SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Pasta! These Names Are Fun to Say
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.felicearena.com/
CITY: St. Kilda
STATE:
COUNTRY: Australia
NATIONALITY: Australian
LAST VOLUME: SATA 256
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
First name pronounced “Fe-li-che;” born March 10, 1968, in Kyabram, Victoria, Australia.
EDUCATION:La Trobe University (Bendigo, Victoria, Australia), degree (education), 1990.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Children’s author illustrator. Actor; stage work includes musicals in London’s West End; television roles include Marco Alessi in Neighbours, produced in Australia, 1992. Presenter for children’s television.
AWARDS:Western Australia Young Readers Book Award (WAYRA), 2004, for Specky Magee and the Great Footy Contest, 2005, for Specky Magee and the Season of Champions; Kids’ Own Australian Literature Award (KOALA), 2006, for Specky Magee and the Boots of Glory; Young Australians Best Book Award (YABBA) in older reader category, 2006, for Specky Magee and the Boots of Glory, 2007, for Specky Magee and a Legend in the Making, and 2009, for Specky Magee and the Spirit of the Game; numerous award short lists. YABBA’s Graham Davey Citation Award for contribution to Australian children’s literature, 2020; Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge Ambassador, 2022.
WRITINGS
Author’s work has been translated into French and Welsh.
SIDELIGHTS
Australian author Felice Arena took a long detour between earning his teaching certification and beginning a career writing children’s books. Arena had a successful career as an actor, capped by the role of Marco Alessi on the popular Australian soap opera Neighbours as well as several starring roles in musicals staged in London’s West End theater district, before becoming the author of the “Specky Magee,” “Boyz Rule!,” and “Andy Roid” chapter-book series. As critics have noted, his books appeal to reluctant readers, particularly young males, and his success at reaching this audience has made Arena a sought-after guest in Australian school classrooms and assemblies.
Published in England, Arena’s first book, Dolphin Boy Blue, features a story about a teen boy who is a champion swimmer, as Arena was at that age. (At one point, Arena owned the under-fourteen record for the fifty meter butterfly in Victoria.) During a seaside summer vacation, thirteen-year-old Mickey befriends a dolphin he names Dana. Mickey discovers that he swims better and faster as he and Dana slice through the ocean waves together, but then he must find the confidence to leave Dana behind and transfer his newfound skills to chlorinated racing lanes. “I concentrate on the feel-good factor,” Arena told New South Wales, Australia’s Daily Telegraph interviewer Liz Deegan in discussing Dolphin Boy Blue. “I prefer to write about striving for your goals, achieving your dreams.”
Arena partnered with friend and former Melbourne Football Club star Garry Lyon to write the “Specky Magee” series, about a boy whose art-loving parents cannot comprehend his obsession with Australian Rules football. These books proved to be a smash hit with Aussie youngsters; as Arena told Courtney Walsh of Melbourne, Australia’s Herald Sun, the “hundreds of letters from parents and teachers that say, ‘My kids are reading again,’ … is the biggest inspiration for me to continue writing.”
Arena also focuses on a young male readership in his collaboration with fellow author Phil Kettle on the “Boyz Rule!” series, which is themed around boys’ recreational interests. According to the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s quarterly journal Reading Time, the “Boyz Rule!” books are “of premier appeal to boys in the lower-middle primary school and would be a worthy inclusion in a reading program.”
Arena took on illustrator duties in creating his humorous picture book Sally and Dave: A Slug Story. Employing a heavy dose of alliteration, this story introduces Sally, an energetic, overactive slug with a take-charge attitude. Dave, in deep contrast, happily wallows in his own slime and leads a stress-free, indolent life. When Sally is targeted by a menacing sparrow, however, it is watchful Dave that comes to her rescue. Reviewing Sally and Dave for School Library Journal, Jayne Damron called Arena’s story “just quirky enough to establish its message of tolerance … without drawing too much attention to the moral.”
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In Arena’s standalone novel, The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan, set in 1942, World War II has come to Australia as Japanese spies and American soldiers descend on the country. With her older brother, Patrick, fighting in England, 12-year-old Maggie Flanagan is instead focused on playing soccer (also called football). But society criticizes girls who want to play soccer, discourages her relationship with her best friend Elena, hurls racial slurs at Elena, and denigrates the boy, Gerald, telling him he should have more manly interests. Determined and assertive, Maggie refutes the rules that say girls can’t play soccer and instead recruits girls to play a charity soccer game to raise money for the soldiers. The book confronts issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, and traditional gender roles, contrasting with today’s customs.
