.au
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'Creative Kids Tales is ambitious, specific and professional - the Top Tips section alone is a must-read for every aspiring children's writer.' - 
'The details available on this site, for emerging writers (or those emerged) is incredibly helpful. From creating stories- plotting, dialogue and character building- to the support writers can seek for their work, be it mentoring or seeking a publisher, it’s all there. An excellent easy-to-access writers’ site!'
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'This site is such a wonderful resource for writers and illustrators at every stage of the journey. I've learned more about some of my favourite people in children's literature here, but also had the joy of discovering whole new worlds of talent.' - 
'The Creative Kids Tales site is great fun and full of information about authors and their books!' - 
'Creative Kids tales is the perfect place to go for inspiration and to recharge the creative batteries.'
'What a wonderful website Creative Kids Tales is, supporting and helping Australian authors in their quest through the dark thorny forest of the publishing world. Georgie should be congratulated for all her hard work and fearless leadership!' - 
'The thing I like about the Creative Kids Tales website is that the authors come across as real people who face the same problems that beginning writers do and that there’s plenty of practical advice.' - 
'CKT is a great resource for both established and emerging authors. I like the way you're always coming up with new and exciting initiatives at your site. And I love reading the fascinating journeys and achievements of the writers you profile here.' - 
'Everything you need is here, on Creative Kids Tales! Oh, how wonderful this would have been for the young Emma Quay, knowing she loved children’s picture books but not knowing a soul in the industry. Down to earth, comprehensive, friendly, realistic and encouraging advice — this is an invaluable resource. Bravo!' - 
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'This is a great website. Nowadays, when getting published is so hard and staying published not much easier, everyone needs all the help they can get. And here's Help with a capital H!' 'Go Georgie! Creative Kids Tales is an inspiration for all writers of children's and YA fiction.' - 
'Creative Kids Tales would’ve been mighty handy to know about back when I was sitting about drawing and writing and having no idea what to do with any of it! Go explore and create knowing you have such an amazing resource at your back!'
'Creative Kids Tales is great. You can pick the brains of people who make stuff without having to stalk them or do anything illegal.' - 
'Creative Kids Tales offers new writers the joy of publication on their journey of craft and creativity.'
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'Congratulations to Georgie Donaghey for her hard work and enthusiasm in setting up a site that has been sorely needed to promote current Australian children's writing. Not just for the established, but for up and coming, Creative Kids Tales showcases talent and provides information essential for anyone in the industry.' - www.enterprisingwords.com.au
Creative Kids Tales offers a brilliant platform for established and emerging creators to keep in touch and learn from each other. That is a great thing for this most isolated of all professions (apart from On-site Antarctic Penguin Imitators). - 
'Thanks for being such a strong advocate for children’s literature, the power of stories, and reading.
'Thanks for having me on Creative Kids Tales. It's a great resource for emerging writers and illustrators and I hope it will have a long future.'
'I would have loved to have had access to creativekidstales.com.au when I was starting out! It's an invaluable source of information, inspiration and encouragement for both emerging (and fully-emerged!) writers.' - 
'I love the grumpy cat videos, hahaha it's so grumpy ... oh, wait, wrong website. Ah yes, Creative Kids Tales. Brilliant! Getting published is an amazing, frustrating, brilliant, lonely, creative journey, and www.creativekidstales.com.au is awesome in that it helps both published and pre-published authors by providing support, inspiration, a community, and by allowing authors to learn from other authors, and who better is there to learn from .. .except maybe that grumpy cat, hahaha, hilarious.' - 
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"Whether just starting out or with many books under your belt, Creative Kids Tales is the perfect place to go for all things writerly. Sharing the inner world is a wonderful thing for solitary writers, and it's all there on Georgie's website.
Writing can be a lonely profession. By necessity, you need to work alone much of the time. But it is wonderful to have a website which eases that by connecting creators with each other and with a wealth of information and resources.
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'Creative Kids Tales is such a great website for navigating this industry – not just for authors and illustrators, but for parents and teachers and librarians and publishers and kids and storytellers of all sorts. It’s awesome!' - 
What a terrific, enthusiastic, informative and creative resource - of value and interest to so many people.
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'Creative Kids Tales is an awesome resource you should totally check it out.' - 