What would you do if your eccentric neighbour asks you to travel back in time and help prevent a crime?  Of course, you’d say yes.  Anything for adventure.  So that’s how Jason Chen finds himself in the middle of Brisbane in 1864, a town on the brink of disaster.  His Chinese-Vietnamese background also makes him a target for the gang who are planning to burn the town to the ground and blame it on the local Chinese.

Jason Chen and the Time Banana is suitable for upper primary and junior secondary students and is a great intro to some history and can be a jumping off point for a fun adventure story writing workshop.

Jason is Duncan’s first novel but his seventh book. Previous works include Revenge, Wennabees and Yum-Worms and Dinomania. Duncan has also published short fiction for children and had a radio play broadcast by ABC radio National.

Wennabees and Yum-Worms is a fantasy comic story about a girl whose parents are kidnapped but she is not alone. A horde of weird and wonderful creatures that live with her set off to rescue them. 

Two of Duncan’s stories have appeared in recent editions of the children’s magazine Countdown. Christmas Surprise is about how a family marooned in a flood find some caterpillars that help to brighten their festivities. Granny Fixit tells the story of a handy granny who loves climbing ladders and a grandchild who follows her and together find something special.

Duncan has developed workshops based around his 3 children’s titles individually and a general presentation on creative writing and ideas.  Duncan’s new code-based story for kids is now available on the State Library of Queensland Summer Reading website, including code breaking / making activities for readers. To accompany the choose-your-own-adventure story Dinosaur Fete (Macmillan), Duncan offers a choose-your-own-adventure workshop for mid to upper primary school students.

His current project is an adventure story set during World War Two, during the American ‘invasion’, where opportunities and dangers lurked around every corner and it was often difficult to know who the real enemies were.

Comments by readers of Jason Chen

It was informative without overly teaching, loaded with details that wove a rich tapestry to truly bring the past to life. It came across as thoroughly well researched, without becoming boring or bogged down. The action was constant and engaging.

The author has done his homework, and settings and places are well portrayed, while still keeping the story fun and fast paced. It is a great action packed story for older kids.