Off to the Market (Alice Oehr, Scribble)
Tuesday, 2 August 2022
Off to the Market is a celebration of markets and healthy, whole foods. Graphic artist Alice Oehr showcases her skills in her debut narrative nonfiction picture book, for children aged...
The Hats of Marvello (Amanda Graham, illus by Lavanya Naidu, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 2 August 2022
In a quintessential Australian country town, the biggest excitement for grade five student Olive is the upcoming school play, which she has a starring role in as the narrator. To...
Dusty in the Outwilds (Rhiannon Williams, HGCP)
Tuesday, 2 August 2022
Dusty, real name Willa Dust, might just be the most intuitive, smart and brave 12-year-old you’ll ever get caught up in an extraordinary adventure with. Dusty has always heard about...
Tulips for Breakfast (Catherine Bauer, Ford Street)
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Tulips for Breakfast follows teenager Lena, who has settled into her new life in a Dutch town after she and her parents fled Germany as one of many Jewish families...
The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat (Kate Temple, Lothian)
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Kate Temple—one half of the powerhouse duo that brought us such gems as Bin Chicken, Yours Truly, Alice Toolie, and the Underdogs series—breaks out on her own for The Dangerous...
Runt (Craig Silvey, illus by Sara Acton, A&U)
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Nobody knows where Runt came from, but everybody knows he’ll only listen to Annie. Annie’s instinct is to fix everything, and Runt’s is to follow Annie. When anyone else is...
Unnecessary Drama (Nina Kenwood, Text)
Tuesday, 19 July 2022
Things are going well for Brooke. Fresh out of high school and going straight into university, she is determined to reinvent herself from the nerdy and awkward person she once...
The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist (Juliette MacIver, illus by Sarah Davis, Gecko Press)
Tuesday, 19 July 2022
Following the international success of That’s Not a Hippopotamus, linguist Juliette MacIver returns with The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist, an irresistible, rhyming rollick through the wilderness. While Ms Whisk...
Charlie’s Whale (Libby Gleeson, illus by Hannah Sommerville, Lothian)
Tuesday, 19 July 2022
Distinguished writer Libby Gleeson and CBCA-shortlisted illustrator Hannah Sommerville have successfully collaborated on Charlie’s Whale, a picture book that is destined for awards, and for popularity with children aged two...
A Girl Called Corpse (Reece Carter, A&U)
Tuesday, 19 July 2022
Reece Carter—who previously brought us The Garden Apothecary—has turned his hand to prose for his debut middle-grade novel A Girl Called Corpse. Corpse is a ghost with no memory of...
11 Words for Love (Randa Abdel-Fattah, illus by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Lothian)
Tuesday, 12 July 2022
Multi–award winning author Randa Abdel-Fattah and highly acclaimed author–illustrator Maxine Beneba Clarke unite with 11 Words for Love, a beautifully rendered, timely picture book created with heart. Appealing to children...
The Upwelling (Lystra Rose, Lothian)
Tuesday, 12 July 2022
Kirra doesn’t understand how or why, but her dreams come true. And no one believes her, not even Nan, who told Kirra to never mention her ‘power’. One night, she...
The Jammer (Nova Weetman, UQP)
Tuesday, 12 July 2022
Fred has roller derby in her blood. As soon as she could walk, her mum had her skating. It was their thing—and a place where Fred always knew she belonged—until...
Wilderness Society announces Environment Award shortlists, new Karajia Award
Friday, 8 July 2022
The Wilderness Society has announced the shortlists for the 2022 Environment Award for Children’s Literature (EACL), as well as the new Karajia Award for First Nations children's storytelling. The shortlisted...
Speech Pathology Australia book awards 2022 shortlists announced
Thursday, 7 July 2022
The shortlists for the 2022 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Birth to three years All Dogs Bark...
Books yule love: 2022 Christmas children’s and young adult
Wednesday, 6 July 2022
Books+Publishing rounds up Australian publishers’ top local children’s and young adult titles releasing in time for Christmas 2022. Picture books Readers young and old will delight in a number of new...