Writing online at Pushing the Edge, teacher Greg Curran remarked: “Maggie never loses sight of her dream, no matter the ridicule, punishment or obstacles placed in her path. It makes no sense to her, that females should be treated less favourably than males. In this respect, Maggie although living in the 1940s, is someone my students can readily relate to.” Arena believes it’s important to write historical fiction. He told Mia Macrossan on the Story Links website: “Historical fiction is not only a portal to another time but a tangible way to try to experience the real-life emotions and human stories of those who have come before us.”
With The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan, Arena returned to writing a sports book, after having been inspired by a newspaper article about the Australian Football League and learned that women were playing the game back in 1933 to raise money for the Red Cross. In an interview, Arena told Better Reading online: “This book is not just celebrating women, but also community banding together in the face of crisis…I can’t wait to share Maggie with the rest of the world – not just with girls. I want boys to read this and see how much society has changed and evolved… I always want readers to take hope from my books. There may be obstacles, but if you band together there can be hope in the darkest times.”
Arena’s picture book, Pasta! These Names Are Fun to Say,” illustrated by Beatrice Cerocchi, has fun with pasta, sauce, menus, and word play. A racially diverse group of children and a tabby cat discover the unusual Italian names given to 35 different shapes of pasta or pasta dishes, such as casoncelli (caz-un-CHEL-lee), tagliatelle (tah-lyuh-TELL-lay), and riccioli (ree-CHOH-lee). And then there’s fagottini, agnolotti, manicotti, campanelle, and ditalini. A writer in Kirkus Reviews revealed the book is “Attractive and catchy,” but admitted that it “isn’t always clear which names go with which pastas in the illustrations” and that there’s not much to entice rereads.
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Daily Telegraph (Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia), November 30, 1996, Liz Deegan, “Playing in the Write Arena,” p. 93.
Herald Sun (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), June 1, 2002, Eddie McGuire, “Showing the Right Stuff,” p. 114; July 24, 2002, Courtney Walsh, “Taking Author at His Word,” p. 12.
Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2008, review of Sally and Dave; November 15, 2024, review of Pasta! These Names Are Fun to Say.
Mirror (London, England), June 29, 1996, review of Dolphin Boy Blue, p. 3.
Reading Time, February, 2004, review of “Boyz Rule!” series.
School Library Journal, April, 2008, Jayne Damron, review of Sally and Dave, p. 102.
ONLINE
Better Reading, https://www.betterreading.com.au/ (March 31, 2022), “Interview with Felice Arena, Author of The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan, and Specky Magee.”
Felice Arena Home Page, http://www.felicearena.com (May 1, 2013).*
Pushing the Edge, https://pushingtheedge.org/ (2024) Greg Curran, review of The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan.
Story Links, https://storylinks.booklinks.org.au/ (October 11, 2021) Mia Macrossan, “Felice Arena Talks About Writing Historical Fiction.”
Felice Arena
Australia
Felice Arena is a popular Australian children's author and illustrator, and occasional actor. His books have topped bestseller lists and have garnered a number of awards. He is best known for the bestselling Specky Magee series and most recently his Farticus Maximus books - a collection of humorous short stories and comic illustrations.
