Magic Beach 35th Anniversary Edition by Alison Lester
Wonder-mongers (working title only) is a Young Adult novel describing 14-year-old Benedetta and her mother Avril arriving in Sydney from a New Age commune called Cornucopia where Avril has been a queen-like cult figure. The book traces Ben's reactions to the squalor, excitement and commercialism of a big city as well as her experience of Cornucopia - its good points and its excesses and hypocrisies. We also see Ben's fixation on a mythic 'ice-father' challenged, as she finds out more about her real father, and we see her learning how to be a teenager mixing with other teenagers rather than a precocious, too-adult observer of other people's lives. This is a challenging book with much to say about people's foibles and fantasies, and about different ways of living in the world.Alison Lester grew up on a farm by the sea, and first rode a horse as a baby in her father's arms. Her picture books mix imaginary worlds with everyday life, encouraging children to believe in themselves and celebrate the differences that make them special. Alison is involved in many community art projects and spends part of every year travelling to remote First Nations communities, using her books to help children and adults write and draw about their own lives. In 2012, Alison became Australia's first Children's Book Laureate, a position she shared with Boori Monty Pryor. In 2016, she was awarded the Dromkeen Medal for her outstanding achievement in the creation of Australian children's and young adult literature, and in 2018, she became the first children's book creator to win the Melbourne Prize for Literature, for her outstanding contribution to Australian literature and cultural and intellectual life. In 2019, Alison was awarded an Australia Post Legends Award and featured on a stamp, as well as being the recipient of a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2019 Australia Day Honours List. In 2026 her book Magic Beach was voted Australia's Best Children's Picture Book of all time in a Guardian Australia poll.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781864486896 |
| ISBN 10 | 1864486899 |
| Title | Magic Beach 35th Anniversary Edition |
| Author | Alison Lester |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Allen & Unwin |
| Year published | 2025-01-07 |
| Number of pages | 32 |
| Prizes | Winner of Australian Book Publishers Association Design Award 1990 (Australia), Short-listed for CBCA Picture Book of the Year 1991 (Australia) |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |