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ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: Wolf Girl: Into the Wild
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.anhdo.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: Australia
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born June 2, 1977, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; married Suzanne; children: three sons and one daughter.
EDUCATION:Graduated from the University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, actor, painter, and comedian. Anh Does television show, host, 2012-14; Anh’s Brush with Fame television show, host, 2016-21. Has hosted or participated in numerous reality television shows.
AWARDS:Australian Book of the Year, Biography of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year, all Australian Book Industry Awards, and Indie Book of the Year Award, all 2011, all for The Happiest Refugee; Rodney Rude Stand Up Comedian of the Year, Australian Entertainment Mo Awards, 2012; Young Australian Best Book Award for Fiction for Younger Readers, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2024, for Beach Time!
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews Jan. 15, 2025, review of Do, Anh: WOLF GIRL.
Publishers Weekly vol. 271 no. 48 Dec. 16, 2024, , “Into the Wild (Wolf Girl #1).”. p. 59.
Kirkus Reviews Mar. 1, 2020, , “Do, Anh: HOTDOG!”.
Booklist vol. 116 no. 15 Apr. 1, 2020, Peters, John. , “Hot Dog!”. p. 81.
Kirkus Reviews Oct. 15, 2018, , “Do, Anh: WEIRDO.”.
School Library Journal vol. 65 no. 1 Feb., 2019. Drehobl, Brittany. , “DO, Anh. WeirDo.”. p. 55.
No bio.
Anh Do
Vietnam (b.1977)
Anh Do is a Vietnamese-born Australian author, actor, comedian, and artist. He has appeared on many Australian TV shows such as Thank God You're Here and Good News Week, and was runner-up on Dancing With The Stars in 2007.
Genres: Children's Fiction
Series
WeirDo
1. WeirDo (2019)
2. Even Weirder! (2019)
3. Extra Weird! (2019)
4. Super Weird! (2015)
5. Totally Weird! (2015)
6. Crazy Weird! (2016)
7. Mega Weird! (2016)
8. Really Weird! (2021)
9. Spooky Weird (2017)
10. Messy Weird! (2018)
11. Splashy Weird! (2018)
12. Hopping Weird! (2019)
13. Weirdomania! (2019)
14. Vote Weirdo! (2020)
15. Planet Weird! (2021)
16. Tasty Weird! (2021)
17. Spinning Weird! (2021)
18. Weird History! (2022)
19. Cheesy Weird! (2022)
20. Forever Weird! (2023)
21. Weird Wedding! (2023)
22. Weird Holiday! (2024)
23. Funny Weird! (2024)
24. Weird Power! (2025)
25. Weird Star! (2025)
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Hotdog!
1. Hotdog! (2016)
2. Party Time! (2017)
3. Circus Time! (2017)
4. Game Time! (2018)
5. Camping Time! (2018)
6. Movie Time! (2019)
7. Show Time! (2019)
8. Art Time! (2020)
9. Snow Time! (2020)
10. Beach Time! (2021)
11. Tool Time! (2021)
12. Lolly Time! (2022)
13. Soccer Time! (2022)
14. Tidy Time! (2023)
15. Toy Time! (2023)
16. Garden Time! (2024)
17. Scary Time! (2024)
18. Robot Time! (2025)
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Ninja Kid
1. From Nerd to Ninja (2019)
2. Flying Ninja! (2019)
3. Ninja Switch! (2019)
4. Amazing Ninja! (2019)
5. Ninja Clones! (2020)
6. Ninja Giants! (2020)
7. Ninja Toys! (2022)
8. Ninja Dogs! (2021)
9. Ninja Fish! (2022)
10. Ninja Heroes! (2022)
11. Ninja Artists! (2023)
12. Hypno Ninja! (2023)
13. Ninja Games! (2024)
14. Ninja Buddies! (2024)
15. Ninja Talent! (2025)
16. Ninja Rewind! (2025)
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Wolf Girl
1. Into the Wild (2019)
2. The Great Escape (2019)
3. The Secret Cave (2020)
4. The Traitor (2020)
5. Across the Sea (2021)
6. Animal Train (2021)
7. Crash Course (2022)
8. Welcome to Paradise (2022)
9. Sink or Swim (2023)
10. The Race Is On (2023)
11. Hide and Seek (2024)
12. Shadows and Secrets (2024)
13. New Friends (2025)
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Rise of the Mythix
1. Golden Unicorn (2019)
2. Mighty Minotaur (2020)
3. Flight of the Griffin (2021)
4. Legends Unite (2021)
5. The Last Gladiator (2022)
6. Prophecy's End (2023)
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E-Boy
1. E-Boy (2020)
2. Robofight (2021)
3. Enter the Jungle (2021)
4. A New Gemini (2022)
5. Superhuman Army (2023)
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Skydragon
1. Skydragon (2020)
2. Fly Free (2021)
3. Ride the Wind (2021)
4. Brave the Storm (2022)
