Kelli Anne Hawkins, Birdbrain, HarperCollins Publishers, September 2022, 288 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781460759219 Homeschooled Hadley lives in a caravan park with her Dad. She has a passion for learning, budgies and books and seemingly endless tolerance for her Dad’s crazy money making schemes and tendency to listen to a bird for advice. One very normal day, a group of strange officials come knocking on the caravan door to tell Hadley she is a princess and her dad, a King of the small, relatively unknown European country, Ludrovia. Hadley sets off for a new life in a new land…
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Emily S. Smith (text) and Peter Olczyk (illustrator), Kora Kerplunk’s Travelling Tongue, Larrikin House, February 2022, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922503206 I’m with Kora Kerplunk’s tongue – EWWW!! And that is exactly what’s going to get a whole lot of kids giggling over this book. Kora Kerplunk has the disgusting habit of licking all sorts of gross things, and when her tongue decides that it’s had enough, it runs away to travel the world and taste all sorts of things that are much nicer than boogers and paint. The message of Kora Kerplunk’s story leans towards a…
Leisa Stewart-Sharpe (text) and Helen Shoesmith (illustrator), Wild Life, The Extraordinary Adventures of Sir David Attenborough, Hachette, May 2022, 32 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781526364159 We are huge David Attenborough fans in our household. We love watching each new David Attenborough documentary series, marvelling at the natural world captured and relating to his passion for wild life. When I received the picture book Wild Life, The Extraordinary Life of Sir David Attenborough to review, I was understandably beside myself with joy. This charming picture book details the life of David Attenborough. Starting with his early life and his passion…
Ashleigh Barton (text) and Martina Heiduczek (illustrator), How Do You Say I Love You?, ABC Books, August 2022, 32 pp., RRP $22.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780733342172 Barton and Heiduczek have previously collaborated on the popular books What Do You Call Your Grandpa?, What Do You Call Your Grandma? and What Do You Do to Celebrate? Their new collaboration is a delightfully inclusive picture book introducing young children to the many ways we say ‘I love you’ around the world. Each bright double spread shows children going about their day, and saying ‘I love you’ in their native language (including Auslan). Heiduczek’s illustrations are…
Coral Vass (text) and Nicky Johnston (illustrator), Jørn’s Magnificent Imagination, EK Books, October 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922539144 Jørn’s Magnificent Imagination tells the story of the architect who designed the Sydney Opera House. Author Carol Vass takes the reader is on a journey throughout Jørn’s life, including his childhood where his interest in ideas begins and flourishes, influenced by the things around him – swans, flowers, seashells, even his orange peels at breakfast. As he grows Jørn’s ideas grow too until he has his most magnificent idea yet. Throughout his life not everyone had loved his ideas,…
Nova Weetman, The Jammer, University of Queensland Press, October 2022, 288 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780702265426 Twelve year old Fred, better known as ‘Fred or Dead’ on the roller derby track, is faced with unimaginable challenges as she grieves her Mum’s sudden passing. Fred and her Dad endeavour on a spontaneous trip to Melbourne for a chance to heal from the recent heartbreak. While her Dad copes by surrounding himself with his wife’s childhood family and friends, Fred struggles to open up and share memories of her mum. She even loses her passion for derby and throws her…
Andrew Dittmer (text) and Jenni Goodman (illustrator), Snuffy, New Holland Publishers, March 2022, 32 pp., RRP$22.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760792640 Snuffy is a little dog who loves to sniff! When Snuffy goes on a trip to the beach with her human, Grum, he warns her …if that nuisance nose causes trouble again, there’ll be no more beach trips. Which means, of course, that Snuffy’s sniffing causes all sorts of dramas, until, that is, her sniffing saves the day. Snuffy is a book that begs to be read aloud, just as the author Andrew Dittmer intended. The text is clear, sometimes swooping…
Rebecca Marshallsay (text) and Vaughan Duck (illustrator), Facing the Wave, Larrikin House, April 2022, 24 pp., RRP $14.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922503701 Facing the Wave is a story about bravery, facing fears and the joy of the ocean. What a delightful story! Jude and his family love the beach and especially riding the waves. Although Jude can swim, dive and snorkel he feels that surfing is just a ‘bridge too far’ or more to the point ‘a wave too far’. His parents and his sister Lucy impress with their surfing speed, skills and tricks, whilst Dad is the ultimate laid back, cruisy, surfie dude…
Kate Pankhurst, Fantastically Great Women Artists and Their Stories, Bloomsbury, February 2022, 192 pp., RRP $17.40 (pbk), ISBN 9781526615343 Written by Kate Pankhurst, bestselling author and illustrator of the internationally successful Fantastically Great Women books, Fantastically Great Women Artists and their Stories is a celebration of just some of the trailblazing female artists who have left their mark on the world. ‘Women are the creative geniuses behind some of the world’s most daring and influential pieces of artwork. Using pencils, paintbrushes or even their bare hands, these artists tell stories that bring joy, encourage hope and inspire activism. They’ve shown…
Kiah Thomas, The Callers, HarperCollins Publishers, May 2022, 224 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781460762141 Quintus Octavius, or Quin for short, is about to sit the test to be admitted as a Caller. Everyone in his family can do it – conjure items out of thin air by calling their names – except him. And it is unheard of for an Octavius not to be a Caller. His mother and sister are experts but nothing he tries works, so he is understandably stressed. The continent of Elipsom has a depleted environment so the only way to get enough food is…