Tim Minchin (text) and Steve Antony (illustrator), When I Grow Up – Special Edition, Scholastic Australia, November 2020, 32 pp., RRP $29.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781743834114 If readers were lucky enough to see Tim Minchin’s hit musical Matilda, based on the beloved Roald Dahl book of the same name, the words in When I Grow Up will already be familiar. Taking the lyrics from the much-loved hit song and pairing them with imaginative illustrations, When I Grow Up is a wonderful picture book that portrays adulthood as seen through the eyes of a child. The gentle humour and insight in this…
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Tony Braithwaite, Mick the Stick Insect, Ark House Kids, August 2020, 31 pp., RRP $22.50 (pbk), ISBN 9780648919414 An introduction to the world of stick insects as told by Mick, who should know a bit about the topic considering he is a Stick Insect himself. On first reading this book I found the verse a little clumsy, with rhyming that felt misplaced and disjointed. However, on subsequent readings I discovered a rhythm to the words, and felt it read much better aloud than it did silently. A lot of expression can be inserted into an oral reading of the story, and I…
Philip Bunting, Wombat, Scholastic Australia, November 2020, 32pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760972370 Wombat is the latest adventure from author and illustrator, Philip Bunting who brought us Kookaburras Love to Laugh and Koalas Eat Gum Leaves. Wombat is a rhythmic tale capturing the ‘unseen world of the wombat’ in a fun and humorous way. Philip Bunting’s intention with his simple, yet effective style of writing and illustrating is to create fun reading opportunities that enhance engagement with books and literacy, which hopefully translates in children finding ‘comfort in reading and learning’. With its simple, minimal text Wombat invites readers to…
Emily Rodda (text) and Lucinda Gifford (illustrator), Elvis Eager and the Golden Egg (Monty’s Island #3), Allen & Unwin, January 2021, 176 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760876999 Here is the latest installment in the adventures of Monty and his friends on the island. There was a big storm last night, and everyone hardly got a wink of sleep. Monty and Tawny are up early and although tired, they have gathered a lot of useful things washed up on the beach. It’s not long before they discover some unusual things washed up – a golden egg and an explorer! The…
Renée Treml, Let’s Go, Little Roo!, Penguin Australia, January 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760896751 American-born Renée Treml fell in love with Australian wildlife when she moved here in 2007. Since then, she has built up a solid body of work featuring endearing illustrations of our fauna which have captured readers’ attention and been reproduced on mugs and other items. This latest book introduces Little Roo and Little Wallaby. Little Roo is a bit timid and a bit scared of anything new. She’d rather stay home than go out with Mummy and decides that staying hidden in Mummy’s…
Julie Thorndyke (text) and Nandina Vines (illustrator), Watching Through the Day, IP Kids, February 2020, 32 pp., RRP $26.00 (hbk), ISBN 9781922332073 A young child spends the day taking snaps of wildlife and narrates in verse. Set in a coastal location, the reader experiences soldier crabs, a dragonfly, pelicans, tree-frog and many more. After a range of creatures we see a lazy cat who appears to have spent most of the day dozing before the narrator displays the photos from the story. This is such a likely thing for young ones to do and is a perfect springboard for such…
Sharon Davey, Bears Don’t Wear Shoes, New Frontier Publishing, December 2020, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922326096 Suzy and her family have moved to a new house in a new town in a new country. Everyone is extra busy—firstly packing and then unpacking—and Suzy is feeling a bit left out; she has no-one to talk to. So, she puts a note on the back gate requesting a friend. The very next morning Suzy sees a Bear at the back gate and immediately brings him inside to be interviewed for the position of ‘friend’. Bear answers Suzy’s questions passing all…
Rove McManus, Disgusting McGrossface on Holiday, Scholastic Australia, November 2020, 24pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760973827 Disgusting McGrossface on Holiday shares the next adventure of Rove McManus’ curiously intriguing character of the same name. Disgusting McGrossface has followed the family on holiday and as usual is up to his grotty best – leaving sand everywhere, using pond slime as sunscreen, and peeing in the pool. Rove’s punchy and rhyming writing style is sure to have audiences laughing out loud or in fits of giggles. Combined with the colourful and honest illustrations, readers are transported to a tropical holiday destination, complete…
Archie Roach (text) and Ruby Hunter (illustrator), Took the Children Away, Simon & Schuster, October 2020, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760857219 This story’s right this story’s trueI would not tell lies to youLike the promises they did not keepAnd how they fenced us in like sheep So begins Archie Roach’s iconic lyrics from his deeply personal song Took the Children Away in this special and powerful 30th anniversary edition picture book about the Stolen Generations, the injustices that they suffered and survived, and the reconnection and hope that prevailed. The lyrics from the award-winning song, Took the Children…
Giles Andreae (text) and Guy Parker-Rees (illustrator), Love from Giraffes Can’t Dance, Hachette, January 2021, 32pp., RRP $14.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781408364833 This lovely little hardcover book, a follow up to the ever-popular Giraffe’s Can’t Dance, is a perfect gift for any early reader to be shared with a loved one. Love can make you do many things, like somersault, skip and boogie. It can allow you to hear music in the shining stars and make your heart sing joyfully. But, of all the things to love, Giraffe says the very best is you! The flow of language in this rhyming…