5. Wave Breaker (2022)
6. Rescue Flight (2023)
7. Firestorm (2023)
8. Scorpion's Curse (2024)
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Pow Pow Pig
1. An Unexpected Hero (2021)
2. Let the Games Begin (2022)
3. On the High Seas (2022)
4. Loch Ness Adventure (2023)
5. Snow Action (2023)
6. Forest Secrets (2024)
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Champ
1. The Champ (2022)
2. Rock 'n' Roll (2022)
3. The Champ vs the Werewolf Warriorz (2023)
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Smarty Pup
1. Friends Fur-ever (2022)
2. JJ and the Giant Panther (2023)
3. To the Rescue (2023)
4. Talent Quest (2024)
5. Time to Fly (2025)
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Kung Fu Roo
1. Enter the Roo (2024)
2. Crouching Kanga, Hidden Hippo! (2025)
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Ninja Girl
1. Ninja Girl (2025)
2. Ninja Superstars! (2025)
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Collections
The Amazing Worlds of Anh Do Five Book Box Set (2022)
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Picture Books hide
What Do They Do With Poo From All The Animals At The Zoo? (2017)
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Non fiction hide
The Happiest Refugee (2010)
Anh Do
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anh Do
Do in 2011
Born 2 June 1977 (age 48)
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam[1]
Occupations
ActorStand-up comedianAuthor
Spouse Suzanne Do
Children 4
Relatives Khoa Do (brother)
Website https://www.anhdo.com/
Anh Do (born 2 June 1977)[2] is a Vietnamese-born Australian author, actor, comedian, and painter. He has appeared on Australian TV shows such as Thank God You're Here and Good News Week, and was runner-up on Dancing with the Stars in 2007. He studied a combined Business Law degree at the University of Technology, Sydney.[3] He is the brother of film director Khoa Do and has acted in several of Khoa's films, including Footy Legends, which he co-wrote and produced. In 2012, his TV show Anh Does Vietnam began airing. He has been four times a finalist in the Archibald Prize and won the 2017 People's Choice Award.[4] From 2016 to 2021, Do hosted Anh's Brush with Fame on ABC TV in which he concurrently interviews and paints a portrait of prominent Australians.
Early life as a refugee
Anh Do and his family fled to Australia as refugees in 1980.[5] In his 2010 autobiography, The Happiest Refugee, Do tells of how his family survived five days in a leaky fishing boat nine and a half metres long and two metres wide. During the trip his family and the rest of the passengers were attacked by two different bands of pirates. The first group stole one of the two engines and the second group of pirates stole the second engine, which had been broken but repaired by Do's father using a piece of rubber from a thong. It was reported that as the second band of pirates left, one of them threw a gallon of water onboard which kept all but one of the refugees alive, until they were finally rescued by a German merchant ship.[6] The boat was packed with 40 Vietnamese refugees fleeing across the Indian Ocean. "We were crammed in like sardines," he said.[7] Do's family settled in the Sydney suburb of Yagoona.[8]
The Happiest Refugee has won awards, including the 2011 Australian Book of the Year, Biography of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, as well as the Indie Book of the Year Award 2011, Non-fiction Indie Book of the Year 2011, and it was shortlisted for the 2011 NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Community Relations Commission Award.[6]
Career
Do with wife Suzanne in 2005, walking the red carpet at the premiere of Footy Legends
Do attended St Aloysius' College in Milsons Point for his secondary education.[9] When he was 14 he started a small business breeding tropical fish. While studying his first year of law at the University of Technology, Sydney, he owned a stall which sold American Indian artifacts, which he later expanded to four franchised stores. Six months before finishing his combined Business Law degree, law firms offered him jobs which required 60 hours of work a week. He opted to take up stand-up comedy instead.[5] Since 2013 Do has cut back on comedy to focus on painting full-time. He was a finalist in the Archibald Prize in 2014, 2017 and 2019.