Melanie La’Brooy on ‘The Wintrish Girl’
Tuesday, 5 July 2022
Melanie La'Brooy's The Wintrish Girl (UQP) is the first book in her 'Talismans of Fate' fantasy trilogy for middle-grade readers. Featuring magical creatures and new friendships, the book uses tropes...
Itty Bitty Kitty (Maddy Mara, illus by Noémie Gionet Landry, Affirm)
Tuesday, 5 July 2022
Maddy Mara is the pseudonym for publishing powerhouses Hilary Rogers and Meredith Badger, who have between them worked across industry roles from illustration to acquisitions. Having previously collaborated on picture...
My Deadly Boots (Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler, illus by Samantha Campbell, Lothian)
Tuesday, 5 July 2022
This is the story of a pair of fantastically bright footy boots which may or may not be the source of a young Indigenous boy’s confidence, joy, inspiration, energy, power...
The Wintrish Girl (Melanie La’Brooy, UQP)
Tuesday, 5 July 2022
Melanie La’Brooy’s The Wintrish Girl is an exciting middle-grade fantasy debut. Penn is an outsider in the strict world of Aralyia, a slave to the princess Seraphine, who is orphaned...
The Tree at Number 43 (Jess McGeachin, Puffin)
Tuesday, 5 July 2022
Jess McGeachin has fast established himself as an exciting and skilled creator of picture books, drawing on his work at Melbourne Museum to celebrate the beauty of the natural world...
A&U announces mentorship program with Voices from the Intersection
Wednesday, 29 June 2022
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has partnered with Voices from the Intersection (Voices) to offer a mentorship opportunity for emerging children’s and YA Own Voices writers and illustrators. Up to two...
Where You Left Us (Rhiannon Wilde, UQP)
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
Rhiannon Wilde’s second YA novel, Where You Left Us, is as bewitching as her Glendower Award–winning debut Henry Hamlet’s Heart. It follows the two Prince sisters, Cinnamon and Scarlett, who...
Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell (Tobias Madden, Penguin)
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
Noah and Eli play an online computer game together most nights. They take down swamp goblins and drink virtual flagons of ale for hours at a time, but they still...
Birdbrain (Kelli Anne Hawkins, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
In her return to middle-grade fiction, Kelli Anne Hawkins delivers another madcap caper for 10- to 12-year-olds that has puns aplenty and some genuine chuckles. Hadley Boggs is 11 and...
Naturopolis (Deborah Frenkel, illus by Ingrid Bartkowiak, Storytorch Press)
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
The narrative nonfiction genre of children’s books—particularly those exploring the natural world—seems to be growing, and it can be hard to get right, since the audience for the ‘story’ component...
Dirt by Sea (Michael Wagner, illus by Tom Jellett, Puffin)
Tuesday, 21 June 2022
When Daisy mishears the lyrics of the national anthem, Dad declares a road trip in Mum’s Kombi to show her that Australia is an island, girt by sea, even if...
Honour Among Ghosts (Sean Williams, A&U)
Tuesday, 21 June 2022
Honour Among Ghosts is a high-action historical mystery set in a small Irish village where there are sorcerers, moralistic ghosts and spell-scribbling scribes. When 12-year-old Penny’s working-class father is thrown...
Dancing Barefoot (Alice Boyle, Text)
Tuesday, 21 June 2022
Dancing Barefoot brings a warm and uplifting queer contemporary romance to the #LoveOzYA, #AusQueerYA and #OwnVoices scenes. Winner of the 2021 Text Prize, Alice Boyle’s debut novel follows Patti ‘Patch’...
Be Careful, Xiao Xin! (Alice Pung, illus by Sher Rill Ng, Working Title Press)
Tuesday, 21 June 2022
The bilingual picture book Be Careful, Xiao Xin! shows us how hard it can be for a young child to move towards independence and for a family to keep their...
