Thai-Riffic

Thai-Riffic!

"I really loved Thai-riffic, it's funny and moving, and I can't wait for the sequel Thai-Me-Kangaroo-Down-Sport!" - Will Anderson.

Same same, but different. It's what Thai people say when they're talking about something similar, like a fake watch or copied DVD. It feels and looks the same but it's not the real thing. I know how that fake watch feels. I'm a fake Aussie. I was made in Thailand. People can spot it straight away. I sound like an Aussie but I smell like Thai food. I live in Australia but my house is a Thai restaurant.

What's the recipe of a normal life? Take one mum and dad and an annoying little brother. Add a new high school, friends and a wacko teacher and stir in some crazy adventures. Mix well. Stir fry in a hot wok. Laugh out loud.

Albert (Lengy) Lengviriyakul, is fed up with being Thai. His parents own a Thai restaurant with the cheesy name of Thai-riffic! and Lengy is sick of being his father's curry guinea pig, longing to just eat pizza!

At school he is a bit of a troublemaker, going to any lengths to hide his background. But when his best friend decides to become Thai for a day for a school project, Lengy stubbornly comes to the realisation that there may just be some pretty cool things about his culture.

Oliver Phommavanh has been 'same same but different' his entire life. Born a Thai-Australian he knows what it's like to battle the Aussie playground, what it's like to want to belong and the difficulties in searching for your identify when yours is so different to everyone else's.

Oliver survived his Australian childhood and went on to become a primary school teacher plus a stand-up comedian- as if his classroom don't all love him! - and with Thai-Riffic! is an exciting, quirky and hilarious new talent in children's fiction.

Oliver Phommavanh loves to make people laugh, whether it's on the page writing humour for kids or on stage as a stand-up comedian. He also shares his passion for writing with the kids he teaches at a primary school in Western Sydney. As a comedian, Oliver has appeared on stage, and on national TV and radio. He's a die-hard Nintendo fan, cheers for the Wests Tigers and his favourite Thai dish is Pad Thai! Thai-riffic! is his first book.

Thai-Riffic!
Penguin Australia
Author: Oliver Phommavanh
ISBN: 9780143304852
Price: $16.95