The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars (Jaclyn Moriarty, A&U)
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Though this middle-grade fantasy chapter book shares the same world as Jaclyn Moriarty’s earlier book, The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, this is not really a sequel. While Bronte...
Mamie (Tania McCartney, HarperCollins)
Thursday, 4 October 2018
This year marks the 100th anniversary since the publication of May Gibbs’ beloved Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. Joining the centenary celebrations is Tania McCartney’s latest picture book Mamie, which explores Gibbs'...
Liberty (Nikki McWatters, UQP)
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Three women, three centuries, three threats against freedom: Australian author Nikki McWatters’ new YA novel is an ambitious and timely exploration of power, politics and the sisterhood. In 1472 France,...
Vanishing (Mike Lucas, illus by Jennifer Harrison, MidnightSun)
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Vanishing, an evocative picture book from author Mike Lucas and illustrator Jennifer Harrison, delivers a sharp warning about the growing dangers of humanity’s impact on the natural environment and the...
My Sunbeam Baby (Emma Quay, ABC Books)
Thursday, 6 September 2018
My Sunbeam Baby is a sweet picture book written and illustrated by Emma Quay. Combining playful illustrations with rhyming text, the narrator explores all the ways she loves her baby...
All the Ways to be Smart (Davina Bell, illus by Allison Colpoys, Scribble)
Friday, 24 August 2018
There are many ways to be smart, and frequent collaborators Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys explore several of them in this new picture book: concrete skills such as building cubbies...
Cherries (Carrie Gallasch, illus by Sara Acton, Little Hare)
Friday, 24 August 2018
Cherries skilfully evokes the hazy joys of summer and the pleasure of anticipation. Two children enjoy a range of summertime activities while they wait for the cherries to ripen, from...
Invisible Jerry (Adam Wallace, illus by Giuseppe Poli, EK Books)
Friday, 24 August 2018
It’s hard to imagine any reader not relating to Jerry’s sense of being ‘invisible’ to those around him—he feels isolated at school and it seems nobody appreciates his worth as...
Night Walk (Alison Binks, Berbay)
Friday, 24 August 2018
This second picture book from Melbourne artist Alison Binks will appeal to gentle souls. In Night Walk, a young boy named Caspar enjoys a night-time adventure while camping with his...
Tales from the Inner City (Shaun Tan, A&U)
Friday, 24 August 2018
This extraordinary companion to Shaun Tan’s 2008 book Tales from Outer Suburbia taps into our subconscious, our ancient primitive longings, and our need for love, acceptance and understanding. In this...
The Truth App: Liars Book One (Jack Heath, Scholastic)
Friday, 24 August 2018
Jarli thinks his latest app could be a big hit: the Truth App can tell when someone is lying by analysing their voice. Jarli doesn’t see a problem with this...
The Rift (Rachael Craw, Walker Books)
Friday, 24 August 2018
Meg is on her way back to Black Water Island after a long absence. Black Water Island is the home of the Rift, a tear between our dimension and another,...
Under the Southern Cross (Frané Lessac, Walker Books)
Thursday, 2 August 2018
There have been many picture books about the sights of Australia but not many have touched upon its night-time attractions. Frané Lessac corrects this oversight in her gorgeously illustrated new...
Monster Party (Children of Rawa Community School, with Jane Godwin and Alison Lester, Magabala)
Thursday, 2 August 2018
Alison Lester and Jane Godwin have proven yet again that collaborating with children can help realise joyous storytelling and delightful illustrations. Monster Party is a picture book made with the...
Scapegoat (Ava Keyes, illus by Aleksandra Schmidt, Little Steps)
Thursday, 2 August 2018
There are plenty of picture books in the market that deal with bullying, but very few address the subject of being bullied at home, as Scapegoat does. Author Ava Keyes...
Girl Running, Boy Falling (Kate Gordon, Rhiza Edge)
Thursday, 2 August 2018
Kate Gordon’s Girl Running, Boy Falling deals subtly and sensitively with teen suicide, which is no mean feat. It is heartening to know that it is gradually becoming less of...
