Remembering C.K. Thompson, Newcastle journalist and author
Many Australians of a certain age will remember C.K. Thompson's books from their childhood. Thin little hardcover volumes of stories about Australian animals and birds, they were common in school libraries. It couldn't be said that they were great literature, and even among the work of other Australian children's authors they didn't rate with the books of Patricia Wrightson, Nan Chauncy or Colin Thiele. But they were popular, and they may have helped inculcate an interest in nature among young readers. . Growing up in the 1960s I was aware of these books. One or two…