Genres: Children's Fiction
Series
Specky Magee (with Garry Lyon)
1. Specky Magee (2002)
2. Specky Magee and the Great Footy Contest (2008)
3. Specky Magee and the Season of Champions (2004)
4. Specky Magee and the Boots Of Glory (2005)
5. Specky Magee and a Legend in the Making (2006)
6. Specky Magee and the Spirit of the Game (2007)
7. Specky Magee and the Battle of the Young Guns (2009)
8. Specky Magee and the Best of Oz (2011)
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Boyz Rule! (with Phil Kettle)
1. Park Soccer (2004)
2. Golf Legends (2004)
3. Yabby Hunt (2003)
4. The Tree House (2004)
5. Bike Daredevils (2003)
6. Camping Out (2003)
7. Gone Fishing (2004)
8. Water Rats (2004)
9. Basketball Buddies (2003)
10. Rock Star (2004)
11. Secret Agent Heroes (2004)
12. Wet World (2003)
13. Skateboard Dudes (2003)
14. Bull Riding (2004)
15. Test Cricket (2003)
16. Tennis Ace (2003)
17. Battle Of The Games (2004)
18. Halloween Gotcha (2004)
19. Rotten School Day (2004)
20. Hit The Beach (2004)
21. On the Farm (2004)
22. Olympic Champions (2004)
23. Race Car Dreamers (2004)
24. Pirate Attack (2004)
Crawfish Hunt (2004)
Pirate Ship (2004)
25. Pie Eating Champions (2006)
26. Mega Rich (2006)
27. Kite High (2006)
28. Paper Round (2006)
29. Mouse Hunters (2006)
30. Space Invaders (2006)
31. Freaky Snow Dude (2006)
32. Bird Crazy (2006)
The Mega Book of Boyz Rule! (2006)
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Farticus Maximus
Farticus Maximus (2008)
Farticus Maximus: Stink-Off Battle of the Century (2009)
Farticus Maximus: Bottomus Burps of Britannia (2012)
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Andy Roid
Andy Roid & the Field Trip Terror (2012)
Andy Roid & the Superhuman Secret (2012)
Andy Roid & the Heroes of the Night (2012)
Andy Roid & the Sinister Showdown (2012)
Andy Roid & the Turbine Runaways (2012)
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Sporty Kids
Footy (2015)
Swimming (2015)
Tennis (2015)
Basketball (2016)
Handball (2016)
Cricket (2016)
Netball (2016)
Little Athletics (2017)
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Besties
The Besties Show and Smell (2020)
The Besties to the Rescue (2020)
The Besties Make a Splash (2020)
The Besties Party On (2020)
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Novels
Dolphin Boy Blue (1996)
Mission Buffalo (1997)
Wish (2000)
Bravo Billy (2000)
Breakaway John (2001)
Whippersnapper (2011)
The Boy and the Spy (2017)
Fearless Frederic (2018)
A Great Escape (2019)
The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan (2022)
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Picture Books hide
Sally and Dave (2008)
Hey Cat! (2009)
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Felice Arena
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Felice Arena
Born Kyabram, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Novelistchildren's writerillustratoractor
Years active 1991–
Website
felicearena.com
Felice Arena is an Australian children's author and illustrator. He created and co-wrote the bestselling football-themed Specky Magee series; the acclaimed historical novels The Boy and the Spy, Fearless Frederic, A Great Escape and The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan; and the picture books Pasta!, Cheese! and My Big Secret.
Early life
Arena was born in Kyabram, Victoria.[1] He studied teaching at La Trobe University in Bendigo, Victoria and graduated in 1990.[2] He decided to pursue a career in acting and writing.[3] In 1992, he was cast as Marco Alessi in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. A year later, he relocated to the UK and was appearing in the West End when he began writing his first book in his dressing room.[2]
Writing career
When he returned to Australia, Arena asked friend and Australian rules football player Garry Lyon for football advice for a book idea. Lyon told Arena that he would like to help write the book and they worked together to create Specky Magee.[2] Eight books in the Specky Magee series were published between 2002 and 2011.[2] Arena adapted his 2017 novel The Boy and the Spy for the stage in Geneva, before it was performed at St Margaret's Berwick Grammar School.[2] His four-part series Besties was released in 2020. From 2018 - 2022 Arena released his CBCA notable middle-grade historical books Fearless Frederic and A Great Escape. His historical novel The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan was long-listed for the ARA Historical Awards. Most recently Arena's picture books Pasta!,Cheese! and My Big Secret were released. [2]
Books
Wish (2005)
Stick Dudes #1 Water Fight Frenzy (2009)
Stick Dudes #2 Champions of the World (July 2010)
Stick Dudes #3 The Secret Four-ce (July 2010)
Farticus Maximus #1 Other Stories that Stink! Australia (2008) UK (April 2010) Canada (Sept 2011)
Farticus Maximus # 2 Stink-Off Battle of the Century Australia (2009) UK (April 2011) Canada (January 2012)
Farticus Maximus # 3 Bottomus Burps of Britannia (Oct. 2010)
