SKU: 1170760898

Oswald Messweather - Dimity Powel & Siobhan McVey QUEENSLAND AUTHOR

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Oswald Messweather - Dimity Powel & Siobhan McVey QUEENSLAND AUTHORDont let your ice cream melt while youre counting somebody elses sprinkles. Now, its a well known fact I LOVE ice cream, barely noticing incidental toppings in my eagerness to tuck into its creamy, silken wonderfulness. However this is a sentiment (and well known meme) I can relate to, at least in part. While many of us, young and old, develop repetitive habits that can be interpreted as obsessive, it is when unwanted reoccurring thoughts, fears and

Don’t let your ice cream melt while you’re counting somebody else’s sprinkles.

Now, it’s a well-known fact I LOVE ice cream, barely noticing incidental toppings in my eagerness to tuck into its creamy, silken wonderfulness. However this is a sentiment (and well-known meme) I can relate to, at least in part. While many of us, young and old, develop repetitive habits that can be interpreted as obsessive, it is when unwanted reoccurring thoughts, fears and sensations (obsessions) dominate actions and compel repetitive behaviours (compulsions) that the illness, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) becomes apparent. It’s this obsessive desire to reduce or alleviate the fear of a consequence occurring that many can relate to, myself included. Fear can spark many things…even story lines….

Sometimes picture book ideas spring up out of nowhere. I can’t recall exactly where Oswald’s story came from or why the urge to tell it hammered at me so strongly , but once he slipped into my life, he was determined to stay and be heard. Oswald Constantine Dorian Messweather’s tale first bubbled to life during a flight from Brisbane to Singapore. In just under eight hours, Ozzie as he affectionately became known to me, invited me into his precise and anxious world. I knew I had to treat him gently yet couldn’t wait to share his tale of overcoming, or rather managing, OCD with the world. This is his story.

Mess and disorder upset Oswald. Even the complexity of his own name is enough to set Oswald’s legs jiggling and his palms itching with anxiety. To combat his unease, Oswald obsessively counts his take-everywhere pocket pals – his crayons. It is a compulsion he finds comforting but also extremely exhausting.

Oswald’s obsessive preoccupations distract him from everything and everyone else around him, until one day Oswald is encouraged to use his penchant for perfection and eye for detail in a class project. With the help of his crayons, Oswald’s classmates create something spectacular, which helps Oswald realise just how valuable he is in spite of his anxieties.

Oswald is not a picture book that focuses intently on the educational perspectives of children with OCD but rather more on the emotional aspects associated with this debilitating condition. Oswald is caught in the grips of needing to be in control of the messier aspects of his life and like many young children suffering from obsessive worrying and anxieties, wants to stop but can’t. By allowing Oswald to take control of his anxieties and employ them with purpose, Oswald gains room to breathe and an awareness that they need not govern him.

Siobhan McVey evocative stylised illustrations help reinforce as well as soften the prose which is occasionally metaphoric and curt. Ribbons and swirls of colour speak for Oswald, depicting the intensity of his emotions through their form and complexity and deliver a sense of hope and enlightenment.

Unhealthy reoccurring anxious thoughts can inhibit daily functioning in the most corrosive ways. Nearly 3 per cent of Australians experience OCD with children as young as six displaying symptoms. Causes and triggers are many and varied however, this picture book endeavours to create a timely and gentle medium, which parents and carers can share with young children to encourage deeper discussion and promote emotional and mental healing in a non-instructive way.

Published: 28 March 2021
Illustrator: Siobhan McVey
Format: 32pp Paperback 
Ideal for: 4 – 8 year olds and sufferers of OCD

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SKU: 1170760898

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Bill - CA
Houston, US
★★★★★ 5
AI is here and this is one of the books you should read
Format: Hardcover
If you not in tune with the changes coming to the world with the advent of AI, read this book. The front end can be a bit technical and tough to read, but the back 2/3 of the book are eye opening. A lot of change is coming over the next 5 years, most are great for the world. There will be change for all of us and those that aren’t aware and prepared could find it unsettling. While this is a very good book, a person should be reading and listening to blogs weekly to keep up with the changes to our lives going forward. One book on the subject, while good, isn’t enough.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2025
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w+
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 3
Good points, but too verbose and in the clouds at times.
Format: Kindle
This book has great points and analysis of trends, and a sensible outlook of what they might lead to. If you already understand the main ideas in this book, it's a good refresher and will solidify your current understanding, but may not really lead to any new "mindblowing" revelations. At times, his head is too in the clouds, and his age shows with predictions that read like bad 1960s sci-fi with things like "computorium" "gray goo" and "nanobots". While his overall points stand strong, some specific technologies he thinks will take off don't seem to have any basis or proof of concept in the real world and might be dead in the water, think "solar freakin roadways" style. He is also very full of himself, repeatedly gloating to the reader of all the "predictions" he made over the years that came true. The biggest weakness of this book is by god does he need an editor, it is way too verbose because the information is not organized well and he repeats himself A LOT. The chapters read like independent blog posts rather than a book due to how repetitive some of his points and information is. Often factoids and paragraphs are bizarrely repeated nearly verbatim pages later. But overall, it's a solid read and those uninitiated to the ideas in this book should absolutely heed their importance.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025
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chris bickford
Pawtucket, US
★★★★★ 5
Ray at best
Format: Hardcover
Great ai know how
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Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2026
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Long Beach Native
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 4
Audiobook has TERRIBLE narrator; book is very techical
Format: Hardcover
So this is a fascinating book -- the author has an incredible depth and breadth of knowledge in a vast array of technical (and medical) subjects. Note this is a much more technical book than your typical science book intended for the educated layperson. That's a big plus for me, but others might be put off by the level of detail. The main fault with the book is the audiobook's narrator, Adam Barr. He has a deep voice that is easy to understand, but he is just about as dull as can be, sounding as if he's reading the ingredients on a can of soup. I ended up buying the hardcover version of the book because the audiobook could not hold my attention -- because of the narrator, not because of the content, which is amazing. I wish more narrators would take a page (ha ha) from talented pros such as Ray Porter and Wil Wheaton. Just because this book is nonfiction doesn't mean it can't be read with heart, as if the reader was speaking to me personally, with enthusiasm, and not just reading words out loud.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2024
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James Walker
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 5
The Final Warning
Format: Kindle
No more heads up after this one guys. Ray is not known for missing futurological insights. He’s placed many predictions within this work and it’s my belief that they will occur even sooner than he imagines. That said, the time for comfort with our current way of living is over, and this book functions as the last glance of insight to carry you through with knowledge of what could be. Without it, you are very likely to be entirely blindsighted. The world is changing much faster than the vast majority of people realize. Even those paying close attention to technology. Learn what you can do you can prepare. This book is likely the best way to get ahead of the curve, and adds many new concepts and refinement than the first in the series
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Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2024

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