Craig Sheather (text), and Eloise Short (illustrator) The incredible true story of Sparky the Wonder Puppy, Australian Geographic, February 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781922388100 Based on the true story of a family whose puppy ran off into the bush during the 2019-20 bushfires, this story is specifically designed to help kids talk about the destruction wrought by natural disasters. Happily, the puppy survived and so too does Sparky, in this ultimately uplifting tale of survival. The main characters, Logan and Summer, are ecstatic when they receive a puppy for Christmas. But only nine days later, a bushfire…
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Gabrielle Tozer, Can’t Say It Went to Plan, HarperCollins Children’s Books, May 2021, 384 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781460758533 A feel-good novel at its finest. Can’t Say it Went to Plan follows a week in the lives of three strangers, Zoe, Samira and Dahlia − all celebrating the end of high school in an appropriate fashion: with their dream holidays. Despite getting off to a rocky start, losing luggage, being broken up with, and making an uncomfortable decision to actively defy parents, the girls quickly embrace their new surroundings and all the possibilities of a week without curfews or…
Andrew Levins (text) and Katie Lear (illustrator), Broccoli and Spies: Nelson (Book #2), Puffin, January 2021, 163 pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760893392 In the first book of the series, Pumpkins and Aliens, Nelson Hunter hates vegetables but made the startling (and disgusting) discovery that pumpkin gives him superpowers…which is great! If it wasn’t for the pumpkin part. In this book, Nelson and his best friend, Olive Sadana, visit Nelson’s grandparents’ vegetable farm, where he discovers his grandma used to be a spy and she needs help finding out who has been stealing her pumpkins. After being force-fed broccoli by…
Matt Shanks, Round and Round the Garden, Scholastic Australia, January 2021, 16 pp., RRP $15.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781743836385 Matt Shanks captures something quintessentially Australian through his beautifully illustrated picture book images to the classic rhyme of Round and Round the Garden; a part of his nursery rhyme series. Originally a playful interactive rhyme between parent and child in which the adult would trace with their finger a circle on the child’s palm then slowly walk their fingers up the child’s arm while chanting the verse to end with a tickle under the chin; this picture book version plays on this…
James Hart, Super Geeks: Fish and Chips (Book #1), Penguin Random House Australia, March 2021, 208 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760895129 Zeek and Arnie are best friends. They do all their favourite things together – gaming, coding, inventing; that’s why they’re the SUPER GEEKS! But when Zeek comes up with a plan to become Supreme Ruler of the world, he puts their friendship to the test. To make his plan work, he’ll need two things; the super-powerful micro-processing chip that Arnie built and Arnie’s beloved pet goldfish Eleanor. When Zeek uses the chip to turn Eleanor into his computerised assistant,…
Steven Butler (text) and Steven Lenton (illustrator), Fiend of the Seven Sewers: The Nothing to See Here Hotel (Book # 4), Simon & Schuster, November 2020, 336 pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781471178757 The fourth in the Nothing to See Here Hotel series by author and illustrator combo, Steven Butler and Steven Lenton, Fiend of the Seven Sewers details the adventures of part-troll, part-human Frankie Banister. Frankie, together with his family and friends operate and live in the infamous Nothing to See Here Hotel, a getaway for monstrous and magical creatures located near Brighton in the UK. In this instalment…
Sally Anne Garland, The Little Pirate Queen, New Frontier, April 2021, 32 pp., RRP $29.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781921928833 Seafarer Lucy has been weathering the storm on a rickety raft (haven’t we all?), intent on reaching the silver shores of Faraway Island, where no one has ever set foot or learned the treasures it holds. Her creaky boat is not nearly as fancy or fast as those of the other children, and Lucy doesn’t feel nearly as brave as she pretends to be. When the children are swept away by a gigantic wave, Lucy welcomes them aboard her little boat, keeping…
Jai Hobbs & Marlies Hobbs, FLY: Financially Literate Youth, Penguin Australia, January 2021, 336 pp., RRP $29.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761041341 As parents, we want to pass on as much knowledge and wisdom as we can to our kids. We want to prevent them from making big mistakes, to fulfil their potential and to understand the world they live in so they can make good choices for themselves when we are no longer there to guide them. It can be difficult to condense years of learning and experience and pass that on to our kids in a way they will take…
Rocio Bonilla, Siblings!, Quirky Kid, January 2021, 52 pp., RRP $25.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780994155733 Imagine living with a monkey or a rhino. What if they were actually your brother or sister— causing chaos at breakfast time or bossing you around every day after school? In this unique book, Rocio Bonilla adeptly portrays the complexities of sibling relationships. There are two sides to every story— this book literally gives readers both. By flipping the book from end to end, readers can explore dual narratives. On one side, an older sister complains about her monkey of a little brother. Turn the book…
Danny Parker (text), Ruth de Vos (illustrator), Shine, Fremantle Press, March 2021, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760990213 You can’t go wrong with rhyme. This big book offers the reader a bouncy rhyming couplet across each double-page in a text that’s splashed across wildly chaotic, happy, messy, jangling scenes of a family life where there are three young children and two madly busy adults in love with them. ‘In my shiny, you’re the shine,’ gives you a flavour of the wit, poetic wordplay and cuddly-love evoked in this beautifully made book. Ruth de Vos’s illustrations in watercolour, pencil, screen-print…