Whippersnapper (August 2011)
Andy Roid and the Superhuman Secret (April 2012)
Andy Roid and the Field Trip of Terror (April 2012)
Andy Roid and the Camp Howl Crusaders (July 2012)
Andy Roid and the Heroes of the Night (July 2012)
Andy Roid and the Turbine Runaways (Oct 2012)
Andy Roid and the Sinister Showdown (Oct 2012)
Andy Roid and the Unexpected Mission (Aug 2013)
Andy Roid and the Tracks of Death (Aug 2013)
Andy Roid and the Missing Agent (Sept 2013)
Andy Roid and the Avalanche of Evil (Sept 2013)
Sporty Kids – Footy! (May 2015)
Sporty Kids – Swimming! (May 2015)
Sporty Kids – Tennis! (August 2015)
Sporty Kids – Soccer! (August 2015)
Sporty Kids – Basketball! (April 2016)
Sporty Kids – Handball! (April 2016)
Sporty Kids – Cricket! (October 2016)
Sporty Kids – Netball! (October 2016)
Sporty Kids – Little Athletics! (February 2017)
The Boy and the Spy (April 2017)
Fearless Frederic (April 2018)
A Great Escape (March 2019)
The Besties to the Rescue (January 2020)
The Besties Show and Smell (January 2020)
The Besties Party On (June 2020)
The Besties Make a Splash (June 2020)
The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan (March 2022)
Picture books
Sally and Dave, A Slug Story Australia (2007) US (2008)
Hey, Cat! (June 2008)
Pasta! Australia (April 2023) Pasta! These Names are Fun to Say (October 2024)
Cheese! October 2024
My Big Secret February 2025
F E L I C E A R E N A
Felice Arena is one of Australia’s most prolific and much-loved children’s authors.
His books have topped bestseller lists and garnered several awards, including six Australian Children’s Choice awards.
His most popular books include the iconic Specky Magee series, the Sporty Kids series, the highly acclaimed historical adventure novels and CBCA notable books – The Boy and the Spy, Fearless Frederic, A Great Escape, and The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan – and the lyrical read-aloud picture books Pasta! and Cheese! Felice’s most recent picture book, My Big Secret, is a fun uplifting story about love, acceptance, and being yourself.
Felice's books have been published around the world, including the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Turkiye, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, and China.
In 2020 Felice was the recipient of the YABBA's Graham Davey Citation Award for his contribution to Australian children's literature. In 2022 Felice was the Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge Ambassador.
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Felice Arena
Author, Illustrator
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. His works include the incredibly popular Specky Magee series, the hilarious Farticus Maximus books, Whippersnapper, Wish, the Boyz-Rule and Girlz-Rock books, the action-packed bionic-hero series Andy Roid, the Sporty Kids series and most recently his acclaimed historical adventure novels The Boy and the Spy, Fearless Frederic and A Great Escape.
Follow Felice on Twitter and Instagram @Fleech or visit his site: www.felicearena.com
Where were you born?
I was born outdoors in the sun-kissed Goulburn Valley, in country Victoria. My very pregnant mother was working in my Italian grandfather’s orchard, picking pears (um, yeah, I know, what happened to complete rest, right!?). There was no time to rush me to the hospital as I was already on my ‘way out’ and no one, not even my mother, was going to stop me. So my first look at the world was from under the shade of a pear tree. There was no partridge in the branches, but plenty of smiles and applause all round from the traveling German fruit-pickers. “Das ist ein schönes Baby! Ja! Ja!”
What themes are recurring in your work?
Sport. Love. Loving sport. Sporty love. Friendship. Action. Adventure. Tolerance. Hope. Dreaming big. Play. Boys. Girls. Teachers. Coaches. Parents. Tween/and teen life.
What have been the highlights of your career?
Winning five Australian Children Choice Book Awards would definitely be up there, but nothing can beat five thousand excited kids attending a Specky Magee book launch and screaming out at the top of their lungs, “Specky! Specky Specky!” That sort of thing makes me feel extremely humbled, blessed, and gooey all over!
Haven’t I seen you before?
In the 90s I was a former resident of Erinsborough – some may know the suburb from a little TV show called Neighbours As ‘Marco Alessi’. I lived at number 34 Ramsay Street, worked at Lassiter’s coffee shop, saved Bouncer the dog, kissed Natalie Imbruglia, found my long-lost adopted sister, sold dodgy cars, split up my cousin’s marriage to Paul Robinson, and joined a gang of shady underworld criminals. All in one year. Phew! I then followed my fellow soap-opera thespians to the UK, where I performed, yes, in a couple of pantomimes, but also in the lead West End roles in Hair, Godspell, and What a Feeling. In between theatre shows I presented children’s television and appeared in a couple of films.
