Jim Haynes Books and CD's and Talking Books

The Big Book of Verse for Aussie Kids

The ABC Book of Australian Country Music -

ALL ABOARD!
GREAT Tales of Australian Railways

The Book of Australian Popular Rhymed Verse

Great Australian Drinking Stories

Smoky Dawson - A Life

The Jim Haynes Collection

Australian Comic Rhymed Verse (with Grant Luhrs)

The Best of Jim Haynes Live

I'll Still be Me
(Melanie Dyer)

The Big Book of Verse for Aussie Kids
300 plus pages

By Jim Haynes

From Banjo Paterson to Spike Milligan, Rudyard Kipling to Hilaire Belloc, Lewis Carol to CJ Dennis - the most definitive collection of verse ever collected for Australian children.

The Big Book of Verse for Aussie Kids is the most comprehensive, authoritative and definitive book of poetry ever published in Australia for children.

In this wonderfully eclectic collection the famous rub shoulders with schoolyard rhymes, alphabets and nonsense verse. Here old favourites, that have been loved for generations, sit side by side an impressive selection of modern verse that kids will enjoy reading, reciting, laughing at, acting out and hearing, again and again.

There are poems to delight and develop every child's sense of humour; poems to inspire and stretch every child's imagination, verses to provoke a sense of wonder in every child; playground verses that have been handed down over countless years; and the largest collection of nonsense verse ever assembled.

All in all over 600 of the best verses for children in the English language have been especially chosen for Aussie kids. Unashamedly the emphasis is on Australian history and heritage - from Banjo Paterson and C J Dennis right down to Max Fatchen and Colin Thiel - but Hilaire Belloc, Rudyard Kipling, Spike Milligan and Robert Louis Stevenson are never far away.

Here's the table of contents and for the full listing of all verse click here

1 Adventure, mystery and romance
2 All around Australia
3 Alphabets
4 Birds
5 Cautionary tales
6 Chants and games
7 Childhood
8 Crazy creatures
9 Crazy English - fun with words
10 Creatures

11 Epitaphs
12 Funny stuff
13 Gross & gruesome
14 Life lessons and advice
15 Limericks
16 Moods and feelings
17 Nature
18 Nonsense
19 Tall stories
20 Tonguetwisters

Reviews by teachers

Teachers' Notes

THE ABC BOOK OF AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY MUSIC
By Jim Haynes

The ABC Book of Australian Country Music is much more than a listing of musicians and festivals. It is a fascinating look at the artists, groups, festivals and awards, and provides a detailed insight into the Australian country music industry.

This comprehensive guide includes all the legends, favourites and rising stars of the country music scene. It also covers everything from the international success of Keith Urban and iconic Aussie status of John Williamson to the spectacular rise of Kasey Chambers, and lists all the Golden guitar winners since the beginning of the Country Music Awards of Australia.

The ABC Book of Australian Country Music is the perfect companion to the hugely successful ABC Radio program, Saturday Night Country.

It's hot off the press - no reviews as yet - when you buy your copy, you might like to email Jim your thoughts so we can add them to the website.

the book of australian popular rhymed verse
By Jim Haynes

This is the largest collection of Aussie rhymed verse ever published. All the greats and favourites are included in twenty-six browsable themed sections. There is a poem here for every mood and every occasion - from ridiculous and hilarious doggerel to deeply moving and evocative literature.

In his exhaustive research and travels, Jim Haynes has unearthed every Aussie poem you ever heard recited or can remember one line of from school! He has included lost treasures from the glory days of The Bulletin, previously undiscovered and unpublished gems from the War Memorial Archives and many new verses from the popular writers of the ‘bush verse’ renaissance of the past twenty years.

This is not only a great reference book, it is the reciters’ bible.

See what others think of Jim's latest work

GREAT AUSTRALIAN DRINKING STORIES

An affectionate collection of stories, journalism and verse by Aussie writers who celebrate and explore our obsession with drink.

Drinking has always been an integral and cherished part of our Aussie culture. Grog played a huge role in our early colonial history and nothing has changed that much in the two hundred years since.

It's a humorous, thought-provoking collection of works by the greatest Aussie writers on the subject, our best short story writers like Henry Lawson, Kenneth Cook and Gavin Casey and our funniest humourists; Lennie Lower, CJ Dennis, Marcus Clarke and The Sandman. It¹s a history and celebration of the Australian national character.

All A Aboard - Great Australian Railway Stories

ALL ABOARD!
GREAT Tales of Australian Railways
By jim Haynes & Russell Hannah

Harper Collins have at last REPUBLISHED this terrific collection of fiction. verse and travelogue pieces where all the stories have the Australian Railways as their subject or setting.

There are stories by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, D.H. Lawrence, Henry Handel Richardson and Henry Lawson as well as some character pieces by Jim and his mate Russell Hannah.

Also included is some rhymed verse by Paterson, Lawson and others and some accounts of major incidents and historical characters like Ben Chifley and the Granville Disaster.

