From beloved Australian author Morris Gleitzman comes another winning set of short stories on a theme for our times – kids helping adults to be their best selves. In the same hilarious style of Give Peas a Chance, Pizza Cake and Snot Chocolate, this fantastic new collection from Gleitzman is sure to leave you with a smile!
Digging Up Dad is a warm and charming collection of witty short stories that explores everything from grief and loss to anxiety and resilience. Gleitzman is a master at weaving topical issues into children’s fiction, and his latest collection is no different.
Gleitzman’s bestselling Once series was a standout, focusing on book burning in WWII Poland. Over the course of his writing career, we’ve seen Gleitzman continually introduce kids to difficult yet important themes, and Digging Up Dad is no exception. This collection of short stories explores the concerns and worries of what children have been going through in the past couple of years, and how they can grow from these experiences. Whether it be COVID, dodgy news articles or grieving loved ones, Gleitzman injects these stories with humour and hope, making for a truly special and unforgettable reading experience.
Out of the eleven stories in the collection, my personal favourite is ‘Digging Up Dad’. In this story, Gleitzman tackles themes of grief and loss in a genuine and delicate way. Faced with being forced to move house, a young girl is worried about leaving her house as they scatter her dad’s ashes in the backyard and she doesn’t want to leave without ‘taking’ him along. It’s told with a lot of heart and I found myself resonating with the characters and core moments throughout not only this short story, but the whole collection.
Perfect for ages 9+, Gleitzman’s Digging Up Dad is a masterful collection of short stories that captures the many challenges that kids experience in a hopeful way, tied together with his charming writing style.
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