From 2016 to 2021, Do hosted Anh's Brush with Fame on ABC-TV.[10][11] In this popular program, Anh Do concurrently interviews and paints a portrait of prominent Australians. He has been criticised for pre-painting the portraits from photographs and enlisting help from his art tutor.[12][13]
Personal life
Do is married to Suzanne (Suzie) Do and they have three sons and a daughter.[14] Do met Suzie whilst they were both studying at university.[15] His mother, Hien, played the role of Van Nguyen's mother, Kim, in Better Man, a film which was produced by Anh's brother Khoa Do.[16]
Awards
2011 Independent Booksellers Book of the Year[17] (for The Happiest Refugee)
2011 Joint winner (with musician Paul Kelly) of the Biography of the Year[18] (for The Happiest Refugee)
2011 Best Newcomer (for The Happiest Refugee)
2011 Book of the Year (for The Happiest Refugee)
2017 People's Choice Award, Archibald Prize (for portrait of Jack Charles)[4]
2024 Young Australian Best Book Award for Fiction for younger readers (for Hot Dog #10: Beach Time!, illustrated by Dan McGuiness)[19]
Mo Awards
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Anh Do won one award in that time.[20]
Year Nominee / work Award Result (wins only)
2012 Anh Do Rodney Rude Stand Up Comedian of the Year Won
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
The NRL Footy Show Himself Comedian
Short and Curley Host
2000 SeaChange Quan Tho
2002 Don't Blame Me Vinnie
2003 All Saints Tim Salter Episode: "The Devil to Pay"
The Finished People Factory Worker
2005 Little Fish Tran
Blue Water High Robbo Episode: "It's Hard to Be Normal"
2005-2007 Pizza Chong Fat
2006 Two Twisted Paramedic
Solo Nguyen
Footy Legends Luc Vu
2006 & 2007 Thank God You're Here Himself Improvised comedy series
Contestant
2007 Kick Hoa Tran
Dancing with the Stars Contestant Reality television series
Deal or No Deal Contestant Reality television series
Celebrity special Won maximum prize of $200,000
2008 Crooked Business Benny Wing
Double the Fist Krakbot
Made in China Host
2009 The Squiz Host Game show television series
Top Gear Australia Guest Motoring reality television series
2010 Matty Johns Show Himself Anh Can Do segment
Talking Heads Guest Series 6, Episode 33
2012 Pictures of You Guest Talk show
2012-2014 Anh Does Host Travel and lifestyle television series
2014-2016 Long Lost Family (Australia) Co-host Documentary series
2016-2021 Anh's Brush with Fame Host Talk show
Books
Year Title Publisher Unique identifier Notes
2010 The Happiest Refugee Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781742372389
2011 The Little Refugee Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781742378329 Picture book
Co-authored with Suzanne Do Illustrated by Bruce Whatley
2013 WeirDo Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781742837581 Illustrated by Jules Faber
2014 WeirDo 2: Even Weirder! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781743622711 Illustrated by Jules Faber
WeirDo 3: Extra Weird Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781743627051 Illustrated by Jules Faber
2015 WeirDo 4: Super Weird! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781743629314 Illustrated by Jules Faber
WeirDo 5: Totally Weird! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781760155346 Illustrated by Jules Faber
2016 WeirDo 6: Crazy Weird! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781760159085 Illustrated by Jules Faber
WeirDo 7: Mega Weird! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781760159092 Illustrated by Jules Faber
Hot Dog! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781760279004 Illustrated by Dan McGuiness
What Do They do with all the Poo from all the Animals at the Zoo? Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781760264475 Picture book
Illustrated by Laura Wood
2017 WeirDo 8: Really Weird! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781760276768 Illustrated by Jules Faber
WeirDo 9: Spooky Weird! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781760276775 Illustrated by Jules Faber
Hot Dog! 2 Party Time Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781760279011 Illustrated by Dan McGuiness
2018 WeirDo 10: Messy Weird! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781742768045 Illustrated by Jules Faber
Ninja Kid Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781742993263 Illustrated by Jeremy Ley
WeirDo 11: Splashy Weird! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781742993751 Illustrated by Jules Faber
