Cristy Burne was an absolute delight to have at our school! Her visit fell during the perfect crossover of Book Week and Science Week, and she brought both worlds together with infectious enthusiasm, humour, and heart.

From the moment she arrived, Cristy captivated our students and staff alike. Her presentations were the perfect blend of science, storytelling, and silliness — complete with live experiments, inspiring messages, and plenty of laughter. She spoke powerfully about creativity, resilience, and the joy of learning, with her story about Fiona Wood particularly resonating with our older students.

Cristy’s energy didn’t stop at the stage — she generously signed books, notebooks, drink bottles, rulers, and even a roll of toilet paper! She made time to pop into classrooms, connect with students, and share her love of science and writing in every interaction.

Warm, engaging, and full of life, Cristy left a lasting impression on our whole school community. We are so grateful for the experience and can’t recommend her highly enough.

North Harrisdale Primary School - 2025

You were such a delight to have. You’re a total pro, and the kids couldn’t stop raving about you.

Whitsunday Voices - 2025

Students in both the junior and senior sessions were engaged, entertained, amused and inspired by Cristy. During her presentation they asked questions that demonstrated genuine thought and interest. Students enjoyed the insight into the study and practice of science and very much were entertained by the inclusion of science in the presentation.

After the show, students were actively seeking Cristy’s signature. My Level 6s are scrambling to read both Cristy’s Fiona Wood story and her true family tale about the leeches, ‘Beneath the Trees’. Cristy was relatable, warm, funny and inspired the students at Deepdene to think about the rewards that come from hard work, striving to achieve goals in the face of adversity, never giving up on what you believe in AND – VERY importantly- having a laugh and enjoying the journey.

Deepdene Primary School - 2025

The children and staff are still talking about your visit and your books are flying out the library from students and teachers alike! Your teacher notes have been passed on and gratefully received. We certainly will recommend you to anyone looking for a speaker and I will happily forward on a review for you. I asked the staff for any feedback and everything was positive. Quite honestly it’s the best author talk we’ve had! I have never seen the kids so engaged before, especially the older students, they can be a tough crowd.

Queen of Apostles School - 2025

The students were very engaged by Cristy’s stories and overall presentation. She was able to keep everyone involved with her fabulous sense of humour and storytelling. There were squeals of laughter throughout the performance from both adults and students alike. She was able to demonstrate the process of creating an interesting story through personal experience and wild imagination. This was a challenging gig – to keep such a large group of students engaged when their ages ranged from 5 -11 was a big ask but Cristy delivered. The students found her science background interesting and loved how she converted a vacuum into a marshmallow gun. Letting the students try to catch them in a net was a huge hit. She walked the students through the process of modifying the vacuum until it finally worked. Her story of working in Switzerland in the Hadron Collider complex was inspiring as was her stories about writing for competitions and not giving us despite getting knocked back multiple times. I highly recommend having Cristy visit your school.

Quintilian School - 2025