Lots of photos and wonderful memories and anecdotes make this a great read for anyone who remembers the great age of Aussie Railways.

SMOKY DAWSON - A LIFE

When Smoky Dawson died on 13th February 2008, we all lost a hero and a friend. For more than six decades, Smoky and his wonderful wife Dot made an extra-ordinary contribution to the life of our country. Their contribution to Australian culture, to Country Music and the entertainment industry, to the community or just to their fellow Australians, is remarkable.

With your help, we are planning to erect a life size statue of SMOKY DAWSON in Tamworth, the city he and Dot enjoyed so much and which they helped transform into Australia’s Country Music Capital. The memorial statue will be situated in a prominent position in Tamworth. The sculptor is Tanya Bartlett who created the Light Horse Memorial in Tamworth, the Tommy Smith Statue at Randwick and the statue of Don Bradman in Bowral.

You can help by purchasing the beautiful hardback autobiography of Smoky from us here at this website.

In this wonderful book Smoky tells his own story in his famous honest cheerful style. The sadness of his childhood days, suffering terribly from poverty and the beatings from his shell-shocked returned soldier father. Life in the orphanage, the early radio days, his World war 2 experiences and recovery and the and the heydays of Smoky as a radio and film star.

There are many photos and special colour plates with scenes of Smoky's life by Pro Hart. All proceeds from book sales will go to the appeal.

Don’t Call Wagga Wagga Wagga

The Fish Song

Cricket Out The Back

I’ll Have Chips

Where There’s A Will

Since Cheryl Went Feral

The Feral Accountant

Wagga Wagga Wedding In July

Madame Stella, Fortune Teller

I Wish I’d Met You Sooner (With Beccy Cole)

Raven ‘bout Robin

Wagga Wagga Honeymoon

Weelabarabak For Me

Rindercella - A Tairyfale

Australian Comic Rhymed Verse

AUSTRALIAN COMIC RHYMED VERSE
Recited by jim Haynes and Grant Luhrs

Jim Haynes and Grant Luhrs have combined to release a great collection of comic verse.

The 32 poems chosen for this new album range from ‘classics’ and old favourites by ‘Banjo’ Paterson, Henry Lawson, CJ Dennis and the prolific ‘Anon’, to modern verse by Graham Watt, Wilbur Howcroft and Jim himself. There are also a few surprises, wonderful verse not heard or published for many years by poets like Jack Sorenson and Jim Graham.

They are all from The Book of Australian Popular Rhymed Verse, which Jim put together in 2008. The book received wonderful reviews and is the largest collection of Aussie rhymed verse ever published, containing 1000 classic and modern examples of entertaining verse.

‘We have tried to mix up the type of verse and present various styles ranging from broad ‘typical Aussie’ dry humour to whimsical, satirical and, at times, irreverent humour,’ said Jim. ‘We hope it makes you laugh, snigger and smile.’

The tracks include such Traditional Classics as THE SPIDER FROM THE GWYDIR, MULGA BILL’S BICYCLE, A COWYARD ROMEO, PIDDLIN’ PETE, A POST CUP TALE, THE SWAGGIE AT THE GOLDEN GATE, TUMBA BLOODY RUMBA, NINE MILES FROM GUNDAGAI, HOLY DAN and THE MAN FROM IRONBARK,.

Parodies such as CLANCY OF THE UNDERFLOW and THE MAN FROM KAOMAGMA are included along with modern classics like Grahame Watt’s POOR GRANDAD and THE MONGREL and Jim’s SOMEONE PINCHED OUR FIREWOOD, RINDERCELLA, LUNCH FOR DIPSO DAN and POP’S NEW BOOTS.

Best of Jim Haynes - Live

BEST OF JIM HAYNES ..... LIVE

Featuring ‘Rustling’ Russell on piano and conversations with Grant Luhrs

This album is for all the people who keep asking for ‘the funny bits’ of Jim’s live performances to take home.

It features comedy monologues, ‘Top Ten Countdowns’ humorous verse and ‘Jokes of the Day’, as heard at Jim’s Big Bush Brekky Variety Shows at Tamworth.

Much of this material appeared on Jim’s previous albums ‘Life’s A Laugh!’ and ‘Well Spotted’. There are also comedy conversations with Grant Luhrs and the album contains well over an hour of material.

Mel Dyer

I'll still be me

14 year old Melanie Dyer lives on a farm near the Northern NSW town of Inverell, she has performed solo on the Schools Spectacular at The Sydney Entertainment Centre and has had her own regular spot on Jim Haynes' Big Bush Brekky Shows at the Tamworth Festival since 2006.

Her song, Life On The Land, was chosen as the anthem of the National Drought Appeal in 2008. She has written songs with Diana Corcoran, Melinda Schneider, Amber Lawrence and Jim Haynes and the seven songs on this CD show her talents as a songwriter and performer.

Songs include I'll Still Be Me, Life On The Land, Till Tomorrow, Please Wait For Me, When I Was Young, Friendly Inverell and Daylight Is Dying.