FUNKY CHICKEN: A Bushy Tale of Crocs and Chooks

According to legend,
many, many years ago
there was a great gathering of animals,
right slap bang in the middle of Australia.

You see, many of the animals felt
they were more special than all the rest.
This is the story of how they decided,
once and for all, who was the most unique.

Chris Collin is an award-winning author, based on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland. And managing director of Funkybooks Pty Ltd, a company he created for the purpose of publishing and promoting his whacky, rhyming Children's books; all of which have received critical acclaim, particularly within the education sector. Chris has a very simple philosophy; to encourage a passion for reading in young children through fun and funkiness! "As a society, we are becoming more and more aware of the powerful connection between books and early childhood development. So it's a very exciting time to be involved in children's literacy! We have so many options now available for children and families to access quality literature for children. You only have to visit the local library to see the huge range of reading resources and fun programs and events to see this. I fundamentally believe that creating fun and funky books for children (and their adults!), provides a powerful platform for families to foster a love of reading for their children. In so doing, they are not only enjoying quality time as a family, but also creating the building blocks for their children's future appreciation of the wonderful world of books!" This recent review from Speech Pathology Australia, around his award winning book Funky Chicken: Chooks in Space, sums up Chris' philosophy. -A fantastically fun, funky book! This absurd tale will engage adults and children alike with characters that are wonderfully silly and appealing. Chris' first book Funky Chicken: A Bushy Tale of Crocs and Chooks was released in March 2013. This title was shortlisted for the 2014 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards and is in the Premiers Reading Challenge book list in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. This title is also listed as a text in the Australian Curriculum (Qld C2C Year 3, Unit 7 -Poetry). His second book A Bug Called Doug was released in March 2013. This title is in the Qld Premiers Reading Challenge book list and was long listed in the 2015-16 ISLN (International School Library Network, Singapore) Red Dot Awards. Chris' latest title Funky Chicken: Chooks in Space, the second in the Funky Chicken series was released in August 2015 and was the winner in the 2016 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards. With it's many cross-curriculum applications, this book is widely used in schools and early learning centres around Australia. Chris is a seasoned presenter and performs interactive author presentations and workshops to any age group in a range of formats. He has performed 100's of events at literary festivals, libraries, schools, early learning centres, special schools, business groups and community events. He has even provided diversional therapy sessions for aged care facilities. His role is to bring fun (and funkiness!) to the world through his books and highly engaging presentations, designed to encourage readers of all ages to 'read for the joy of reading!'

Megan is a primary school teacher, mother and children's picture book illustrator (in her spare time!) Megan with Chris Collin on his two previous children's books 'Funky Chicken: A Bushy Tale of Crocs and Chooks' and 'A Bug Called Doug'.