Yvonne Mes (text) and Jody Pratt (illustrator), Little Bilby’s Aussie Bush Christmas, Hachette Australia, September 2021, 20 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780734420404 After Little Bilby’s Aussie Easter Egg Hunt last year, Yvonne Mes and Jody Pratt have created another celebration-based adventure for their bilby characters to enjoy. Little Bilby’s Aussie Bush Christmas is written in rhyming verse with lots of action words, repetition, and exclamations making it just right for a younger audience. The bilbies set out through the bush and meet a lizard, an emu, and a wombat who each gift an ornament for the bush Christmas tree. The illustrations depict…
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Nic McPickle (text) and Nathaniel Eckstrom (illustrator), Fire Truck Santa, Allen & Unwin, September 2021, 32 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760526894 Fire Truck Santa is based on classic ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. However, in Nic McPickle’s version there is a distinct Aussie twist. Santa drives an old fire truck! Unfortunately the truck has seen better days and is struggling to keep up with the rigours of Christmas Eve. The story follows Santa as he visits different households. Conveniently the children he visits are generous and very industrious. The children give Santa things to help repair his truck; some…
Marcus Pfister, Merry Christmas, Rainbow Fish, Walker Books Australia, September 2021, 12 pp., RRP $14.99 (board), ISBN 9780735844292 Rainbow Fish and friends are on a mission to spread a very special message. Not everyone is feeling the Christmas spirit and Rainbow Fish makes it his mission, along with his friends, to share some Christmas joy under the sea. Marcus Pfister brings us another tale following on from the classic The Rainbow Fish. In a newly published format, and with its signature glitter look, Merry Christmas, Rainbow Fish conveys the positive aspects of sharing amongst young children. Readers will love the colourful underworld of…
Kate DiCamillo (text) and Sophie Blackall (illustrator), The Beatryce Prophecy, Walker Books, October 2021, 256 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781529500899 The ominous brotherhood, the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing find a young girl, Beatryce, sheltering in their monastery. With a grouchy guardian goat as a companion, no one is sure what to do. DiCamillo’s narrative sweeps readers into a thrilling tale of dark forests, folly, fate, friendship and the power of literacy and stories. Beatryce must flee in a cruel world at war, where people are afraid of demons and ghosts. Those who help Beatryce are at odds,…
Hayley Lawrence, Skin Deep, Scholastic Australia, July 2021, 288 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760976446 The pretty girl? The scarred girl? Or the girl who survived? Scarlett was gifted with beauty, but she was permanently scarred and injured after being badly burned in a car fire and now she’s struggling to adjust. Who is she when she’s not the pretty girl in class anymore? Scarlett convinces her dad to take her on an extended trip to Matilda Mountain, a desolate place in the wilderness, to get away from the stresses of coping with life and school in this unfamiliar persona.…
Jason Pamment, Treasure in the Lake, Allen & Unwin, September 2021, 208 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760526238 I haven’t read a graphic novel since I devoured The Adventures of Tintin in the late 1980s. As a somewhat reluctant reader (I didn’t really begin to love reading until very late in primary school) I loved The Adventures of Tintin. I enjoyed the fast pace, the humour, the action, and the way the illustrations added to the story telling. Most of all I liked that they were easy to follow, panel 1 led to panel 2 and so on. Occasionally there…
Tull Suwannakit, Happy Hoppy Home, Scholastic, August 2021, 24 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781742999937 Papa Hare is a single parent, raising his four children Dot, Pip, Pat, and Baby Cottontail in a tiny burrow. The hares love their happy home, but they seem to have outgrown it! Dot wants to practise ballet, but she doesn’t have enough room because Pip and Pat want to play their games, and Baby Cottontail wants to sleep. They just can’t do everything at the same time. So Papa Hare packs them up, and they go off in search of a bigger burrow. It…
Tulo Gordon, Milbi, Aboriginal Stories from Queensland’s Endeavour River, Aboriginal Studies Press, August 2021, 52 pp., RRP $24.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781922102904 Milbi: a story or legend; a piece of news or tidbit (Guugu Yimithirr language) Tulo Gordon was a Nugal elder of the Guugu Yimithirr language people of far North Queensland. His original acrylic paintings accompany this reimagining of the original, now out of print book. The stories contained in Milbi form this collection of origin, or creation stories, specific to the people of this region of Queensland, located around the Endeavour River. What is special about this collection, is…
Inbal Leitner, The Longest Strongest Thread, Scallywag Press, April 2021, 32 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781912650613 A little girl has packed her very heavy suitcase. Her family is leaving home, moving far away, to a place where the lakes freeze in winter. But the little girl’s grandmother is staying behind, and neither one of them wants to say goodbye. The Longest Strongest Thread is an earnest exploration of love and familial bonds. The clever sewing metaphors throughout the story hint at the love we can feel for each other, even when we’re far apart. The succinct, lyrical text allows…
Abigail Balfe, A Different Sort of Normal, Penguin Random House, 20 July 2021, 240 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780241508794 What is normal? All her life, Abigail felt different from others around her. Diagnosed as autistic at 33, her life finally made sense. This authentic book is a celebration of acceptance and understanding. Abigail shares her experiences through quirky doodles and insights in the hope that she might inspire others who feel estranged to view themselves as unique and valued members of society. She sees her book as a guide to growing up for those who feel out of place and don’t know…