2019 Rise of the Mythix: Golden Unicorn Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781760525132 Illustrated by Chris Wahl
WeirDo 12: Hopping Weird! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781742997926 Illustrated by Jules Faber
WeirDo 13: Weirdomania! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781742997933 Illustrated by Jules Faber
Wolf Girl: Into the Wild Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781760525095 Illustrated by Jeremy Ley
Wolf Girl 2: The Great Escape Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781760876357 Illustrated by Jeremy Ley
2020 WeirDo 14: Vote Weirdo Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781743836668 Illustrated by Jules Faber
Rise of the Mythix 2: Mighty Minotaur Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781760876401 Illustrated by Chris Wahl
WeirDo 15: Planet Weird Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781743836675 Illustrated by Jules Faber
Wolf Girl 3: The Secret Cave Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781760876371 Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh
Wolf Girl 4: The Traitor Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781760877866 Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh
2021 Rise of the Mythix 3: Flight of the Griffin Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781760876418 Illustrated by Chris Wahl
WeirDo 16: Tasty Weird! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781760974657 Illustrated by Jules Faber
Weirdo 17: Spinning Weird Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781760979027 Illustrated by Jules Faber
Rise of the Mythix 4: Legends Unite Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781760879068 Illustrated by Chris Wahl
Wolf Girl 5: Across the Sea Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781760879044 Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh
Wolf Girl 6: Animal Train Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781760879051 Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh
2022 Weirdo #18: Weird History! Scholastic Australia ISBN 9781761127397 Illustrated by Jules Faber
Rise of the Mythix 5: The Last Gladiator Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781761065682 Illustrated by Marcelo Baez
Wolf Girl 7: Crash Course Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781761065644 Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh
Wolf Girl 8: Welcome to Paradise Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781761065651 Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh
The Weird Power of Story
by Scholastic
Feb 24, 2019 | Filed in Diversity
0
When I turned 8, I got to have my first and only birthday party of my entire childhood. I was very excited. I said to Mom, ‘Mom, can I have helium balloons? You know, the ones that float up to the ceiling?’
My mom said, ‘Son, they’re expensive, but I’ll see what I can do.’ When my birthday came around my mom bought normal balloons, blew them up, and sticky taped them to the ceiling!’
My friends and I tried breathing in the contents of the balloons... ‘Is your voice changing? Mine’s not.’
Johnny turned to me and said, ‘this helium gas smells like spring rolls!’
So we discarded the droopy balloons and went in search of Vietnamese spring rolls, of which there were plenty.
My name is Anh Do (rhymes with ‘go’). So my friends had fun with it. They liked to call me ‘Weir Do’!
At first, I wasn’t sure about the nickname, but I soon figured out my friends didn’t mean any harm, so in the end I chose not to take offense and instead embraced the nickname.
I learned that it was okay to be unique, and to love the things that made me different. And over time I also learned that the things I thought were weird weren’t so weird after all.
Like the fact that I love instant cheesy macaroni. I get a real thrill when I find that one really bright orange cluster of pasta with half the packet’s worth of seasoning stuck to it. Yesssss!!!
I’ll savor that salty-sweet hunk of pleasure super slow, because that’s the highlight of the bowl.
Or how I asked my dad to buy me a really big pillow. I divided the pillow into left and right sides. I’d try to sleep on the left side, then when it got too hot at night, I’d slide over to the right. When that got hot, I’d turn the pillow over and have two fresh cool sides!
I thought it was just me who did these odd things, but the more I shared my weirdness with the world, the more I heard back from people who said, ‘I do that too!’
