New Editions

What better way to start the year than with a new edition of an old book baby! Just before Christmas, I was delighted to receive the new Cengage Learning multicultural version of my 2001 title Roller-Coaster Ride, re-illustrated by Samantha Asri to set the story in the Middle East for early Arabic readers.

I was surprised to find only a couple of words had been changed in the text: the main character’s name has changed from Rosie to Yasmin; hot dogs have become shawarmas (an Arabic meat dish cooked on a spit and served on a plate, or in a wrap etc.) and Asri’s vibrant illustrations portray Middle Eastern dress and an updated, ultra-modern theme park. Otherwise the book is pretty much as originally published.

The original 2001 edition was published in Australia, but has since sold into multiple countries, including the UK and US. It has also been published in the French language and sold into schools in French Canada. So Roller-Coaster Ride is truly gone global and it’s really exciting for me as the author to see it travel and find new readers both in other countries and cultures.