Katrina Nannestad (text) and Cheryl Orsini (illustrator), Mim and the Woeful Wedding (The Travelling Bookshop, #2), ABC Books, March 2022, 240 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780733341663 What could be better than a bookshop filled with books? A travelling bookshop, of course, that is much bigger on the inside than it looks and is filled with books that will change your life. This second book in The Travelling Bookshop series, is as wondrous as the first. It tells the story of Dad, Mim and her younger brother Nat, who live in a travelling bookshop drawn by their horse, Flossy, who…
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Michelle Guzel (text) and Andrew Plant (illustrator), Two Puggles, Ford Street Publishing, October 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922696151 Michelle Guzel presents a remarkable story that follows Spike and Ducky, two charming puggles that grow up in a loving and caring family. While Spike doesn’t realise that he looks somewhat different to his mother and sibling, others comment on his appearance. Spike grows up in a family of platypuses and soon realises that he cannot dive like Ducky or eat like Ducky. Instead, he’s really good at digging and loves to eat ants! But that doesn’t make his…
Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene, The Offline Diaries, July 2022, HarperCollins, 247 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780008444785 Ade is the new girl in town, in a new school and with a new step-dad who she blames for taking her away from her home and her friends. Suffice to say she hates everything, except writing in her diary. That is, until she meets Shanice entirely by chance. Together they discover that they going to the same school, Archbishop Academy, and are in the same class. Shanice is an outsider at school, a studious girl who likes writing in her journal,…
Jordan Collins (text) and Phil Lesnie (illustrator), Where?, Allen & Unwin, July 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760526382 Where? began life as a slam poem that Jordan wrote as a 14-year-old, tired of being asked ‘Where are you from? Why is your skin that colour?’ By evoking the planets, stars, mountains and seas, Jordan explains that we all share a common heritage. The book raises complex issues of racism that confront us every day and would certainly provide a beginning for broader discussion with older children. The illustrations are excellent, particularly the sensitive endpapers that move from footprints…
Cathy Freeman with Coral Vass (text) and Tannya Harricks (illustrator), The Heartbeat of the Land, Larrikin House, September 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922503848 The full-page oil-paint illustrations on each page of this book, including its gorgeous endpapers, feature Australian plants and animals—and creates the beating heart of the book. The story is narrated by a young Cathy Freeman as a child who loves to run across her land chasing the wungar (the sun) high into the sky and back again at night. The story features many words from the Kuku Yalanji language, which is the language of…
Bob Graham, Jigsaw: A Puzzle in the Post, Walker Books Australia, July 2022, 40 pp., RRP $27.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781529503319 Surely the powers that be are considering Bob Graham as the next Australian Children’s Laureate. With a long and decorated career, he is still producing books with characters who are relatable, illustrations that are instantly recognisable, and stories with real staying power in what is a star-studded field. Jigsaw: A Puzzle in the Post has all that we have come to expect from Bob Graham’s books. A family, who appears neither remarkable nor noteworthy, receive a jigsaw puzzle from an unknown…
Elizabeth Pulsford (text) and Francisco Foseca (illustrator), But Why?, Ethicool Books, June 2022, 32 pp., RRP $22.00 (pbk), ISBN 9780648872382 Hazel the Hare hops around the forest asking every creature she meets leading questions about their motivations in life. For example, she asks an elephant, Where do you find the wisdom to command yourself with grace? A lemur, Where do you find such joy that you can always wear a smile? This is a large-format picture book, written in verse, set in a generous size type, and copiously illustrated. However, most of the concepts that the book explores are hardly…
Kayla Miller, Act, Walker Books, July 2022, 224 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 978176 0654931 Kayla Miller, Clash. Walker Books, October 2022, 224 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk) ISBN 9781760655174 The third in Kayla Miller’s graphic novel series, Act, follows Camp and Click! The series features, Olive and her bestie Willow, navigating the challenges of Grade 6. The focus for Act is the school election of student leaders. Early in the novel, Olive’s class take a field trip to see a Shakespearean play which they all enjoy. But Olive is disturbed to learn that one of her friends, Beth, missed out…
Coral Voss (text) and Aleksandra Szmidt (illustrator), Whingeville, Larrikin House, October 2022, 24 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922503961 When a picture book for young children is titled Whingeville, most adults will already guess at the storyline and the ending. And while this story doesn’t have a surprise ending or remarkable twist, it is entertaining, does have lovely rhythm and rhyme, and it has a slightly deeper layer for those willing to look. The young protagonist, Will, is a chronic complainer. He is unhappy having a shower but doesn’t like being dirty; his dinner is not up to scratch, and dessert…
Philip Waechter, A Perfect Wonderful Day with Friends, Gecko Press, June 2022, 28 pp., RRP $27.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781776574667 Translated from German, this is a delightful story about five friends – Raccoon, Fox, Badger, Crow and Bear – that will remind young and old readers alike of Winnie the Pooh and his friends. The story moves at a leisurely pace as the friends meet up and share their perfect day, sharing all the things they enjoy together. There is gentle humour and much kindness as they help each other and relish being in the country side. The detailed illustrations are…