Duncan Smith and Nicole Godwin (text) and Jandamarra Cadd (illustrator), We Are Australians, Wild Dog Books, March 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781742036328 What does it meant to be a citizen of Australia? Australia is home to all people of different walks of life, and all these aspects are brought to life through the vivid words and the emotive imagery displayed in We Are Australians. Each word and stroke of art is simple but realistic, and reflects the true colours and textures of Australian people and the land on which we share. Much praise goes to Duncan…
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Martin Chatterton, Scorpion Falls, Ford Street Publishing, August 2022, 272 pp., RRP $18.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781922696090 Theo Sumner is a 14 year-old boy, who has, he tells us, never left his home town of Scorpion Falls. He sets out to tell his story in a first-person narrative, a style that allows the reader to experience some of Theo’s emotions in a powerful way. In places the work is almost metafictive as Theo draws the reader’s attention directly to the fact that he is writing the story and whether or not he is skilled at doing so. Theo is a bit…
Louise Bassett, The Hidden Girl, Walker Books, August 2022, 352 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760654788 Melati wins a scholarship to an elite girls’ school in Melbourne and that move plunges her into a challenge she could not have anticipated. She tells us her story in first-person narrative. Melati comes to the school with a bad reputation and her ability to overcome this and make a fresh start is compromised right from the start when Libby, one of the rich girls at the school, takes an immediate dislike to her. Libby is the leader of a small gang of bullies…
Sue Whiting, Tilda, Walker Books Australia, September 2022, 272 pp., RRP 17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760654634 Tilda is terrified by the sight of the Brushwood Convent and Orphanage for Girls. She is especially frightened today as this is where Papa will be leaving her while he goes away to fight in the Boer War in South Africa. Papa is all the family that Tilda has since her Mama died. Life has been very tough for both of them. But this is the toughest time of all because Papa is leaving to become a soldier—a good opportunity for him to earn enough…
Nicki Greenberg, The Detective’s Guide to Ocean Travel, Affirm Press, February 2021, 128 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922400673 I expected to enjoy this book, it was shortlisted in the 2022 CBCA Book of the Year Younger Readers category. What I didn’t expect was to be thoroughly engaged and entertained by The Detective’s Guide to Ocean Travel. The Detective’s Guide tells the story of Pepper Stark, the daughter of Captain Stark the captain of the magnificent RMS Aquitania, a luxury ocean liner. Through tragic circumstances Pepper lost her mother at a very young age. As a thirteen-year-old Pepper manages to…
Ursula Dubosarsky (text) and Andrew Joyner (illustrator), Mary and Marcus, The Crazy Dance and Other Stories, ABC Books, March 2022, 240 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780733339844 A ‘very happy panda’ named Mary, who loves to sing, dance and play the ukulele, and Marcus the non-singing, non-dancing and non-ukulele-playing snake seem an unusual pair, but in fact they are the best of friends. The two are featured in five fun stories in this beginner chapter book. The spirited characters of Mary and Marcus come alive with Dubosarsky’s expressive narration and masterful control of pace. The plot lines of each story…
Fiona Wood, How to Spell Catastrophe, Pan Macmillan, April 2022, 320 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760984908 Fiona Wood’s How to Spell Catastrophe is a beautifully written middle fiction book for young readers, specifically the audience finishing primary school and starting high school. In the novel we are introduced to Nell McPherson whose character narrates her story, and we go along on her journey of finishing primary school, making new friends, trying to maintain relationships, and accepting new people into her life. The structure of the story is linear and easy to read. I would say this book could be…
Mike Lucas (text) and Daron Parton (illustrator), Let’s Build a Backyard, Hachette Australia, April 2022, 24 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780734421289 We’ll dig, we’ll build, we’ll plant, we’ll sow. We’ll make a place to play and grow. You and me: one two three…GO! Let’s Build a Backyard is the latest picture book by engineer turned author Mike Lucas. Lucas, whose first book, Olivia’s Voice, was a Notable in the 2018 CBCA Book of the Year Awards, uses simple rhymes to illustrate the steps to creating a garden – dig, plant, water, protect, enjoy! In this step-by-step rhyming instructional, kids will have…
Edith Wright (text) and Charmaine Ledden-Lewis (illustrator), Charlie’s Swim, Magabala Books, March 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922613103 The bombing of Broome and the bravery of World War II First Nations hero, Charlie D’Antonie, inspires Charlie’s Swim. Written by Charlie’s niece Edith Wright and illustrated by First Nations children’s artist Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, it is an important First Nations children’s picture book. During WWII after the Japanese invasion of Java, more than 1000 refugees from the Dutch East Indies, many in flying boats, passed through Broome. Coastal Broome was a major refuelling point and significant Allied military base. On…
Dianne Wolfer (text) and Brian Simmonds (illustrator), The Last Light Horse, Fremantle Press, March 2022, 80 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760991302 The Last Light Horse is the final book in the award-winning Light series of World War I stories, by Dianne Wolfer. It recounts the life of Sandy, the only Australian World War I warhorse to return home. Her life was indeed eventful and interesting, seeing great cities and famous sights and undertaking important work, including as horse of the Commander in General of the Australian Forces. But there were also enormous challenges and discomforts, especially the terror of…