The Quick Six Interview with Felice Arena on CHEESE!
justwriteforkidsSeptember 25, 2024Interviews, Just Write For Kids, Romi Sharp
Welcome to #TheQuickSixInterview with Felice Arena!
It’s a huge honour to welcome the superlative Felice Arena to our blog; popular author of so many great titles including the bestselling Specky Magee books and his previous scrumptious picture book, PASTA!. Without sounding too cheesy, Felice’s next book is as tasty as the last (oops, that was cheesy!), but here is the perfect companion because ‘you can’t have pasta without CHEESE!‘. For all the foodies out there, this is a culinary, cultural delight that is sure to have you salivating as you share your way around the world of yummy, versatile, colourful, and even stinky cheeses in a cracker of a rhyming feast. Honestly, some of those cheeses are a mouthful to pronounce, but enticing enough to make you hungry to learn more. The deliciously vibrant, smooth and creamy, retro-style illustrations by Beatrice Cerocchi melt with heart and ooze with cheer. CHEESE, yes please!
Thanks so much, Felice! 🙂
About the Author
Felice Arena is one of Australia’s best-loved children’s writers. He is the author and creator of many popular and award-winning children’s books for all ages, including the acclaimed historical adventures The Boy and the Spy, Fearless Frederic and A Great Escape, the bestselling Specky Magee books, a cheeky read-aloud picture-book Poo
and Other Words that Make Me Laugh, and the popular Andy Roid and Sporty Kids series.
Please find Felice Arena at his website: Felice Arena – Official Site and on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter/X
About the Illustrator
Beatrice Cerocchi is an illustrator and architect based in Rome, Italy. She has won the 2017 AOI World Illustration Award and the 2018 Bologna Children’s Book Fair Award.
CHEESE! is available for purchase from Affirm Press.
Thanks to Affirm Press for providing a complimentary copy of this book.
WHO wrote, illustrated and published this book?
I wrote the text, Beatrice Cerocchi illustrated it. It’s published by Affirm Press.
WHAT is it about?
Using lyrical rhyme and rhythm, this book is a celebration of one of the foods we love to eat – Cheese! It’s a follow-up to the much-loved PASTA! picture book.
What is your favourite part of this book?
As with PASTA! this book begs to be read aloud. So, my favourite part while reading this is when the sing-song text hits the joyous beat and repeated chant of “Cheese? Yes, please!” But I also enjoyed writing the following passages: “A smear of Mondseer, or Paneer? Yes, dear!” And “I’m never gloomy with a plate of fried Halloumi!” and “Some Brie? Mais oui! Ooh la la, how fancy! Camembert, Gruyére, Fourme d’Ambert… there’s plenty to share!”
WHEN did you begin writing this book?
I wrote PASTA! and CHEESE! around the same time, way back in 2021 when we were all in lockdown. PASTA! was signed on in 2022 and released in 2023. And CHEESE! was signed on soon after, and released, well, now! Yes, you need to be patient in the world of publishing.
When is its release / launch date?
24 September 2024.
WHERE did the inspiration for this book come from?
PASTA and CHEESE – actually food in general – played a prominent role in my big Italian family. We seemed to be celebrating food all year round. Some of my fondest memories were of sitting around the kitchen table. The simple and joyful act of grating Parmigiano Reggiano on a big bowl of homemade pasta, or remembering my Nonna slathering fresh ricotta on toasted focaccia bread for an afterschool snack will stay with me forever. So, I guess the inspiration to write an ode to food we all love, has always been there. It was just a matter of time before I was going to serve it up (excuse the pun) in the form of a fun read-aloud book.
WHY is this book meaningful to you?
I love words. I love playing with words. I love adding joy and play in the way we say words, especially when given the chance to read them aloud. I wanted to write something that would be fun for parents and teachers to read to their little ones. I wanted the text to illicit a joyous response from the child. Nothing beats a kid smiling and possibly falling in love with reading for the first time. This is why this book is so meaningful to me.
Why would its message resonate with readers?