In my chapter book series, WEIRDO, I created a character whose first name is Weir, and whose last name is Do. He’s a school kid who feels like he doesn’t always belong, but who learns to embrace his uniqueness.
The fact that the series has sold over 2 million copies in Australia alone has taught me something... Kids relate to Weir, and maybe ALL kids feel like they’re a little bit different.
Thousands of parents have written to tell me, ‘thank you for helping my daughter/son feel okay to be themselves.’
Each time I read one of these messages I get a burst of happiness. I know that sharing my stories helps kids around the country smile, laugh, and feel okay to be themselves. What a wonderful power to have. In fact, if I were a superhero and I could choose any power in the world, I'd probably choose this one.
Anh Do is an accomplished writer, actor, producer and stand-up comedian, as well as a runner up on Australia's Dancing with the Stars. His award-winning adult autobiography, The Happiest Refugee, is an international bestseller, and he's the author of two bestselling chapter book series, WeirDo and Ninja Kid. He lives in Sydney, Australia.
Australian author and refugee Anh Do's children's books were banned in some US schools. Here's why
Author, artist and refugee Anh Do had 17 of his children's books banned in a US school district.
2011 photo of Anh Doc, an Australian author, actor, comedian, and painter.
Anh Do is the author of the illustrated children's book The Little Refugee and memoir The Happiest Refugee. Source: AAP / Allen and Unwin
It has been revealed that 17 children's books written by Australian refugee, writer and artist Anh Do were banned in a United States school district.
PEN America, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at defending freedom of expression, reported that titles from Do's WeirDo series, had been banned from classrooms in Central York, Pennsylvannia.
The move was revealed in PEN's Index of School Book Bans as material banned in the US between 1 July, 2021 and 31 March, 2022. Overall it found around 470 books had been banned in classrooms across 15 districts.
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"These constitute bans on use in classrooms, even in cases where the books may still be available in school libraries," PEN noted on its website.
Do, star of the ABC's Anh’s Brush With Fame and an Archibald Prize finalist, is the author of award-winning book The Happiest Refugee, which tells the story of his family's journey from Vietnam to Australia by boat.
He also released a children's version of the story called The Little Refugee. His WeirDo series includes titles such as Hopping Weird! and Planet Weird.
According to The Australian, Do was never made aware of the ban.
Cover of a book called The Little Refugee showing a young boy with a boat in the background.
The Little Refugee book was written by Anh Do and Suzanne Do, with illustrations by Bruce Whatley. Source: AAP / Allen and Unwin
The Central York ban was eventually overturned last year after an outcry from students and widespread criticism.
In announcing the decision, the Central York School Board released a statement on 20 September, 2021, that attempted to explain why it froze the use of materials included on a Diversity Committee Resource List.
"What we are attempting to do is balance legitimate academic freedom with what could be literature/materials that are too activist in nature, and may lean more toward indoctrination rather than age-appropriate academic content," the board said.
It said the board made the decision on 9 November, 2020 to allow for a review of the material but acknowledged this had taken too long.
The ban came in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests and critics noted that most of the resources included was work by or about people of colour. It included works by and about American civil rights activist Rosa Parks and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.
PEN said owing to the "sweeping and ad hoc nature" of the ban, 14 book series were named and targeted including the WeirDo series.
Other titles included the Yasmin series by Saadia Faruqi and the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol Series by Andres Miedoso.
Do's books were not allowed to be used in any classrooms in the Central York School District, a community of more than 5,000 students.
Anh Do shares his vision for a Marvel-style universe full of his characters
Kerrie O'Brien
ByKerrie O'Brien
July 30, 2022 — 5.00am
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Anh Do has a vision: a world in which all the characters from his books come together in a Marvel-style universe. There might be a Wolf Girl movie and Ninja Kid turns up to help, he says.
“I’ve got 10 titles and about 15 characters at the moment,” he tells The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Anh Do wants to create a movie or TV series using many of the characters from his children’s books.
Anh Do wants to create a movie or TV series using many of the characters from his children’s books. Credit:Matt Davidson
The 45-year-old artist, author, TV host and comedian is prolific. As well as hosting various TV shows, he has written a memoir, called The Happiest Refugee, and several best-selling series for children: Weirdo, Ninja Kid, Hotdog!, E-Boy, Wolf Girl, Skydragon and PowPowPig. His latest offering, Wolf Girl 7, made its debut at number one.
