Mike Dumbleton
Mike Dumbleton is an English and Literacy Coordinator at an Adelaide High School. He has also worked as a Literacy Curriculum Officer for the South Australian Education Department. In addition to children’s books, he has written a range of educational texts and has also had his work adapted for stage and television.
Five of Mike’s picture books have been selected as 'Notable Books' by the Australian Children's Book Council and Passing On, was shortlisted for the 2002 Book of the Year Awards. Mike’s picture book Muddled-up Farm was selected as the ‘National Simultaneous Storytime book for 2004’. Watch out for Jamie Joel is Mike's first young adult fiction title and was shortlisted in the 2004 Adelaide Festival Awards for Children’s Literature. His latest books are You Must be Joking and Cat.
Cat was adapted for the stage by Windmill Performing Arts in 2007.
In 2005 Mike received a Minister’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Improving Literacy. He is currently based in New York.
Website: http://www.mikedumbleton.cjb.net
Books by Mike Dumbleton
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Watch Out For Jamie Joel
A courageous novel - honest, compassionate and wry - about what really goes on in a tough high school. Told alternately from the point of view of the most troublesome student (a difficult but astute girl) and the deputy principal (a sympathetic but overworked man), this story explores dangerous boundaries and reveals uncomfortable truths about parents, students and teachers.
Shortlisted Festival Awards for Children’s Literature, 2004
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Passing On
A grandmother and her young grandchild treasure the time they have together. The wonderful hours spent reading, fishing and paddling in the sea will always be remembered. An uplifting story about a relationship that never dies.
Shortlisted Children's Book Council Awards, 2002
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Downsized
What do you do when your dad loses his job and life begins to change? A young girl with a grand plan is determined to make her father feel wanted again.
Illustrated by Tom Jellett
Notable Book Children's Book Council Awards, 2000
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Pumped Up
Benny's grandad causes chaos on the basketball court when he invents his amazing Fly Sky High basketball boots.
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Muddled-up Farm
Muddled-up Farm is a very special place. From the cat to the cow it's full of surprises.. Come on...open the gate. Let's see what's happening.
Illustrated by Jobi Murphy
National Simultaneous Storytime Book 2004
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Book of the Year Speech Pathology Australia, 2003
Notable Book Children's Book Council, 2002 -
You Must Be Joking
In the same vein as John Burningham’s classic picture book, Don’t Go in the Water, Shirley, superhero Jason and his faithful companion, Yapper, take on the task of rescuing the world’s best soccer player from a gang of kidnappers on the other side of the world.
Despite all odds and his parent's warnings, boy and dog survive tornadoes, fires and crocodile infested swamps and return victorious.
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Cat
Share a day with Cat and find out how exciting, exhausting, and downright dangerous life can be!
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Hippopotamouse
Caitlin loves wild animals. She begs her parents to let her have an unusual pet. They turn down her requests for a panda, a camel and a boa constrictor. But they are happy to let her have a mouse. What they are not ready for is the kind of mouse it turns out to be.
Hippopotamouse is a hilarious story about an imaginative girl and her extraordinary pets. At a deeper level it is about adults listening to what children have to say.
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The Giraffe in a Scarf
When Louise, the giraffe in the zoo, gets a cold, the vet gives her a scarf. It looks wonderful. This is the colourful start to Louise's life as a fashion model, travelling the world. The Giraffe in a Scarf takes us into the world of the rich and famous. But as Louise discovers, fame and fortune are not everything in life.
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