What kid (or adult) doesn’t love a melted cheese toastie? Or finding string cheese in their lunch box? If you know a child who is mad about eating cheese, then this will totally resonate with them.
HOW do you feel about the illustrations / cover design? How do they convey the feeling or mood you envisioned?
Beatrice’s illustrations are vividly stunning. They have a retro and timeless feel to them. She conveys joy, comfort, gathering, friendship, and family in each striking spread. Her images in both PASTA! and CHEESE! ooze joy. She captured the glee in my text, far exceeding what I had envisioned.
How have you promoted this book and how can we find it?
I have just ended a six-week tour of schools – reading aloud to thousands of kids and their raptured cries of ‘CHEESE, YES PLEASE!’ and ‘PASTA!’
You can find CHEESE! in your local bookstore. Or… visit my site felicearena.com or Instagram.com/felicearenabooks where you can find direct links to online stores.
Congratulations, Felice! Il formaggio è delizioso! 🙂
Mia Macrossan October 11, 2021
Felice Arena talks about writing historical fiction
‘Historical fiction is not only a portal to another time but a tangible way to try to experience the real-life emotions and human stories of those who have come before us.’
Felice Arena is an actor, speaker, TV presenter and playwright and also a popular and award winning writer of children’s fiction whose books include the Specky Magee series, Fearless Frederic, The Boy and the Spy and A Great Escape.
This year he has been shortlisted for the Book Links Award for Historical Fiction for Children for his novel A Great Escape, the suspenseful and heart wrenching story of Peter, a young boy living in East Germany (1961) at the time of partition of Berlin.
He very kindly agreed to answer some questions for us about his writing.
What is historical fiction to you and why do you write it?
Historical fiction is not only a portal to another time but a tangible way to try to experience the real-life emotions and human stories of those who have come before us. I write historical fiction because I’m curious to learn more about topics and past events that interest me. And as someone who writes for young readers, I always set out to convey historical adventures that are both accessible and affecting.
Why did you choose this particular time/topic for A Great Escape?
The Cold War era has always fascinated me, in particular the dramatic stories surrounding the construction of the Berlin Wall. The East Germans’ quest for freedom and dangerous attempts to escape an oppressive regime appealed to my sense of adventure. One day I found myself talking about this very topic with a neighbour of mine, an 80-year-old German Australian. ‘That’s very interesting,’ he said. ‘As you know I’m from Berlin, but did I ever tell that I was also actually a guard on the Wall?’ I was stunned by this revelation. I took it as a sure sign that I should write this book, to tell the story of those times as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old boy. Along the way I was fortunate to be able to draw on my neighbour’s real-life experiences. What a valuable resource he turned out to be!
How do you reconcile truth and fiction in your historical writing?
I’ve always thought that it’s the small details about a time and place that make the period you’re writing about come alive. The way characters speak and dress and the objects that surround them in their daily life all contribute to establishing an authentic picture of a bygone era. If I get these details wrong the reader will be able to see right through it and not believe that they are back in time. As for actual true events, I always try to make them the foundation for my story and work my characters’ adventures in and around them.
Who is your favourite writer of historical fiction? What is it about them that you admire?
Award-winning Aussie author Robert Newton is my favourite writer of YA historical fiction. His writing always rings true for me. It’s always honest, raw, and authentic. He has a way with dialogue and conveying mateship like no other writer I know. His When We Were Two is one of my all-time favourite historical stories.
What is next for you?
I’ve just finished writing a middle-grade historical adventure set in Melbourne in 1942. The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan is due to be published March 2022. To find out more feel free to visit my website: www.felicearena.com
The winner of the inaugural Book Links Award for Historical Fiction for Children will be announced on Saturday 16 October from 4:00 – 4:45pm via ZOOM, free admission. Book here.
Mia Macrossan
31 March 2022
Interview with Felice Arena, Author of The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan, and Specky Magee
Interview with Felice Arena, Author of The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan, and Specky Magee
Felice Arena has combined three of his great loves – writing, history and footy – to become a bestselling children’s author.
Now 20 years after publishing the first book in the Specky Magee series, Felice is back writing about footy with The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan – a funny, entertaining and moving story set against the backdrop of the Second World War in Australia, the women’s movement and the little-known history of women’s football.
‘It’s a celebration of women and sport, and not just women in sport, but women in Australian society,’ Felice says.