Over the next three years, Do has another 50 books planned. He’s also adapting several into a television series, working with a team of editors, illustrators, writers and animators to do so.
A new series called Smarty Pup will land in October, about a little girl whose mother has died, and her dog, JJ. During a meteor storm, some “alien goop” falls on the dog and turns him into the smartest creature on earth: he can talk, solve maths problems and speak 12 languages. “It could’ve easily been called Dog Einstein,” Do says.
Wolf Girl starts with a little girl being woken by her mother in the middle of the night, saying they have to leave. It’s what happened to the author when he was two years old. “My mum woke me … and we were heading out on a little nine-metre fishing boat with 38 others, crammed in like sardines, to leave Vietnam as refugees.”
Having survived the boat trip, complete with pirates and endless days at sea, and then several months in a refugee camp, the family made it safely to Australia and settled in Sydney. Do’s father left when Anh was 13 – they wouldn’t meet again for nearly a decade. His mother raised three children solo, working in sweatshops where she made about $7 an hour. Even so, it was a happy childhood. “Things at home weren’t always easy but there was always the library – I could borrow books and bring them home and escape for a while.”
As a kid, he was a huge fan of the “Choose your own adventure” books. “I used to read every single scenario, and there were times when I’d finish the book and I’d then try to think of new endings, to come up with even more dramatic endings and plot twists.”
His books now regularly top the most borrowed books list of kids junior fiction in libraries around the country. “That made me tear up a bit, it brings me so much joy that kids like reading the books.”
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When I ask about his mum, he gets emotional. “She’s amazing – her opinion means the world to me,” he says. Later he tells me it was partially because of her that he studied law. “You see your mum struggle and you want to help.”
With wife Suzanne, he has four children, aged 18, 16, 13 and eight. They are his first readers – and his harshest critics. “They’ve been like the Anh Do books market research department. I probably owe them hundreds of thousands in income.”
With his portrait of Jack Charles at the Art Gallery of NSW in 2017.
With his portrait of Jack Charles at the Art Gallery of NSW in 2017.Credit:Janie Barrett
Wolf Girl was originally Dog Girl, until they told him, “Dad, that sucks – Dog Girl is a terrible title”. The plot is similar to Tarzan: Wolf Girl gets lost in the forest and found by a bunch of dogs who adopt her, each of whom has a super-power. She rides an enormous golden wolf, fights baddies and has adventures, all while looking for her family. “A lot of my books are about missing family, or missing someone, and I think kids just get that. Even if you’ve had the happiest family, every kid has missed Mum at some stage. Even if you just go on camp for three days.”
Eight years ago, Do took six months off and went back to TAFE to study painting. A three-time finalist in the Archibald Prize, he won the People’s Choice award in 2017 with a portrait of Jack Charles.
Editor's pick
Jennifer Down’s book Bodies of Light.
Literature prizes
‘It feels pretty bloody good’: Jennifer Down wins Miles Franklin Award
People often ask him if his popular TV show Anh’s Brush With Fame will return to our screens. It featured an array of guests, from Jimmy Barnes to Magda Szubanski, who he interviewed while painting. “The ABC call me up [to ask] every now and then, but at the moment I’m just too busy. Give me a couple of years and I might say yes; I really love that show and I miss painting.
“I find it a real honour when a guest tells me something and they tell me after, ‘Anh I’ve never told anyone that’.”
At a dinner party recently, someone asked him, “If you won a billion dollars and you never had to work again, what would you do?”
Do didn’t hesitate: “I said, you know what, I’d pretty much be doing what I am doing these days, creating stories for kids and doing the occasional painting.”
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Do, Anh WOLF GIRL Harper/HarperCollins (Children's None) $19.45 3, 18 ISBN: 9781760525095
Fleeing from conflict and separated from her family, a young girl lost in the wild must learn to survive with the help of her new animal companions.
