
Felice Arena
Felice Arena is one of Australia’s much-loved children’s authors.
His books have topped bestseller lists and garnered several awards, including six Australian Children’s Choice Book Awards. Some of these include the Sporty Kids and The Besties books; the hugely popular Specky Magee series; his acclaimed historical adventure novels; CBCA notable books The Boy and the Spy, Fearless Frederic and A Great Escape; and his joyous read-aloud picture books Pasta!, Cheese! and My Big Secret.
PRESENTATION ONE
PASTA! CHEESE! AND BIG SECRETS! OH MY!
In this fun session, Felice incorporates read-aloud performances that include interactive dance, music and art. Felice introduces students to his junior chapter-book series The Besties and Sporty Kids, and his lyrical picture books Pasta!, Cheese! and My Big Secret – all written in a style to prompt audience participation and interaction.
Felice also facilitates a creative drawing workshop featuring the characters from the stories.
AUDIENCE
Kindergarten–Year 1 (ages 5–7)
DURATION
45 minutes
REQUIREMENTS
1. Every child should come to the session with paper, clipboard and pencil.
2. Screen for multimedia PowerPoint
3. Microphone
4. Whiteboard for drawing workshop
5. Table to display books
PRESENTATION TWO
GO BACK IN TIME ON AN EPIC ADVENTURE!
In this highly engaging session, Felice introduces the students to his love for sports and historical fiction. He takes students through his process for incorporating action, movement and authentic details within a narrative. Using a multimedia presentation with music, images and video clips, Felice discusses the stories behind his research for the acclaimed and CBCA-honoured historical books The Boy and the Spy, A Great Escape, Fearless Frederic and The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan. Felice also touches on his creative process for workshopping characters and their personality traits – and explores how this can help create clear, lively and authentic dialogue.
Plus … Felice acknowledges and celebrates his hugely popular, bestselling Specky Magee series that has been in print for more than 20 years. He shares his personal tips on writing lively sports fiction and using colourful evocative language. If there’s time at the end of the session, he also includes a theatrical-improv activity to bring this beloved football character to life.
AUDIENCE
Years 3–6 (ages 8–11)
DURATION
45 minutes
REQUIREMENTS
1. Screen for multimedia PowerPoint
2. Microphone
3. Table to display books