Written by John Dickson,
Illustrated by Bern Emmerichs
History can be dulled by lists – dates, places, the ‘famous’. The good, the bad and the silly goes behind these cold statistics to find stories of real people doing real things, with all the hopes, fears and clumsiness that make us human.
These ‘peep holes’ introduce younger readers to the heroes, the villains, the fools and the plain folk on the extraordinary journey Australians have taken to arrive here in the 21st century.
This book takes a slightly irreverent view of our history.
Over this country’s long timeline, many examples of weirdness have taken place. From today’s perspective, this behaviour becomes funny, tragic and sometimes just downright stupid.
In a time when our history is back under the microscope, especially in light of new perspectives on the place and contribution of our first peoples, The good, the bad and the silly offers an entry point for younger readers to how we got to be Australia.
The illustrations by celebrated artist, Bern Emmerichs, originally painted onto ceramic tiles, are treasure troves of detailed revelation and reward multiple viewings.
(In the interests of full disclosure, the author of The good, the bad and the silly is Westsider Newspaper contributor, John Dickson.)
