Emily X.R. Pan, An Arrow to the Moon, Hachette, April 2022, 320 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781510102989 This novel is a modern-day Romeo and Juliet mixed with Chinese mythology – full of romance, magic, secrets, and fate. Hunter Yee was born with supernatural aim – the mischievous wind his ally. But everything else in his life seems to be going amiss. Haunted by his parents’ dark past and bearing the brunt of their fear and frustration, Hunter would up and leave if not for his sweet younger brother and the enchanting girl at his new school. Luna Chang has…
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Pip Harry, August & Jones, Hachette Australia, June 2022, 288 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780734420350 August is a ‘nerdy’ boy whose father is coach of the boy’s football team – and football is something August really hates. Jones is a new girl at school. She has come from the country where her parents’ farm has failed. She has also had retinoblastoma. The two are in Grade 5 and become firm friends. Jones is a kind of counterpoint to August – he is quiet and shy; she is boisterous and outspoken; she appears to be fearless while he is afraid…
Rhiân Williams (text) and Tom Jellett (illustrator), Emergency! Emergency! Vehicles to the Rescue, Wild Dog Books, March 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781742036106 As a librarian I’m often frustrated by the lack of picture books about emergency services to meet frequent borrower requests. So, an Australian published book titled Emergency! Emergency! is most welcome and relevant to Australian kids. It represents specific features of our local emergency vehicles and includes uniquely Australian emergency scenarios – Royal Flying Doctor service, a flood, an Aussie bushfire, surf rescue jet skis. And it includes one small, but important safety detail –…
Sujean Rim, Take a Breath, Allen & Unwin, April 2022, 40 pp., RRP $34.25 (hbk), ISBN 9781534492530 Bob is a bird. And he can’t fly. But that’s ok; he knows that sometimes, these things tke time. Every morning, when the other birds head out on their first flight of the day, Bob keeps himself busy on the ground. He makes friends, discovers new things, and always practices his flying. He’s doing ok. Until he isn’t. Bob starts having some very big feelings about this whole flying business. Because it’s not fair – he’s the only bird who can’t fly! What…
Armin Greder, The Inheritance, Allen & Unwin, August 2021, 36 pp., RRP $29.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760526788 This haunting tale has been shortlisted on the CBCA Picture Book of the Year award for 2022. Pitched at older readers, it has a fable quality telling the story of a group of siblings who inherit vast wealth and use it to further ‘the corporation’. The sister of the three brothers tries to make a case for ‘thinking again’. But the brothers acknowledge she ‘had always been odd’ and forge ahead. ‘What will become of our children?’ the sister asks. ‘They will inherit the…
Krys Saclier (text) and Cathy Wilcox (illustrator), Camp Canberra, Wild Dog Books, March 2022,40 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781742036120 The children of Mount Mayhem Primary School are back! We last saw them learning about preferential voting in the wonderful Vote 4 Me and now they are off to Canberra on a school trip. The book tracks three groups of (fictional) children as they make their way around Canberra and write about what they see and learn at each location. Their three-day itinerary includes such venerable locations as the National Museum of Australia, Government House, The High Court, Parliament House,…
Kathryn Lefroy, Alex and the Alpacas Save the World (#1), Fremantle Press, May 2019, 224 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925815412 Kathryn Lefroy, Alex and the Alpacas Ride Again (#2), Fremantle Press, May 2022, 280 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760991739 Alex and the Alpacas Save the World and its sequel – Alex and the Alpacas Ride Again – are about Alex who is the Fortieth Sun – the person of the fortieth generation of the Chodzanar tribe – who has the power to do the binding spell that will save the world…
John Yeoman (text) and Quentin Blake (illustrator), Meet the Family, Walker Books, March 2022, 48 pp., RRP $29.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781839130120 Collaborating since 1960, John Yeoman and Quentin Blake have once again used their brilliant imagination to create the endlessly entertaining Meet the Family. This hilarious picture book introduces young readers to the most outlandish of families, from babies and cousins to elderly aunts, each family member is refreshingly different and undeniably funny. The galloping rhythm of John Yeoman’s words carry the reader along on a joyful ride to meet magicians Uncle Marvello and Auntie Shazam, speedy baby Cedric, culinary…
Meredith Costain, The PM’s Daughter, Penguin Random House Australia, March 2022, 256 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761046704 Having a voice is one thing, but you’ve got to be careful how you use it. And if you want to achieve change, you have to work together with people. The PM’s Daughter is a novelisation of the popular ABC series of the same name. It has a strong adolescent voice in narration and deals with themes that are both relevant and timely in contemporary Australia. Cat Parkes Perez is the daughter of the newly elected Australian Prime Minister. She has been…
Victoria Carless, Gus and the Starlight, HarperCollins Children’s Books, May 2022, 320 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781460760642 Gus and the Starlight is a heart-warming middle grade novel that follows Gus and her family as they go on the run to escape her mother’s current (now ex) boyfriend (Troy), and in a way, the consequences of her mother’s gift – the same gift that runs in the females of their family: her mother can see, and talk to ghosts. With all that behind them, that her mother would choose to take over managing a drive-in and its café (spoiler alert:…