Sophie Masson (text), and Cheryl Orsini (illustrator), Four on the Run, Christmas Press, September 2020, 72 pp., RRP $13.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780648194576 I’ve always loved watching children play, their imaginations taking hold as they create lives and voices for inanimate objects. Four on the Run is much like a storyline taken from a child’s playtime – four vehicles with distinct personalities set off on an adventure that tests friendships and puts them in danger. The vehicles have heard they are to be sold to the scrap yard and so they run away, encountering traffic jams, police cars, musical performances, and a daring escapade in a monster truck arena. The book speeds through seven bite-sized…
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Jackie Hosking (text), Leah Russack (illustrator), Temper Tabitha, Larrikin House, August 2020, 32 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780648728719. Temper Tabitha is a fun and colourful picture book aimed at ages 3-8 exploring how children sometimes express their wants in big ways. Although tales about ‘meltdown’ and ‘toddler tantrum’ behaviour of children could easily over-simplify a very complex issue in child development, that doesn’t happen with this story. As we find out through Tabitha’s experiences while out shopping with her mum, adults are just as capable of bad behaviour! The strong message in this story is that exhibiting behaviour that puts others at risk is something we can all relate to. Tabitha’s experience helps readers to discover some…
Trent Jamieson (text) & Rovina Cai (illustrator), The Giant and the Sea, Lothian Children’s Books, May 2020, 32 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780734418876. ‘The sea is rising because of your machine. That is all I know, and all I can tell you. It must be turned off.’ ‘We will not let you turn off our machine. How dare you suggest it?’ ‘I cannot make you turn off your machine. But the sea will, and then it will be too late. The sea is rising.’ This is the tale of a giant who stands sentry by the sea. She warns a brave girl of the impending danger of the…
Polly Marsden (text), and Chris Nixon (illustrator), The Bushfire Book, Hachette, August 2020, $19.99 (hardback), ISBN 9780734420077. As we approach summer, many of us are reminded of the bushfires that devastated so much of Victoria and NSW earlier this year. At the time, news of the fires – the imminent danger, loss of homes, lives, and wildlife – was inescapable. Articles began appearing in social media news feeds on how to talk to children about natural disasters, as parents became more aware of the mental-health impact of the devastation, whether children were directly affected by the fires or seeing it on the news. The Bushfire Book: How to…
Philip Bunting, Not Cute, Scholastic Australia, July 2020, 32pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760972387. Not Cute is the latest offering from author and illustrator, Philip Bunting who wrote and illustrated Mopoke, Koalas Eat Gum Leaves and Kookaburras Love to Laugh. Not Cute tells the story of Quokka, who happens to be a very cute Quokka. But Quokka is not happy with being described as cute, not one bit. Quokka would much rather be dangerous, scary, or ferocious. The book’s message is gently timed. As Quokka tries and fails to be perceived as anything other than cute, his annoyance escalates. Finally, he does something truly regrettable. The end pages include a quote from fable…
Danielle Binks, The Year the Maps Changed, Lothian Children’s Books, April 2020, 320pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780734419712. Fred’s mother died when she was six and she’s always seen her step-father Luca as her dad, but now she has to share him and her house with his girlfriend Anika, and Anika’s son Sam. Things are changing fast, and Fred isn’t sure how to handle it all. In Sorrento, Victoria, where Fred lives things are changing too. It’s 1999, and a group of Kosovar-Albanian refugees have been brought to a government ‘safe haven’ just outside of Sorrento. Through Fred’s eyes, we see…
Rory H. Mather (text) and Jesus Lopez (illustrator), Vlad’s Bad Breath, Larrikin House, September 2020, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780648728771. Vlad’s Bad Breath is Rory H. Mather’s debut title, the first in a series of stories focused on self-care, with the Vlad sequel, Love’s Not Dead coming in 2021. This is the tale of a boy named Vlad, A boy whose breath smelt super bad. Vlad refused to brush his teeth, (both on top and underneath). It has been an awfully long time since little Vlad has brushed his teeth and his breath is putrid enough to stress out the cat and scare away visitors. Vlad’s sister offers some helpful suggestions and his mother begs him to change but beneath…
Penny Harris (text) and Winnie Zhou (illustrator), Pinney the Winner: Story about Selflessness, Big Sky Publishing, July 2020, 32pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922265784. Penny Harris (text) and Winne Zhou (illustrator), 1, 2, 3 Here I Come: Story About Fairness, Big Sky Publishing, July 2020, 32 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922265739. These two titles are part of a series designed to stimulate meaningful conversations with young readers about everyday issues. Their aim is to promote emotional intelligence, positive social behaviour and well-being. They have been based on learning outcomes from Australian Government Frameworks aligning with social and emotional themes, for early childhood readers. Ginney, Pinney and their friends…
Tony Wilson (text), Laura Wood (illustrator), Humpty Dumpty Sat on the Slide, Scholastic Australia, August 2020, 32 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781743834770. Whilst we all think we can predict a shattering turn of events when Humpty Dumpty takes to his local playground, with Tony Wilson and Laura Wood at the helm there are giggles and unexpected turns in Humpty Dumpty Sat on the Slide. With their success in The Cow Tripped Over the Moon, which was read by hundreds and thousands of children for ALIA’s Simultaneous Storytime in 2017, in this refreshed fairy tale, Humpty tackles an everyday challenge. He tries to make friends at school and to navigate parties and playgrounds. As Humpty is a little…
Sophie Kirtley, The Wild Way Home, Bloomsbury, August 2020, 256pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781526616289 Twelve-year-old Charlie Merriam runs away when his baby brother, who he has longed for, is born and is very sick. It’s Charlie’s birthday and all he wants is to cuddle his baby brother but the reality of the pale baby and worried parents is just too much for him. He runs into the local forest, a forest he has grown up playing in and knows like the back of his hand. He finds an injured boy face-down in a stream and saves his life but there is something strange about the boy and suddenly the forest seems less…