Rebel Wilson (text) and Annabel Tempest (illustrator), Bella the Brave, Hachette Australia, October 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780734420572 Bella the Brave, the debut picture book from Rebel Wilson, one of Australia’s most celebrated and loved creative talents, is an empowering, relatable, and bright tale of a young girl Bella who is riddled with shyness, fear, and many associated deep emotions. When Bella finds herself at her first choir lesson with twenty other girls, the only way she can overcome her shyness is to channel her sister’s boldness and confidence. She calls herself by her sister’s name Stella…
Author: Admin
Ben Brooks, Dare to be Different, Hachette Australia, March 2022, 208 pp., RRP $39.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781529416244 Dare to be Different, written by Ben Brooks, is a compilation of stories about the most successful and inspiring people I’ve ever heard about in my life. My first impression of this book was quite the opposite of what I feel about it now. When I first felt how heavy it was, I dreaded even opening it. However, these feelings quickly dissipated when I flicked to a random page, and surprisingly found a sports star I liked and had been following for a…
Amie Kaufman and Ryan Graudin, Rebellion of the Lost (The World Between Blinks #2), HarperCollins Children’s Books, February 2022, 352 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781460757635 Objects and people go missing every day, all the time, all over the world. And if enough time passes, even buildings and geographical landforms are lost to our ever-changing planet. In this adventurous series there is a place where lost things can be found, The World Between Blinks. This second installment follows the journey of Marisol, her brother Victor and cousin Jake as they step through the fold into the World Between Blinks. It…
Tania McCartney, Plume, World Explorer, Hardie Grant Books, October 2021, 48 pp., RRP 424.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781741177664 Meet Plume, World Explorer. In McCartney’s own words Plume is a little bit different to all the other penguins. From his skydiving skills to his rocking jaunty ensembles, everything about this exploring penguin is bold, adventurous, and curious. You see, Plume loves to read and reading is his special ticket to travel the world and discover a world of rainbows with new friends in many places across the globe. Aboard the Albatross Express, Plume discovers tea from China, crayons from the USA and…
Frann Preston-Gannon, The Every Baby Book, Walker Books, March 2022, 30 pp., RRP $18.99 (board), ISBN 9781913520373 This early learning experiences book, from award winning illustrator Frann Preston-Gannon is a day in the life of six urban families with babies. Through simple rhyme and richly detailed digital illustrations we watch each baby’s routine unfold until the families come together for a first birthday party in the park at the end of the day. Families of every name… share a love that’s just the same. Every baby starts their day, each one in a different way. From wake up, play time,…
Emma Roberts (text), Sarah Tanat Jones (illustrator), Shakespeare for Everyone: Discover the History, Comedy and Tragedy of the World’s Greatest Playwright, Magic Cat Publishing, 2022, 64 pp., RPP $34.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781913520465 Did you know that Shakespeare was more famous as a poet during his lifetime than a playwright? Considered a more serious and respectable form of writing, poetry attracted an educated class of reader and possibly patron; he wrote around 160 poems to about 38 plays. Today however, Shakespeare is equally known and respected for his plays which cover multiple genres such as histories, tragedies, comedies, and romances. Emma…
Donna Rawlins, Our Library, Wild Dog Books, March 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781742036342 Poor Suzy the librarian must be exhausted at the end of each week. Not only does she have different activities for all the children and their accompanying adults every day from Monday to Friday, but she also opens the doors at 8.30 in the morning and works weekends as well! Monday is making new friends day, Tuesday is a noisy dinosaur day, Wednesday is ‘I can do it’ day, Thursday is wiggle-and-jiggle and Friday is nature day. How she has any energy left for…
Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing (text) and David Hardy (illustrator), Ceremony, Allen & Unwin, April 2022, 24 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781761065064 This is a landmark book. Former AFL great and 2014 Australian of the Year, Adnyamathanha and Narungga man, Adam Goodes has teamed up with the committed Ellie Laing and Barkindji man David Hardy to produce a book that introduces the Adnyamathanha people of the Flinders Ranges through a story of preparations for a local ceremony. The story revolves around one of the cheeky children, and the general antics and mishaps that cause laughter for the family along…
H. M. Waugh, Evacuation Road, Rhiza Press, August 2021, 268 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 978176111035 There’s a point where the volume of wrong in the world can overwhelm you. And it’s then that fear wins. Evil wins, good is lost, and so are you. You can’t give in to the darkness that hovers if you want to stay sane. You need to keep smiling, trying, hoping, trusting. Loving. Because that’s what makes us human. Be aware of the following trigger warnings for more sensitive readers: gun violence; assault; drug addiction; violent death (there’s a scene where they witness a…
Heidi McKinnon, We Found a Cat, Scholastic Australia, November 2021, 32 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781761121005 Heidi McKinnon delivers a little gem of a book with We Found a Cat, a well-deserved addition to the 2022 Notables list for CBCA’s Picture Book of the Year. Two young children are discussing the identity of an animal that has arrived in a box. One child is quite sure that, yes we have found a cat, the other child is not as convinced and makes some thoughtful comments. Your own child/children/readers are sure to offer their own commentary on the ‘cat’ debate.…