Sharon J Boyce (text) and Suzanne Houghton (illustrator), Who is at the Zoo?, Larrikin House, October 2020, 36pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780648804963 The day begins like any other, until you walk into your bathroom and see a tiger on the loo and a hippo in the tub! This leads you into an adventure of a day where you find animals of all kinds in every conceivable situation – making breakfast, doing the washing, laying carpet, giving swimming lessons and even driving the firetrucks! All of this will leave you wondering, with all the animals busy throughout the city – who is…
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Graeme Base, The Tree, Penguin Books Australia, November 2020, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760897048 Graeme Base is the much-loved author and illustrator of Australian classics Animalia, Uno’s Garden and The Waterhole and his distinctive illustration style is recognisable immediately in his latest book, The Tree. For the unfamiliar, Base’s world-building imagery is a beautiful blend of flora and fauna with exquisite detail down to the smallest leaf. It’s these details that delight children, when as they look closer, can spot a hidden panda bear or cheeky monkey nestled behind the leaves in the tree. These fun features will hold even the wriggliest child’s attention. The Tree is a simple story of a cow and a duck and a…
Andrew McGahan, Treasures of the Deep: More Tales of the Ship Kings, Allen & Unwin, November 2020, 320pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760524845 Treasures of the Deep is a collection of short stories set in the nautical fantasy world of the four novels of the Ship Kings series, published between 2011 and 2016 (The Coming of the Whirlpool, The Voyage of the Unquiet Ice, The War of the Four Isles and The Ocean of the Dead). There are four main stories, two of which have multiple parts: The Naming of the Chloe, The Blinding of Mother Gale, The Wreck of the Bent Wing and The Fish. The stories have a…
Katrina Germein (text) and Tom Jellett (illustrator), Shoo You Crocodile, Little Book Press, July 2020, 32pp., RRP $16399 (pbk), ISBN 9780648551041 An engaging and fun story for preschool and early childhood aged readers. When the class visits the museum, they are confronted by regular exhibits but also by a crocodile with big teeth who wants to bite their feet. How to scare it away? With stomps and clangs and roars, of course. When a second crocodile appears in another room, the process must be repeated. And what to do about the dinosaur? Jellett’s trademark vibrant and expressive illustrations give the reader plenty to…
Sigi Cohen (text), and Matty Mitchell (illustrator), Zombie School Teachers, Larrikin House, October 2020, 36 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780648804925 Irreverence, lashings of Zombie-gore, ludicrous adults and screaming school children are the hallmarks of a wild tale that’s carried by clever rhyming couplets all the way to a suitable conclusion. The full-page, colourful illustrations offer a lively cartoon world that suggests all sorts of chaotic action. The bloodshot eyes and enormous mouths are part of the shocking delight one can find in this book. And the clever wall posters in classrooms and corridors along the way offer amusement to those who want to search the details of these…
Chris Colfer, A Tale of Witchcraft: Tale of Magic (Book 2), Hachette Children’s Books, September 2020, 448 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781510202191 Brystal Evergreen and her friends have saved the world from the evil Snow Queen and secured worldwide acceptance for the magical community. When a mysterious new witch named Mistress Mara arrives at the Academy, the celebrations are cut short. As Mistress Mara begins recruiting faeries into her rival school of Witchcraft, it becomes clear she has dark intentions. Elsewhere, the fragile peace is on the brink of shattering. A dangerous and centuries old clan known as the Righteous…
Cristy Burne, Aussie STEM Stars: Fiona Wood, Wild Dingo Press, September 2020, 168pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925893281 Dianne Wolfer, Aussie STEM Stars: Munjed Al Muderis, Wild Dingo Press, September 2020, 168pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925893373 Claire Saxby, Aussie STEM Stars: Georgia Ward-Fear, Wild Dingo Press, September 2020, 168pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925893342 The idea behind this new series from Wild Dingo Press is to tell the inspiring stories of world-leading Australians in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and maths. These first three titles cover two surgeons readers may have heard of and a young conservationist who has made a name for…
Kate Gordon, Aster’s Good, Right Things, Yellow Brick Books, November 2020, 196 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780648492573 Eleven-year-old Aster is living with anxiety. She’s intent on doing a ‘good, right thing’ every day, believing everything will go wrong if she doesn’t make someone’s life better. Her only friend is a rabbit on the school grounds … till she meets its owner, a home-schooled boy her age who has his own mental health challenges. This #ownstory middle-grade novel, based on the author’s life-long struggles with anxiety, tackles serious issues with great insight including bullying, mental health, parental separation, and gender stereotypes. The story is easy to breeze through, thanks to its first person, confessional narrative, and its evocative language. Aster’s description of her ‘good, right thing’ for the day…
Monique Mulligan (text) and Kat Fox (illustrator), Alexandra Rose and her Icy-Cold Toes, Serenity Press, May 2020, 32 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780648788720 Children and parents alike can identify with the dreaded icy cold toes syndrome. Children are the culprits, parents the victims. This makes this rather silly little story relatable for young readers, preschool aged especially. It also sends a call to arms, so parents be warned; icy toes may be about to strike! Monique Mulligan, author, is one of the authors from Serenity Press’s children’s imprint, Serenity Kids, which is a small, independent publishing company. Mulligan’s previous titles for children include My Silly Mum. Whilst the target age…
Kate Gordon, Aster’s Good, Right Things, Yellow Brick Books, November 2020, 196 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780648492573 Tasmanian author Kate Gordon has done a brave thing in this novel as her central character is a person who suffers from anxiety, depression and low self- esteem. This can make for dreary reading, but such is Kate’s skill in presenting Aster’s inner life that we happily follow her journey to friendship and hope. Since her mother left, eleven-year-old Aster does a secret good, right thing, something to help another person because she fears further loss. She thinks she is ‘beyond help, the report said so’ (p. 23), but gradually, over the course…