Tashi's Magic: Aussie Kids' Folklore Adventure
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- The first Tashi book was published by Allen & Unwin in 1995, launching a 25-book series co-authored by Anna and Barbara Fienberg.
- Kim Gamble illustrated the entire series with ink-and-watercolour artwork that became inseparable from the character.
- As of September 2026, the Tashi series had sold over 4 million copies in 15 languages including French, German, and Mandarin.
- The series draws on Chinese folklore, Russian fairy tales (Baba Yaga), and Southeast Asian mythology without claiming a single cultural origin.
- Tashi won the 1996 CBCA Honour Book award and has been adapted into an animated TV series by Flying Bark Productions.
- The frame narrative structure — Jack recounting Tashi's stories to his parents — became the series' signature device.
Tashi: 1 — Barbara Fienberg, Anna Fienberg, Kim Gamble
The one that started it all — a masterclass in hooking 6-year-olds with real stakes. This is the book that introduced Jack's friend Tashi and the frame device that carries the whole series: Jack comes home from school bursting to tell his parents about Tashi, the new kid who arrived "from a faraway place" with stories that involve war lords, dragons, and narrow escapes. The episodic structure — two tales per book — means young readers get closure and cliffhangers in equal measure. Kim Gamble's ink illustrations anchor the fantastical with body language that reads across cultures. It's a confident debut that knows exactly what early chapter books can do when they trust their audience. Explore our current copy of Tashi: 1 or browse more Sci-Fi & Fantasy books at Patina.Tashi and the Giants: 2 — Barbara Fienberg, Anna Fienberg, Kim Gamble
The series hits its stride with hungry giants and Tashi's signature move: outsmarting brute force with cleverness. Book two locks in the formula and proves it's not a formula at all — Tashi faces two massive, child-eating giants and wins through quick thinking, not magic swords or parental rescue. The Fienbergs write villains who are genuinely menacing (those giants are *hungry*), and the tension is real enough that the resolution feels earned. Gamble's giants loom off the page with exaggerated perspectives that make you feel small. This is the book that made Australian parents realise the series wasn't going to coddle anyone, and kids devoured it for exactly that reason. Explore our current copy of Tashi and the Giants or browse more Sci-Fi & Fantasy books at Patina.Tashi and the Ghosts: 3 — Barbara Fienberg, Anna Fienberg, Kim Gamble
Ghosts, eerie villages, and Tashi at his most resourceful — this one's spooky without tipping into nightmare fuel. The third instalment dials up the atmospheric dread with spirits haunting the village and Tashi stepping in where adults freeze. The Fienbergs handle fear with respect: the ghosts are legitimately unsettling, but the story never forgets it's for 6-to-9-year-olds navigating their own night-time anxieties. Gamble's watercolour ghosts are translucent and mournful, not gore-fest specters. It's folklore storytelling in miniature — oral tradition compressed into 64 pages with illustrations that do half the emotional work. Explore our current copy of Tashi and the Ghosts or browse more Sci-Fi & Fantasy books at Patina.Tashi and the Genie: 4 — Barbara Fienberg, Anna Fienberg, Kim Gamble
A tricky genie, three wishes gone sideways, and the series' sharpest commentary on greed and cunning. The fourth book swaps monsters for a genie who's more trickster than wish-granter, and Tashi has to outmanoeuvre someone as clever as he is. It's a battle of wits with Middle Eastern folklore roots, and the Fienbergs play it straight — no Disney sanitising, just a genie who twists every wish and a hero who learns to out-think him. The subtext about careful language and unintended consequences lands without a lecture. Gamble's genie is all sharp angles and knowing smirks, visually reinforcing that this character is *enjoying* the chaos. Explore our current copy of Tashi and the Genie or browse more Sci-Fi & Fantasy books at Patina.Tashi and the Baba Yaga: 5 — Barbara Fienberg, Anna Fienberg, Kim Gamble
Russian folklore crashes into the series with a flying mortar, a chicken-legged hut, and the witch who terrified Slavic childhoods for centuries. The fifth book brings the Baba Yaga — arguably the series' most famous antagonist — and the Fienbergs don't soften her. She's ancient, hungry, and dangerous, lifted straight from Russian fairy tales and dropped into Tashi's village with zero cultural dilution. The chicken-legged hut, the mortar and pestle flight, the bone fence — it's all here, rendered in Gamble's ink with a mix of grotesque detail and storybook charm. This is the book that proved the series could borrow from global folklore without flattening it into "exotic flavour," and it's the one most Australian millennials remember viscerally. Explore our current copy of Tashi and the Baba Yaga or browse more Sci-Fi & Fantasy books at Patina. The Tashi series is Australian children's literature at its best — clever, respectful of young readers, and unafraid of real folklore's sharp edges. These early volumes are the foundational texts, the ones that built a 25-book legacy and raised a generation of kids who expected their heroes to *think* their way out of trouble. If you're chasing the complete collection or just want to see what the fuss was about, these preloved copies carry the weight of a thousand school backpacks and bedtime readings. Shop all Sci-Fi & Fantasy books at Patina Paperbacks →Where can I buy the complete Tashi series in Sydney?
Patina Paperbacks stocks rotating preloved copies of early Tashi titles including the first five books — availability shifts as stock turns over, but we ship Australia-wide from Sydney with free shipping over $29. If you're chasing specific volumes, check the site regularly or sign up for restock alerts on titles like Tashi and the Baba Yaga, which move fast.
What age range is the Tashi series best suited for?
The series targets 6-to-9-year-olds transitioning from picture books to early chapter books, but the episodic structure and folkloric villains mean it reads well aloud to younger kids (4-5) who can handle mild tension. The Fienbergs don't talk down — these books assume kids can follow cunning plots, distinguish between frame narrative and embedded story, and sit with real stakes without constant reassurance.
How many books are in the Tashi series, and do you need to read them in order?
There are 25 books in the main series published between 1995 and 2012, plus omnibus editions and spin-offs. Each book contains two standalone tales, so you don't need to read in strict order — Tashi and the Giants works fine before Tashi and the Ghosts — but starting with Book 1 establishes the frame device and Jack's relationship to Tashi's storytelling, which deepens the later volumes.
Why is the Tashi series considered important in Australian children's literature?
Honestly? Because it proved Australian kids' books could draw on global folklore — Chinese demons, Russian witches, Middle Eastern genies — without exoticising or diluting the source material, and still feel locally grounded through Jack's suburban family frame. The series also pioneered the episodic chapter-book format (two tales per volume) that became standard in the 2000s, and Kim Gamble's illustrations set a visual benchmark for early readers that mixed accessible ink work with folkloric detail.
Are there any Tashi books that are particularly hard to find secondhand?
The earliest titles — especially first-edition printings from 1995-1998 with original Allen & Unwin branding — turn up less frequently in preloved condition because they've been read to pieces. Later omnibus editions (which bundle 3-4 stories) are more common but lack the individual-volume charm. Mid-series titles like Tashi and the Royal Tomb and Tashi and the Stolen Bus surface regularly, but the iconic early entries (Giants, Ghosts, Baba Yaga) cycle through faster when they hit secondhand stock.