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    29 Children's Books All Australians Grew Up Reading

    We owe these authors our childhood.

    1. Possum Magic, Mem Fox

    Really, really magic.

    2. Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, May Gibbs

    How else would you know to be scared of the big, bad banksia men?

    3. The Magic Pudding, Norman Lindsay

    Changed everything you thought about dessert, forever.

    4. Diary of a Wombat, Jackie French

    When you wished you were a wombat.

    5. Imagine, Alison Lester

    Because there's nothing like that childhood imagination.

    6. The Muddle-Headed Wombat, Ruth Park

    Up to his old tricks again.

    7. Hairy Maclary, Lynley Dodd

    The dog whose home you will forever remember.

    8. Grug, Ted Prior

    Seriously, is there anything Grug didn't do?

    9. The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill, Dorothy Wall

    So. Iconic. It. Hurts.

    10. Wombat Stew, Marcia K Vaughan and Pamela Lofts

    "Ooey, gooey, icky, sticky, wombat stew."

    11. Where The Forest Meets The Sea, Jeannie Baker

    Because collage has always been cool.

    12. Animalia, Graeme Base

    Hours and hours and hours of searching for the animals hidden in these wonderful pages.

    13. Who Sank The Boat?, Pamela Allen

    Our first desire to claim something from New Zealand as our own.

    14. When The Wind Changed, Ruth Park

    Your parent's point of reference every single time you made a face.

    15. Seven Little Australians, Ethel Turner

    A true classic.

    16. Where is the Green Sheep?, Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

    WHERE IS IT?!

    17. Magic Beach, Alison Lester

    Why you think of white horses every time you see waves crashing.

    18. The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan

    Like nothing you'd ever seen before.

    19. Bamboozled, David Legge

    Still hilarious. And just as confusing.

    20. Hating Alison Ashley, Robin Klein

    The book behind every school play.

    21. Playing Beatie Bow, Ruth Park

    Made you want to go back, back in time. (As long as you were allowed to fast-forward again too.)

    22. Adults Only, Morris Gleitzman

    Plus every single other thing he ever wrote from Bumface to Blabber Mouth to Water Wings.

    23. The Day My Bum Went Psycho, Andy Griffiths

    Because BASED ON A TRUE STORY.

    24. Tomorrow When The War Began, John Marsden

    Started your teenage love affair with reading.

    25. Thunderwith, Libby Hathorn

    The first book to make you cry.

    26. The Burnt Stick, Anthony Hill and Mark Sofilas

    Made you think about things. A lot.

    27. Deltora Quest, Emily Rodda

    Thank you for everything, fantasy.

    28. The Gizmo, Paul Jennings

    Inspired you to start your own Paul Jennings collection.

    29. Wicked!, Morris Gleitzman and Paul Jennings

    Everything.

    This. Was. Everything.