Allison Rushby (text) and Karen Blair (illustrator), The Party Wish (The Wish Sisters #1), University of Queensland Press, February 2023, 96 pp., RRP $12.99 (obk), ISBN 9780702265921 The Party Wish is the first book in a new series for beginner readers, written by Allison Rushby who is highly acclaimed for her middle grade and YA novels. Its illustrations, scattered through the text, by Karen Blair who is well known for her several successful picture books. The storyline is about a baby, named Birdie, who can make wishes come true by just wishing them, giving rise to enthralling scenarios but also…
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Jessica and Stephen Parry-Valentine (text) and Ashlee Spink (illustrator), Our Home on Wheels: A Big Trip around Australia, Penguin Books Australia, November 2022, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781761046827 This sweet picture book is the product of, and tribute to, one family’s adventurous spirit. Going on a ‘Big Lap’ around Australia has been something that the Covid pandemic has prohibited in recent years. It would now seem that those pesky restrictions could be just a speck in a rear-view mirror for those who might want to tackle this rite of passage. In Our Home on Wheels, Jessica and Stephen Parry-Valentine…
Phillip Marsden, Boss Ladies of Science, Lothian Children’s Books, July 2022, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN9780734421227 Boss Ladies of Science is a collection of profiles of women scientists who have achieved significance within their fields. These women come from countries across the world and are responsible for some remarkable breakthroughs within scientific endeavour—from neuroscience to quantum physics and including vaccinology and primatology. Among the thirty-six scientists that Marsden brings to our attention is Professor Fiona Wood (Australia) who is renowned for the development of artificial skin for burns patients. There is Dr Margaret Hamilton (USA), the computer scientist/engineer who…
Richard Tulloch (text) and Heidi Cooper-Smith (illustrator), Sniffle Snuffle (Toodle the Cavoodle #1) , Big Sky Publishing, October 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922765567 Picture books about animals are abundant, and for good reason. Kids adore their pets. Often a pet is a child’s first friend, so books about pets tap into that emotional connection. Stories where an animal goes on an adventure, and experiences tricky situations or big emotions are very accessible to young readers. It gives them a chance to see the world through their pet’s eyes. In this story, Sniffle Snuffle, readers meet Toodle the cavoodle,…
Mat Larkin, The Chameleon Thief, Hardie Grant Publishing, March 2023, 288 pp., RRP $18.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760502850 Aimed at junior readers 7-11, The Chameleon Thief is a prequel to Mat Larkin’s previous novel, The Orchard Underground, and follows the story of some of the same characters like the fan favourite, Attica Stone, an outgoing and courageous girl who leads a happy and charmed life with just one huge, explainable problem: her best friend Jinni Miscamble absolutely hates her. Overnight. For no reason at all, not that Attica can think of, at least. More trouble starts when Attica, still feuding with Jinni, finds out she…
Joe Todd-Stanton, The Comet, Flying Eye Books, July 2022, 32 pp., RRP $29.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781838740658 Nyla loves her home in the country, but Dad finds a new job and they must move to the city. Everything is different and she longs for her old home until one night she sees something familiar from her window: a comet. Something magical sprouts from her imagination and with Dad she is able to blend her memories of the old with her new experiences to make this new place home. Moving home can be one of life’s most stressful experiences and it is a storyline much…
Michel Ross and Zachary Fielding (text) and Lisa Kennedy (illustrator), Tjitji Lullaby, HarperCollins, November 2022, 20 pp., RRP $19.99 (board), ISBN 9780733342783 Bedtime can be a challenging time of day for families with young children. Hopefully many families catch on to the notion that a book or two can quieten and calm young minds as they get ready for sleep. The meditative tone of Tjitji Lullaby is a great option for parents looking for a way to relax and destress their children at bedtime. There is nothing here that will excite or rile up kids. Instead, from the very beginning, the text…
Anna Branford, How to be…The New Person, Walker Books, September 2022, 137 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760655839 It’s no secret — change is scary, even for the bravest of us. When awful things start happening to her sister at school, Hazel must overcome the biggest, scariest, change yet. Being The New Person. How to be the New Person is a story full of empathy and hope. Hazel is a loveable character trying to keep the joy alive for her worried and hurting family. But it’s not easy always being ‘the happy one’. When the bullies targeting her sister Tess…
Kate Temple, The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat (Trilby Moffat #1), Hachette Australia, September 2022, 224 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780734420909 Trilby Moffat is a reasonably nice girl who finds herself in extraordinary circumstances. Her mother has succumbed to Dream Sickness leaving her with her 300-year-old aunt Thumbelina at Lost in Time Antiques, Nowhere Else Pier. When her aunt dies unexpectedly, Trilby inherits the role of Time Keeper, is briefed by a talking thylacine and is whisked away by conniving Mr Colin. She must venture across a secret inland sea to an island in between time in search…
Corinne Fenton (author) & Mark Wilson (illustrator), Subbie and His Mate, Ford Street Publishing, March 2022, 32 pp., RRP: $16.95 (pbk), ISBN: 9781925804973 Every now and again, we get to experience a bond with an animal that changes the course of our lives. In Subbie and His Mate, we’re treated to the story of one of these beautiful relationships. Subbie, or Subzero, is a retired champion racehorse who is adopted by horseman Graham Salisbury. The book follows Subbie’s time as a racer, as well as his incredible journey with Graham later in life. The illustrations are unique and engaging, adding…