Steve Light, Swap!, Walker Books, 1 Feb 2016, 40pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781406367768 International award-winning author illustrator, Steve Light, previously known for titles as Have You Seen My Dragon? and Have You Seen My Monster?, lands this inventive and charismatic book on our shores; it’s Swap!. The endpapers begin with an old sailor saying, “Don’t swap for fish that are still in the sea.” Alongside this is an archaic-looking map of islands, nautical oddments, mermaids and Loch Ness monsters, an indication of the industrious journey ahead. In the simple, repetitive and minimal language that follows, we are escorted around the…
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Lucinda Gifford, Arthur and the Curiosity, The Five Mile Press, Feb 2016, 32pp., $19.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781760068387 In the vein of the David McKee classic, Not Now Bernard, this new picture book from award winning Lucinda Gifford accentuates a child’s mixture of consternation and delight when adults ignore the obvious. Arthur and his classmates are on an educational trip but their teacher is more concerned with “moving on through” the galleries than experiencing what can be discovered there. Everybody wants an imaginary friend but Arthur’s green roguish ‘Curiosity’ seems very real. Readers are left to make up their own minds about that.…
Katie Saunders, Olive the Alien, The Five Mile Press, Feb 2016, 32pp., $16.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781760066031 This is Katie Saunders’ second, follow-up book about Olive Marshmallow, baby sister to Archie. Olive is inconvenient. She cries, she babbles and falls asleep in Archie’s toys. She is utterly different to him and brings an uncomfortable alien sensation into Archie’s life. It takes a visit from a friend who also has a younger sibling to reassure him that these activities, particularly that of eating socks, are perfectly normal. This book about coming to terms with family changes is beautifully crafted and designed. The…
Jedda Robaard, George the Bilby Chef and the Raspberry Muffin Surprise, The Five Mile Press, Feb 2016, 32pp., $14.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760067113 The anthropomorphism of native Australian animals is a tried and tested way of cosily affirming cultural identity – as seen in this new book in a series by Jedda Robaard. George is a bilby who wants to cook buns for his friend’s birthday tea. Finding the key ingredient proves tricky and he needs the help and ingenuity of his other friends, teaching the reader about asking for and listening to advice. All the animals cooperate and the baking is a…
Polly Faber (text), Clara Vulliamy (illus.), Tapir All At Sea (Mango and Bambang #2), Walker Books, 1 March 2016, 112pp., $17.99 (hbk) ISBN 9781406359251 This is a story of an unusual friendship between a young girl and the tapir she saved in book one of the Mango and Bambang series The Not-A-Pig. So, if a tapir’s not a pig, what is it? It’s a herbivorous mammal with hooves and a long, flexible snout. And, in these stories, the tapir also talks. His name is Bambang. He appreciates fine hats and is particularly fond of banana pancakes with caramel sauce and chocolate…
Each year the Centre for Youth Literature, part of the State Library of Victoria announce The Inkys. There are several processes, including a longlist, which is reduced to a shortlist, before they are voted on by young people of Australia. With only two categories – Gold for Australian texts, and silver for International – part of its ‘street cred’ lies in the fact that there are teen judges who help to create the lists. Here is the Gold Inky Longlist for 2016 Books reviewed on Reading Time Clancy of the Undertow by Christopher Currie Illuminae by Amy Kaufmann and Jay…
The Readings Children’s Book Prize recognises and celebrates Australian books that children love to read, and raises the profile of debut and on-the-rise Australian children’s book authors. The Prize judges are a panel of Readings children’s book specialists: Angela Crocombe, Athina Clarke, Alexa Dretzke, Isobel Moore, and Holly Harper. You can read the judges’ comments here. They will be joined by a special guest judge, children’s book author Sally Rippin, to decide the winner, which will be announced in June 2016. We have reviews of all six, here on RTO. See them all below. Read Angie Hoist’s review of The…
Luke Harris, Goldenscale, Silverbird Publishing, 17 May 2015, 332pp., $20.00 (pbk), ISBN 9780646939384 Beth Ormonde, her brother Sam and their parents, Abbie and Nick, live in Goolgoorook, an outer suburb of Sydney. Abbie is being interviewed for a job in the city, which probably means the family will relocate, and Abbie and Nick are arguing about that. Beth is being physically bullied by Len Crabbit, a boy at her school. Unfortunately, Beth’s friend, Sarah, is Len’s sister. Another friend, Jo, has a father in Indonesia where he is under the threat of jail. But none of that is the turning point…
Anna Ciddor, The Family with Two Front Doors, Allen & Unwin, March 2016, 208pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925266641 The home of the Rabinovitches has two front doors because Papa is a rabbi and conducts his business behind one and the other houses his wife, himself and eight of his nine children. The eldest, seventeen-year-old Aaron, is already married. This is pre-war Poland. The Rabinovitches are comfortably off, and generous to all. They help the poor and give sensible advice to those in trouble. Their religious observance is strict but happy. They love each other and their friends, and their daily routines…
Michael Gerard Bauer, The Pain, My Mother, Sir Tiffy, Cyber Boy & Me, Omnibus Books/Scholastic Australia, 1 May 2016, 272pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781742991504 Fifteen-year-old Maggie’s life is not easy. She desperately wants an A for English, but is not getting more than a B+. She would very much like some friends, but at the last party she went to she made such a fool of herself that no-one wants to be too close to her. She needs a partner for the Year 10 dance, but one boy she asks visits her wearing offensive clothes, and the other boy refuses her. A…