"We have to move fast! They're coming!," says Gwen's mom as she shakes her awake. Equipped only with what they can hastily fit into their car, Gwen's family flees into the night. After Dad crashes the car, the family runs toward a forest, seeking safety from an overhead bomber, but Gwen ends up separated and lost in the wilderness. While trying to find her mom, dad, and older sister, Gwen discovers she's not alone--a misfit band of dogs saves her from drowning, and they quickly become inseparable. Together with her new animal companions, Gwen recalls advice from her parents, honing her instincts and learning how to survive. Roughly three years later, Gwen is "no longer a helpless little girl" but the "leader of a pack of animals" that has become her family--but she never forgets her human family, and a pivotal moment sends Gwen and her pack on an unexpected journey. Captivating black-and-white illustrations appear on nearly every page, adding to the tale's suspense. Vietnamese Australian author, artist, and performer Do strikes just the right balance between realism and fiction in this fast-paced, highly engaging story of friendship, loyalty, surprises, and survival with an alluring cliffhanger ending. Gwen has light skin and dark hair.
An entertaining, action-packed series opener.(Adventure. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Do, Anh: WOLF GIRL." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A823102355/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=90f3198a. Accessed 25 June 2025.
Into the Wild (Wolf Girl #1)
Anh Do, illus. by Jeremy Ley and Annie Ji. HarperCollins, $9.99 paper (224p) ISBN 978-0-063-34602-4
Do (the Ninja Kid series) explores themes of bravery and resilience via Gwen, a girl forced to survive alone in the wild. In the middle of the night, Gwen is awoken by her mother, who says they must leave their home immediately. Gwen follows her parents' orders and runs, not looking back as promised, only to realize she's been separated from her family in the shuffle. Lost and alone in the woods, Gwen receives help from a stray dog. As she endeavors to reunite with her parents, more dogs come to her aid, and Gwen learns of the loyalty and survival skills necessary to become the "leader of pack animals who had become my family." Sketchy, movement-filled artwork by illustrators Ley and Ji accompany emotionally authentic prose and add humor to Gwen's journey through her relationships and interactions with her pack. This adrenaline-pumping story, the first in a series, vividly recounts a captivating tale of a girl whose resourcefulness and determination are the foundation for doing "whatever it took to keep my pack alive." Gwen's skin tone matches the hue of the page. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
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"Into the Wild (Wolf Girl #1)." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 48, 16 Dec. 2024, p. 59. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A820624863/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=44fdb591. Accessed 25 June 2025.
Do, Anh HOTDOG! Scholastic (Children's Fiction) $5.99 5, 5 ISBN: 978-1-338-58720-3
Three animal friends help a bird find its missing mama.
With a long body and short legs, dachshund Hotdog awakes one morning to find he has a stuffy nose. Undaunted by his olfactory obstacle, he ventures out to meet friends Lizzie the lizard, who can “blend in with almost everything,” and Kevin, a corpulent cat whose owners like to dress him in costume (his disguise du jour is a cow). The trio happens upon an adorable baby bird fallen from its nest and decides to help it find its mother by crossing a river, visiting a farm, and flying a kite. Reading like an updated version of P.D. Eastman’s beloved Are You My Mother, the tale sets the animals to asking every bird they encounter (a duck, a rooster, and a penguin) if they are indeed the bird’s mother, eliciting giggles from readers who surely know they are not. Do’s short chapters and bouncy prose play with type size and color, easing recent graduates of the Eastman classic into independent reading, and McGuiness’ cheerfully silly caricatures feel comfortably familiar. The plot is familiar too—it falls to Hotdog to save the day, buoyed by cohorts who play into the comedy—giving transitioning readers a comfortable scaffold. This is the first in a proposed series; sequel Party Time! publishes simultaneously.
Transitioning independent readers looking for a funny, fast read need look no further. (Fantasy. 7-9)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Do, Anh: HOTDOG!" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A616094080/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c848d8c6. Accessed 25 June 2025.
Hot Dog! By Anh Do. Illus. by Dan McGuiness. May 2020. 128p. Scholastic, paper, $5.99 (9781338587203). Gr. 1-3.
