Crime Time: Australians Behaving Badly by Sue Bursztynski

Crime Time: Australians Behaving Badly Reviews

• 
  Felicity Pulman

  Crime Time gives a terrific overview of some of Australia’s most famous and infamous criminals and cases. It begins in 1629 with the horrifying saga of the shipwreck of the Batavia and moves through the centuries through the nauseating activities of the baby farmers, dare devil bushrangers (including Ned Kelly) up to the notorious backpacker murders and the massacres at Hoddle St and Port Arthur in the present. Along the way we meet underworld characters like Squizzy Taylor and his modern counterparts, the Moran family and Carl Williams. There’s information on the evil commandant of Norfolk Island, John Giles Price and the machinations of the ‘spider dancer’, Lola Montez in the 19th century through to the unsolved mystery of the ‘pyjama girl’, along with the granny killer and the grisly Snowtown murders. We also hear about the criminal gang who stole a bag of stale bread rolls; the crooks who used ideas from Hollywood movies to plan their heist … and the escaped convict who survived by eating his mates! The stories are illustrated by Louise Prout, line drawings depicting the criminals concerned. In between the stories are short ‘Did you know …?’ segments often detailing the weird and the bizarre – like the ‘Dumb and Dumber’ Australians who tried to rob a bank in the USA. A fascinating read for students interested in Australia’s criminal past. Felicity Pulman
• 
  Jenny

  Crime Time -- Australians behaving badly by Sue Bursztynski (Ford Street Publishing) RRP: $16.95
  
  Chocka-block with fascinating facts and true stories of Australia’s most infamous, Crime Time really does have something for everyone. Following an introduction by Kerry Greenwood, stories ranging from Jeronimus Cornelisz’s blood-thirsty mutiny in 1629 off the coast of Western Australia, to modern day thug, Carl Williams systematically chart four centuries of murderous mayhem that despite, or perhaps because of their subject matter, make for riveting reading.
  
  For example: Did you know that Australia’s youngest murderer was only seven years old? Or that our country’s first work of art was the Charlotte Medal? Commissioned by First Fleet Charlotte’s surgeon, the medal was fashioned from, of all things, a silver kidney dish.
  
  With an average story length of three pages, interspersed with black and white illustrations by Louise Prout and dozens of Did You Know? segments these terrible tales will entice even the most reluctant reader. The narrative consists of simple, easy to absorb sentences and is delivered in a conversational style that kids will relate to. And it’s hardly surprising: Sue Bursztynski has proven herself a skilled writer with nine titles to her credit, one of which earned her a CBC Notable Book Award.
  
  Finding a book for kids that will entertain as well as inform is a grand thing. Readers will be hard put to find a title that does this more thoroughly than Crime Time. Boys 10+ in particular will love this one.