‘Maggie Flanagan, she’s 12 years old in 1942 in Melbourne and her biggest love and passion is football. She wants to play, not just watch it, and it’s her link to her big brother Patrick who is fighting overseas.’
‘I WAIT FOR THE CHARACTERS TO FIND ME’
After completing the eight books in the Specky Magee series, Felice wanted to explore other genres of writing like art, travel and historical fiction. He wasn’t planning on writing another footy book, but an idea was sparked by an article he read on a train in Scotland in 2019.
‘I was reading a newspaper about women in sport and the history of women in sport, in particular soccer in the UK, and I thought this could be an interesting story,’ he says.
‘I don’t go actively searching for a story. I wait for the characters of a story to find me, otherwise I feel it’s forced and I feel the pressure.
‘I was having a break and clearing my head, and I read this article and jotted down some notes and forgot about it until lockdown in 2020. My mate said his daughter loved Specky Magee and she was missing her football team because of lockdown, and it jogged my memory and I thought I might look back at those notes.’
Felice then started researching women’s AFL and discovered women were playing the game all the way back in 1933 to raise money for the Red Cross.
The author believes the themes of his story are still relevant today.
‘Maggie helped me through lockdown. She was fierce when faced with the adversity of the Second World War. This book is not just celebrating women, but also community banding together in the face of crisis,’ he says.
‘I can’t wait to share Maggie with the rest of the world – not just with girls. I want boys to read this and see how much society has changed and evolved.’
AUTHOR REVEALS SURPRISING FOOTY HERO
When writing The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan, Felice took elements of remarkable women in his life when creating his characters – one was based on his first footy hero, a Sister who taught at his Kyabram primary school.
‘I was eight years old and she would come and play footy. She had the best [torpedo] kick. The bell would ring, and we’d keep kicking the footy,’ he says. ‘I loved her and I’ve dedicated this book to her.’
Felice says that while his book is a celebration of women and of Maggie’s dream, it also offers a glimpse into Australia at the time of the war.
‘It’s a book not just for kids to read, but adults, perhaps even grandparents who lived through those times,’ he says.
‘I always want readers to take hope from my books. There may be obstacles, but if you band together there can be hope in the darkest times. I want kids to feel that and acknowledge how far we’ve come. It’s up to them to lead the way from here.’
REFLECTING ON SPECKY MAGEE ANNIVERSARY
On top of The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan being released in March 2022, a 20th anniversary edition of Specky Magee will also be published the same month.
‘I have teachers and adults who come up and tell me Specky was part of their childhood, and kids reading it when they were ten are now thirty,’ he says.
‘It was the first of its kind. There was not a lot of sports fiction at the time. I teamed up with my old school mate Garry Lyon, who was a football legend, and using his footy brain and my love of writing fiction it was a nice collaboration.
‘It really captured Australian teenage life, and footy ended up being the backdrop to tell stories about relationships, and it resonated with kids who weren’t even into sport.
‘It wasn’t just about Specky winning the game, and it wasn’t always winning. It dealt with losing, coaches, parents, peer-group pressure and many other issues. Sport is our unofficial language in Australia and I think that’s why it resonated with so many people.’
The 20th anniversary edition of Specky Magee was released on March 1, while The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan was published on March 29.
Buy a copy of The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan here.
Arena, Felice PASTA! THESE NAMES ARE FUN TO SAY Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (Children's None) $14.99 10, 1 ISBN: 9781464217920
Passatelli, mostaccioli, and sagnarelli--oh my!
Since the musicality of these words is everything, readers should flip to the back for a guide to pronouncing the proper names of 35 selected varieties of Italian pasta. There they'll find tagliatelle (tah-lyuh-TELL-lay), casoncelli (caz-un-CHEL-lee), and riccioli (ree-CHOH-lee). In the story itself, the names are arranged so that they rhyme--not an amazing feat in Italian, but amusing and propulsive nonetheless. It's impossible, of course, to highlight anywhere near the 400-plus examples of pasta here, but some of the most fun shapes have been overlooked. Readers won't find cavatappi (corkscrews), farfalle (butterflies), or linguine (little tongues). Arena explains that "orecchiette" means "little ears" but doesn't provide the delightful meanings of the other pastas, such as ditalini (little thimbles) or campanelle (bellflowers). It isn't always clear which names go with which pastas in the illustrations; the endpapers do shed further light, though not for all the varieties. Portraying smiling, racially diverse kids and a tabby cat, the illustrations are bright, appealing, and inventive, and readers will enjoy shouting out the pasta names, but there's not much to entice them for rereads.