In a series opener largely built on surreal twists, canine narrator Hotdog introduces himself and two equally clueless buddies: Lizzie, a chameleon; and Kevin, a rotund cat dressed in a cow costume. He then goes on to describe the trio's strenuous efforts to reunite Winston, a fallen nestling of unknown sort, with its mom--who turns out to be not a duck, nor a "karate-chopping rooster," nor one of a troupe of camera-wielding penguins. Sharing space with short lines of well-leaded print laced with bolded words and phrases, the two-tone illustrations fill all or most of every page with scenes of pop-eyed panic as the would-be rescuers struggle to cope with challenges ranging from infiltrating a farm (suddenly that cow costume comes in handy) to changing a diaper. Reunited in the end with her errant offspring, Winstons grateful mom throws a grand party ... with cake! "I can't wait," Hotdog pants, "for our next adventure!" Beginning readers with a taste for antic misadventure will feel likewise. --John Peters
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Peters, John. "Hot Dog!" Booklist, vol. 116, no. 15, 1 Apr. 2020, p. 81. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A621474525/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1eb920dc. Accessed 25 June 2025.
Do, Anh WEIRDO Scholastic (Children's Fiction) $5.99 1, 29 ISBN: 978-1-338-30558-6
Once again the new kid at a new school, Weir (last name Do, rhymes with "go") learns that his name is just the beginning of his problems.
With an episodic narrative style perfect for fans of David Pilkey and his ilk, author Do introduces Weir, his ridiculous and recognizable family, his propensity to say and do the wrong things, and his growing crush on Bella Allen. Dynamic type changes and Faber's clean line drawings punctuate the spare text, making this an accessible choice for emergent and reluctant readers. Weir's apparently multiracial family (black-haired dad was born in Vietnam, and light-haired mom's maiden name was Weir), including a flagrantly flatulent farter--er, father and a terror of a toddler brother, should resonate with a range of readers. Of less interest and relevance to readers of this genre, perhaps, are Weir's expressions of gendered norms. Younger readers may find Weir's romance unlikely or even off-putting, and older readers may wonder at the casual misogyny of a boys' muscle contest. Weir's description of Bella as the "seventh-best-looking girl at school," complete with an illustration of the seven girls lined up in order of prettiness, is equally unnecessary and unfunny, as is a reference to gendered clothing. All of the characters are depicted with paper-white skin.
A mix of chortle-inducing comedic insight and cringeworthy comic tropes. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Do, Anh: WEIRDO." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A557887230/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f9245251. Accessed 25 June 2025.
DO, Anh. WeirDo. illus. by Jules Faber. 144p. Scholastic. Feb. 2019. pap. $5.99. ISBN 9781338305586.
Gr 1-4--Weir Do thinks he lost the lottery when it comes to names. His mother named him after her last name before marriage, and Do (rhymes with "go") may pay homage to his father's Vietnamese heritage, but does Weir no favors when he starts a new school. However, Weir's name is only the beginning of his problems as he struggles to make new friends and impress his crush despite her meeting his family, who live up to his "weird" namesake. The line cartoons that accompany the spare text makes this title serviceable to younger or reluctant readers. However, despite the diversity of the cast and often bodily-function induced chuckles provided by the author, other troubling aspects lie beneath the seemingly harmless doodles. Noting "a few surefire signs" on how to spot slow guys before a race, such as "socks pulled up too high" as well as a muscle contest between the boys after a female classmate compliments Weir's as "huge" knocks on toxic masculinity's door. Lining up girls in Weir's class in order of attractiveness, with his crush being seventh, as well as Weir's older sister shaming him for wearing her hand-me-down shoes round out the casual misogyny. As the book is already so short with not much plot outside of fart jokes and crushes, any misstep may as well be a full-on crash landing. VERDICT A passable purchase for those in desperate need of Wimpy Kid readalikes, but most socially conscious collections would be better served with Janet Tashjian's My Life as a Book or Stephan Pastis's "Timmy Failure" books.--Brittany Drehobl, Morton Grove Public Library, IL
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Drehobl, Brittany. "DO, Anh. WeirDo." School Library Journal, vol. 65, no. 1, Feb. 2019, p. 55. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A571039845/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8c772515. Accessed 25 June 2025.