What the Woods Keep (Katya de Becerra, A&U Children’s)
Thursday, 2 August 2018
Hayden Holland is different from most other teenagers. Her mother disappeared in weird circumstances, and her father moved them to the city, away from the small Colorado town of Promise...
Everything I’ve Never Said (Samantha Wheeler, UQP)
Thursday, 2 August 2018
Everything I’ve Never Said is a middle-grade novel that gently explores disability in young people and how it impacts families. Ava has Rett Syndrome and has spent 11 years of...
Wide Big World (Maxine Beneba Clarke, illus by Isobel Knowles, Lothian)
Thursday, 2 August 2018
Wide Big World is a cheerful and direct celebration of difference that uses the natural wonders of the world to highlight the diversity of experiences around us. Written mainly as...
The Girl Who Fell (Violet Grace, Nero)
Thursday, 2 August 2018
Written by husband-and-wife team Kasey Edwards and Christopher Scanlon, The Girl Who Fell is the first book in a new urban fantasy trilogy. Misfit, social outcast, and orphan with a mysterious...
Waiting for Chicken Smith (David Mackintosh, Little Hare)
Thursday, 5 July 2018
The nameless narrator of this story has been coming to the same beach with his family for summer holidays for many years. He’s there this year with his sister and...
The Institute of Fantastical Inventions: Book One (Dave Leys, illus by Shane Ogilvie, Harbour Publishing)
Thursday, 5 July 2018
Brilliant super-scientist Leo McGuffin works at the Institute of Fantastical Inventions, a laboratory that delivers creative, high-concept solutions to realising people’s fantasies. Be it a desire to fly, play underwater...
I Had Such Friends (Meg Gatland-Veness, Pantera Press)
Thursday, 5 July 2018
Hamish is a nobody. Less than a nobody. A poor year 12 farm boy with one friend—who is an even bigger loser. But his world is suddenly turned upside down...
Grumpy Bear, Grouchy Bear (Lynn Ward, illus by Monty Lee, Yellow Brick Books)
Thursday, 5 July 2018
Bear is desperately hungry and searching everywhere for food. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t catch anything to eat. A series of accidents distracts him from his hunt...
Maddie’s First Day (Penny Matthews, illus by Liz Anelli, Walker Books)
Thursday, 5 July 2018
Written for preschoolers who may be feeling nervous about their next educational chapter, Penny Matthews’ picture book takes us through the exhilarating journey of a little girl’s first day at...
Leaf Stone Beetle (Ursula Dubosarsky, illus by Gaye Chapman, Dirt Lane Press)
Thursday, 7 June 2018
This gentle fable presents a delicate perspective on the cyclical patterns of life in the natural world, where seasons and the weather can both offer adventure and prompt quiet philosophical...
Off the Track (Cristy Burne, illus by Amanda Burnett, Fremantle Press)
Thursday, 7 June 2018
Cristy Burne’s latest work of adventure fiction takes us off the beaten track and deep into the Australian bush. Harry isn’t thrilled about spending a weekend hiking with his mum,...
The Dog with Seven Names (Dianne Wolfer, Penguin)
Thursday, 7 June 2018
This book for middle readers uses the experiences of a dog with many owners to tell stories of Australia during wartime. While her family watches the running of the 1939...
I Am Out with Lanterns (Emily Gale, Random House)
Thursday, 31 May 2018
I Am Out with Lanterns is nuanced, complex and thoroughly readable. Told from multiple perspectives, it follows a kaleidoscope of characters as it explores community, connections, and the desire to...
After the Lights Go Out (Lili Wilkinson, A&U)
Thursday, 31 May 2018
Emergency drills, bug-out bags, a secret underground bunker with a year’s supply of food—life’s a little different when your dad’s a doomsday prepper. Seventeen-year-old Pru Palmer and her two younger...
