Tashi's Magic: Aussie Kids' Folklore
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- The first Tashi book was published by Allen & Unwin in 1995, written by Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg with illustrations by Kim Gamble.
- The series spans 20 volumes, concluding with Tashi and the Travelling Restaurant in 2012.
- Tashi has sold over 2 million copies globally and has been adapted into an animated television series that aired in Australia in 2014.
- The character draws from Chinese folklore traditions — demons, phoenixes, warlords — filtered through a modern Australian lens.
- Each book contains two standalone stories framed as Tashi recounting his adventures to his friend Jack.
- The series won the 1996 KOALA Award and the 1997 COOL Award, both voted by Australian schoolchildren.
Tashi — Barbara Fienberg, Kim Gamble, and Anna Fienberg
Quick Verdict: The book that started it all — a folkloric playground where wit beats size every time.
This is where you meet Tashi: the new kid at school with stories so outlandish they might actually be true. The framing device — Tashi recounting his escapades to his Australian mate Jack — gives the tales a nested, oral-history feel that echoes traditional folklore. The first two stories pit Tashi against giants and a warlord, establishing the series' central mechanic: a small, clever protagonist outmanoeuvring physically superior antagonists. Gamble's pen-and-ink illustrations add texture without overshadowing the narrative drive. If your kid loves problem-solving over magic swords, this is the entry point.
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Tashi and the Demons — Barbara Fienberg, Kim Gamble, and Anna Fienberg
Quick Verdict: Supernatural chaos meets village-scale problem-solving — Tashi at his quick-thinking best.
Volume 6 escalates the stakes with demons — not metaphorical ones, but the full-blown supernatural kind wreaking havoc in Tashi's village. The Fienbergs lean into Chinese folklore here, pulling from traditions of trickster spirits and shape-shifters, but the resolution stays grounded in Tashi's resourcefulness rather than deus ex machina. The pacing is brisk; the tone balances genuine tension with the reassurance that cleverness prevails. For kids who've outgrown picture books but aren't ready for middle-grade epics, this hits the sweet spot. Gamble's demons are unsettling without being nightmare fuel.
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Tashi and the Forbidden Room — Barbara Fienberg, Kim Gamble, and Anna Fienberg
Quick Verdict: A Bluebeard-style mystery scaled for seven-year-olds — all atmosphere, zero gore.
Volume 12 leans into gothic tropes: the room you're told never to open, the promise broken, the consequences. It's fairy-tale architecture — think "Bluebeard" or "Cupid and Psyche" — but filtered through the Fienbergs' refusal to patronise young readers. The forbidden room isn't just a plot device; it's a test of curiosity versus obedience, and Tashi's choice to open it (spoiler: he does) drives the story's moral complexity. The resolution rewards bravery tempered with caution, not blind rule-following. This one's a slow burn by Tashi standards, which makes it ideal for kids ready to sit with narrative tension.
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Tashi and the Stolen Bus — Anna Fienberg, Barbara Fienberg, and Kim Gamble
Quick Verdict: A genre mash-up — folkloric hero meets heist caper — that somehow works brilliantly.
Volume 13 pivots from demons and warlords to a stolen bus, which sounds incongruous until you realise the Fienbergs are updating the "stolen treasure" trope for contemporary kids. The bus becomes a communal asset under threat, and Tashi's mission to retrieve it doubles as a meditation on collective responsibility. It's cheekier than earlier entries — there's a self-aware humour about transposing folkloric problem-solving onto a modern scenario — but the stakes feel real. This is the book that proves the series isn't coasting on formula; it's actively interrogating what "adventure" means to its audience.
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Tashi and the Phoenix — Anna Fienberg, Barbara Fienberg, and Kim Gamble
Quick Verdict: A late-series entry that returns to mythic territory with full confidence and zero filler.
Volume 15 reintroduces the series' folkloric DNA via the phoenix — a creature so steeped in symbolism it could've felt heavy-handed. Instead, the Fienbergs use it to explore themes of renewal and sacrifice without getting preachy. The phoenix isn't a plot device; it's a character with agency, and Tashi's relationship with it drives the emotional arc. Gamble's illustrations here are some of his finest — the phoenix practically lifts off the page. By this point in the series, the writing team trusts its audience enough to let scenes breathe. If you're cherry-picking entries, this one justifies the "magical realism" label critics love throwing around.
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As of May 2026, Patina's Sci-Fi & Fantasy collection includes rotating stock of Tashi volumes alongside comparable series like Andy Griffiths' Just! books and Paul Jennings' short story collections — all of them Australian, all of them smarter than they need to be. The Tashi series proved that kids' fiction could marry folklore with contemporary Australian settings without diluting either. Twenty books in, it's still the benchmark.
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Where can I buy secondhand Tashi books in Australia?
Patina Paperbacks stocks rotating preloved copies of the Tashi series — availability shifts as titles move through our Sydney warehouse, so check the Fantasy collection for current stock. We ship Australia-wide, and honestly, these books hold up better than most kids' paperbacks from the '90s and 2000s. Browse our current Sci-Fi & Fantasy selection here.
Are Tashi books suitable for reluctant readers aged 6-8?
Yes — the short, episodic structure (two stories per book) keeps momentum high, and Gamble's illustrations break up the text without overwhelming it. The vocabulary is challenging enough to build skills but never alienating. Kids who balk at chapter books often latch onto Tashi because the framing device (Tashi telling stories to Jack) mirrors oral storytelling, which feels more immediate than traditional prose.
What reading level is the Tashi series aimed at?
The series targets ages 6-9, roughly aligning with Years 1-3 in Australian schools. Confident Year 1 readers can tackle them independently; Year 2-3 kids will cruise through. The sentence structure is straightforward, but the Fienbergs don't simplify vocabulary artificially — words like "warlord," "demon," and "cunning" appear without glossing, which builds literacy through context.
How many Tashi books are there in total?
Twenty volumes, published between 1995 and 2012. The series follows a loose chronology but each book contains standalone stories, so you can start anywhere without feeling lost. That said, Volume 1 establishes Tashi's backstory (his arrival from a "far-away place"), which adds resonance to later entries.
Is Tashi based on Chinese folklore or Australian culture?
Both, deliberately. The Fienbergs draw from Chinese folklore traditions — demons, phoenixes, warlords, trickster figures — but filter them through an Australian sensibility: laconic humour, anti-authoritarianism, and a preference for cleverness over brute force. Tashi himself exists in a liminal space: culturally coded as Chinese but written for an Australian audience, which gives the series a hybrid quality that's aged remarkably well.