Empowering Resources provide a collection of ‘resources that transform understanding and initiate conversations.’ Their books ‘nurture, educate and empower children all over the world’ as they simply yet effectively explore things like anxiety, death, depression, and body safety, along with self-doubt, self-love and acceptance, relationships and life events. Chelsea Davies (text) and Lisa Coutts (illustrator), Come Home Ella, Empowering Resources, September 2020, 36pp., RRP $17.00 (pbk), ISBN 9781925592351 When baby sister, Ella, arrives into the world prematurely there are new feelings and experiences to navigate. Ella’s big sister (never named as anything else) sadly understands that hospital is the best place for her new baby sister so that…
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Chris McKimmie, Colin Cockroach Goes to Caloundra, Ford Street Publishing, October 2020, 32 pp., RRP $16.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781925804553 I’ve never been to Caloundra but would love to venture there, thanks to this whimsical tale of a cockroach’s accidental holiday when humans roach-bomb his house. Hiding out in a box of groceries loaded in the family car, Colin Cockroach goes to Caloundra, where he takes in the sights before trying his wings at surfing, soon clearing the ocean. It seems, whenever and wherever humans spot a cockroach, they flee! The deceptively simple illustrations, with coloured pencils, ink, watercolours, and gouache, are a trademark of McKimmie, the author/illustrator of…
Renee Treml, Sherlock Bones and The Sea Creature Feature, Allen and Unwin, September 2020, 288pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760525262 Sherlock Bones is a tawny frogmouth skeleton, and this is his second quest to solve mysteries at the State Natural History Museum. With his trusty sidekicks, a stuffed bird called Watts and bandicoot named Grace, they’re determined to track down a strange new creature in the museum. While our intrepid heroes go about their detective duties, there are loads of fun facts hidden in the panels; we find out about Crytozoologists and what they do, legendary creatures of folklore, facts about octopi, rainforests, sloths and bowerbirds. Young readers will love discovering these fascinating facts hidden in the panels. They’ll also discover why it’s so…
Caroline Touhey (text) and Nicky Johnston (illustrator), Piper Picks the Perfect Pet, Ford Street Publishing, 32pp., RRP $16.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781925804591 My dad says I can choose a pet. But I’m not sure which pet to get. Piper goes through many options – dogs that are fluffy, scruffy, bouncy, flouncy. Then a range of cats. Or perhaps a donkey, axolotl, goat or lizard? There is a pet show at school, and it seems there are awards for all manner of pets. Piper starts looking in books, before taking her clipboard all around, to observe a potential match. This is a lovely rhyming…
Ailsa Wild (text) and Aviva Reed (illustrator), Briony Barr and Dr Gregory Crocetti (creators) The forest in the tree: how fungi shape the earth, CSIRO Publishing in collaboration with Scale Free Network, September 2020, 50 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781486313310 This is the first of the Small Friends Books series that I have seen, and it is amazing. The first half of the book is a picture book narrative telling the story of a fungal spore as it wakes from its dormant state and sends out tendrils to absorb nutrients and water. It enters into a symbiotic relationship with a cacao tree and the fungal threads branch out to form a ‘forest’ within the tree. Then the…
Penny Min Ferguson, Nala the Koala, Penguin Random House Australia, September 2020, 24pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760898830 The loss of koala habitat, and its consequences, are tough topics to talk about with young children. In this book, very simple text leads us through the journey of one koala looking for a new home. Nala looks sad as she walks along, swag on her back, seeking a place where she can live. She finds a beach, a street, a farm. Not for her. She meets a kangaroo and then an echidna. But she needs a different kind of place. Things…
Elliot Perlman (text) and Laura Stitzel (illustrations), Catvinkle & the missing tulips (Catvinkle, #2), Penguin Random House, Australia, October 2020, RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760894382 Catvinkle and the missing tulips is the sequel to Catvinkle, which was Elliot Perlman’s foray into children’s literature, having established himself as a best-selling author of novels for adults. In this second book the reader is re-introduced to the haughty, vain cat, Catvinkle, and her loyal, kind dog friend, Ula, and a host of other anthropomorphised domestic animals. The story begins with the human children, Anja and Ferdi, asking Catvinkle and Ula to help their lamb friends, Shepsil and Lambken, who have been wrongly accused of eating the tulips of Amsterdam and consequently in danger of being banished. The solution to the problem seems obvious – expert evidence to verify…
The announcement of the Book of the Year Awards was made on Friday October 16 (delayed due to Covid). It was a virtual event, and the entire ceremony can be viewed here. A list of the winners can be downloaded here as a pdf file, and there is a lot of other information available about each book as well. *Each book is linked to its Reading Time review. Older Readers WINNER HONOUR BOOK HONOUR BOOK Younger Readers WINNER HONOUR BOOK HONOUR BOOK Early Childhood WINNER HONOUR BOOK HONOUR BOOK Picture Book WINNER HONOUR BOOK HONOUR BOOK Eve Pownall Information Book…
Chris McKimmie, I Need a Parrot, Ford Street Publishing, November 2019, 32pp., $24.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781925804287 I Need a Parrot is a very amusing offering by Chris McKimmie, author and illustrator of Good Morning Mr Pancakes and Colin Cockroach Goes to Caloundra. I Need a Parrot tells the story of a young boy who NEEDS a parrot. He doesn’t need a pretend parrot, a turkey or a whale. He is aware of the responsibilities involved in owning a parrot and is willing to shoulder them. He bargains, he cajoles because he NEEDS a parrot. I won’t give away the ending,…
Jasmine Seymour, Baby Business, Magabala Books, June 2019, 32pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925768671 Baby Business is Jasmine Seymour’s first picture book and it is hard to imagine it will be her last. It is a wonderfully gentle book about a traditional baby smoking ceremony. The book invites the reader to enter into the experience through the use of Darug words, a step-by-step explanation of the ceremony, and beautiful illustrations. Jasmine’s passion for her culture and heritage shine through in her writing and illustrations. I would recommend this book for educators, parents and carers, and children (aged 3+ years). It…