Thai-riffic!

Teacher Resource

Publisher's synopsis

It’s hard being Thai, especially when you live in Australia, your house is a Thai cultural shrine, your parents run a restaurant called Thai-riffic! and you’re desperate for some pizza! Lengy’s adventures will have you laughing out loud and perhaps shedding the occasional wimpy tear.

Albert (Lengy) Lengviriyakul, is fed up with being Thai. His parents own a Thai restaurant with the cheesy name of Thai-riffic! and Lengy is sick of being his father’s curry guinea pig, longing to just eat pizza! At school he is a bit of a troublemaker, going to any lengths to hide his background. But when his best friend decides to become Thai for a day for a school project, Lengy stubbornly comes to the realisation that there may just be some pretty cool things about his culture.

Awards

REAL Children’s Choice Awards • Shortlisted • 2011 • Older Readers
WAYRBA Children’s Choice Awards • Shortlisted • 2014 • Younger Readers

Other Recommended Titles

Mahtab’s Story

Loyal Creatures

Ubby’s Underdogs: the Legend of the Phoenix Dragon

The Divine Wind

Oliver Phommavanh

Oliver is a young Thai-Australian writer for children. He has featured on panels at the Sydney Writers’ Festival among many other appearances at festivals and writing events as well as in blogs. He has worked as a primary school teacher and now spends his time writing and sharing his writing passion with kids and engaging them with humour. He’s also a stand-up comedian and has appeared on national TV and radio as well as a number of well-known comedy venues such as the Comedy Store in Sydney. His first book for upper primary, Thai-riffic!, was published to critical acclaim, followed by Con-nerd, Punchlines, Thai-no-mite, The Other Christy, Super Con-nerd, Natural Born Loser and, most recently, Don’t Follow Vee. For younger readers he wrote Ethan in the Stuff Happens series.

Photo by Stephen John Walton, courtesy of Penguin Random House Australia

Buy the Book

His ability to write side-splitting humour and to connect with children shines through in this, his first, novel.

Sun Herald

Further Details

Author Oliver Phommavanh

Publisher Penguin Random House Australia

Date of Publication 2010

ISBN 9780143304852

Category Children's Books

SCIS number

5470862