Alexa Moses, Michaela Mason’s Big List of Camp Worries, Scholastic, August 2021, 192 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781743838761 In this sequel to Michaela Mason’s Big List of 23 22 Worries, we find its anxious, smart, plucky hero winning some/losing some in her efforts to balance being true to herself, dealing with her many anxieties, and not being a total social failure at school. Years 5 and 6 are going on camp, which means Michaela will be well out of her comfort zone and has a complete list of worries just for the trip. On the plus side, her best…
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Sam Kerr & Fiona Harris (text) and Aki Fukuoka (illustrator), The Flip Out (Sam Kerr: Kicking Goals, #1), Simon & Schuster, September 2021, 176 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761100857 Sam Kerr: Kicking Goals is the debut early reader novel in a new series from real-life soccer star Sam Kerr. Kerr is the current captain of the Australian women’s soccer team (the Matildas) and advocates for women in sports. In her new novel, Kerr draws inspiration from her own experiences getting into professional sports as a girl with fewer options than the boys. In the book, the titular character Sam is…
Today sees the conclusion of our reviewer’s top picks for 2021. We would like to take this opportunity to wish our readers a happy and safe holiday season. May your 2022 be filled with many opportunities to read and share a love of reading. Maureen Mann How to narrow it down to three! It has been a challenge which I haven’t managed to achieve. How to Repaint a Life by Steven Herrick Though there are flaws in this book for me, this is the story of Isaac after he leaves his abusive father and unexpectedly establishes himself in a small…
The second installment in our reviewer’s top picks for 2021. Heather Gallagher I’ve selected these books on the basis that they’re the ones that have ‘stayed with me’ long after I’ve read them during the year. Boo Loves Books by Kaye Baillie and Tracie Grimwood First a disclaimer; Kaye is in my writing group and a great friend. That aside, Boo Loves Books was a standout for me this year because it celebrates reading for a child who is a reluctant reader. A heart-warming and beautifully illustrated picture book, it also stars a lovable dog. Starfish by Lisa Fipps This…
Here at CBCA Reading Time we are very fortunate to have a cornucopia of excellent reviewers. When we put out the call for personal top three’s of 2021 we should not have been surprised by the overwhelming response. For the next three days we will present our reviewer’s favourite books from 2021. Enjoy! Deb Abela Wandi by Favel Parrett A story about an alpine dingi pup called Little who is separated from his family. Written with sparse, perfectly pitched language, it draws the reader in with its quiet voice and gentle plea for all of us humans to protect these…
Heather Fawcett, The School Between Winter and Fairyland, Allen & Unwin, September 2021, 352 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760526542 The School Between Winter and Fairyland follows Autumn Malog, the young beast keeper through her quest to find her missing twin brother Winter. Autumn is sure Winter is still alive even though the rest of the Malogs have given up. After finding clues to Winter’s disappearance that just don’t add up, Autumn pairs up with Cai, her polar opposite. Cai is no ordinary magician, he is the Chosen One, who will save the whole of Eryree from the Hollow Dragon’s…
Katrina Nannestad (text) and Cheryl Orsini (illustrator), Mim and the Baffling Bully (The Travelling Bookshop, #1), HarperCollins Publishers, July 2021, 224 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780733341656 From the beloved author of The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Rome and We Are Wolves comes this enchanting new series for younger readers. Step inside the travelling bookshop and you will find the right book that might just change your life … Mim Cohen roams the world in a travelling bookshop, along with her dad and her bumbling little brother Nat. Their travelling bookshop is pulled along by a huge…
Margrete Lamond and Anthony Bertini (text) and Christopher Nielsen (illustrator), Just One Bee, Dirt Lane Press, May 2021, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780648023890 One-bee lives in a desert landscape: An eerie, post apocalyptic world painted in browns, dirty whites and shadowy grey-blues. In the wind, in the dust, in the burning sun, One-bee wonders, ‘When, how, where and what can I do, just me, one bee?’ Most of us have felt like One-bee from time to time. The rest of the book tells the story of what One-bee achieves by keeping her eyes and heart open, by dreaming,…
Banjo Patterson (text) and Andrew McLean (illustrator), Clancy of the Overflow, Scholastic, July 2021, 32 pp, RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760669232 As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them singing,For the drover’s life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know. Banjo Patterson’s historic poem invites readers, both young and old, to step into a world long ago, the drover’s world as depicted through wild erratic fancy visions of Clancy. The iconic stanzas of the poem are bought to life in this new edition picture book with stunning contrasting scenes of the Australian landscape from the city of hurry…
Martin Handford, Where’s Wally? Santa Spotlight Search, September 8 2021, RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781529500400 Following on from Where’s Wally? Spooky Spotlight Search comes this wonderful festive edition. Without the need for batteries, young readers can slide the clever spotlight searcher into the side of the Where’s Wally? Santa Spotlight Search pages to illuminate six dark winter scenes like a magic torch. Ho-Ho-Ho! Pull on your Christmas jumper and shake your sleigh bells- it’s time for festive fun! Let’s join hundreds of jolly Santas bustling about getting ready for the biggest day of the year. In our house we really…