Attractive and catchy but less than satisfying.(Picture book. 4-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Arena, Felice: PASTA! THESE NAMES ARE FUN TO SAY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A815560349/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9ffb5d6b. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
HomeBlogThe Unstoppable Flying Flanagan – Felice Arena (A Teacher’s Review)
by Greg Curran
Cover of The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan novel - text and small image of girl kicking a footy and a Japanese plane flying above. Alongside a footy oval with goal posts and a seat behind the goalsThe Unstoppable Flying Flanagan – Felice Arena (A Teacher’s Review) Greg Curran Blog, Literacy
One of my fondest memories of primary school was sitting at the feet of our library teacher as she took us on a magical, mesmerising journey into the worlds of J.R.R Tolkien.
It’s a memory that’s come back into my consciousness – as I read The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan by Felice Arena – to my class.
I first heard about this wonderful book – that focuses on footy-mad Maggie Flanagan and her singing, dancing best friend Gerald – in a podcast chat between Nicole Hayes (from the must-listen Outer Sanctum podcast) and author, Felice Arena. I thought it would strike a chord with my sporty students. And it has.
Set during the 2nd World War, it has provided my students with insight into worlds and attitudes that they often find nonsensical, unfair and not right. Sexism, racism, and homophobia are regularly exercised in the lives of the novel’s main characters, Maggie, Gerald and Elena.
What (cue horrified looks)? Girls or women can’t play contact sports?
What? Girls or women aren’t allowed to …?
What? People say or think those things about girls or women or boys?
What – as they hear about the racism metred out to Elena’s family.
We’re keeping a record of what was said and done then versus nowadays. Also:
how do the characters come back or respond to the bigoted ideas and thinking?
how could we respond to these bigoted comments?
what strategies work and why?
what’s changed since then and why?
There’s also the constant challenges to traditional gender roles. Maggie and Gerald regularly meet women who are taking on the jobs that men (who are away fighting in the war) traditionally held like delivering ice and milk around the city.
How do these women help to shift attitudes about women and their skills and capabilities?
What also resonates – with my class – is…
The action packed radio commentary – where Maggie is inevitably starring in a footy match. It’s a real hit with my students. And it’s a real joy to read aloud.
The bumps and crashes involving Maggie and the school’s bully.
The ‘110% take on life’ attitude of Maggie – with often funny consequences.
The witty, cutting come-back lines of Maggie. They garner a huge laugh from my students.
Gerald just being Gerald – regardless of the nastiness directed his way. I’m imagining him as the lead in a sequel novel.
The refusal of Maggie and Gerald to buckle or give in to bigotry and injustices, refusing to be anything less than their fabulous selves, inspiring others not to hide who they are.
Then there’s the ongoing challenge, that we’ve all bought into…
Maggie’s dream of staging an all-female charity football match to raise funds for the troops.
Each time Maggie meets a girl or woman she’s sizing them up as potential footy players for her teams. We’re all keeping a record of the girls and women that Maggie ropes into playing to see if she can succeed in putting together two teams.
Maggie never loses sight of her dream, no matter the ridicule, punishment or obstacles placed in her path. It makes no sense to her, that females should be treated less favourably than males. In this respect, Maggie although living in the 1940s, is someone my students can readily relate to. Similarly, the abuse that Gerald cops, is seen as totally wrong by my students, who have much more expansive views views of what a boy can do or like nowadays.
And then there’s the challenges of today…
One of my AFL playing students inspired by Maggie is creating a footy PowerPoint. She proudly shows it to me. I comment that there’s no female players in any of the slides. “I couldn’t find any,” she says. I Google search ‘AFL’ and yes there’s next to no photos of female players.
A number of students are writing persuasive texts about why female AFL players should be paid the same as their male counterparts. Two girls who play AFL themselves are mounting the argument that the women are just as strong and tough as the men. Their example is a male player, Max Gawn from the Melbourne Football Club. When I quiz them on this, they say that’s who they know. They don’t know any AFLW players by name.
It turns out that they know more about Maggie Flanagan, a fictional character, than actual women playing AFL at the highest level in Australia.