Freda Chiu, A Trip to the Hospital, Allen & Unwin, August 2021, 32pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760526702 When I was four-years-old, a book called My First Hospital Visit (or something like that), greatly put my mind at ease in the days leading up to my tonsillectomy. Today, a bigger and bolder title, penned and illustrated by Sydney-based Freda Chiu, sets out to allay little ones’ fears and worries about going to hospital, whether as a patient or visitor. A Trip to the Hospital introduces children to the hospital “superheroes” across a range of medical fields – nurses, anaesthetists, cleaners,…
Author: Admin
Stephen Herrick, How to Repaint a Life, UQP, September 2021, 280 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 978070226315 In How to Repaint a Life, Isaac is running from his old life; escaping from his abusive dad, the same way his mother did when he was 12. In the small town he escapes to, he builds himself a new life through the generosity and friendship of some of those he meets in the town. Joan who owns Joan’s Café, teaches him how to make coffee like a barista and lets him work the coffee machine. Local teenager Sophie recognises in him a…
Victoria Mackinlay (text) and Beth Harvey (illustrator), The Bark Book, HarperCollins Publishers, July 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780733341397 The bark book is a delightful picture book that playfully refers to the two meanings of the word ‘bark’ in telling a story about a dog’s walk. It is written by emerging author Victoria Mackinlay who won awards for her first book, and is beautifully illustrated by Beth Harvey who is the Animation Director of the Bluey TV series. I expect that this extraordinarily talented pair have another winner with “The bark book”. The fun and mischief of the…
Ursula Dubosarsky (text) and Andrew Joyner (illustrator), The Magnificent Hercules Quick, Allen & Unwin, August 2021, 96 pp., RRP $4.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761065712 Hercules Quick dreams of being a magician but to do that, he has his eye on the most magnificent box of magic tricks in the window of the local toy store. He plans to save up for it by doing odd jobs for his neighbours in his apartment block, including lending a hand to Professor Calamari and doing some early spring-cleaning for Queen Claude. Even with all his hard work, he doesn’t have quite enough money, but…
Peter Carnavas, author of My Brother Ben, spoke to Reading Time reviewer, Sarah Stivens about their newly released book, published by University of Queensland Press. The character of Maggie reads like a representation of Luke’s healing journey, as they both find their wings. Was this intentional? I wanted parallels between Luke and Maggie to run through the narrative, though more of an underlying theme than the main idea. I definitely wanted the opening to represent Ben as a protector of Luke, and then Luke as protector of Maggie. Ben saves them both, but Luke takes the opportunity to care for…
Peter Carnavas, My Brother Ben, University of Queensland Press, September 2021, 208 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780645150148 Things don’t always work out. Maggie might not come back. But where there were birds, there was hope. When Luke finds an injured magpie on the road soon after his dad leaves the family, it feels like it was meant to be. A new world is opened to him— a love of birds that distracts him from some of the things he’s been trying to forget. The only thing more important to Luke than finding new birds to add to his sketchbook,…
Megan Wagner Lloyd (text) and Michelle Mee Nutter (illustrator), Allergic, Scholastic, August 2021, 240 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761128523 It’s Maggie’s tenth birthday and she can’t wait to go to the animal shelter and choose her very own puppy. Maggie is feeling left out at home: her parents are preoccupied with the imminent arrival of their baby, and her younger brothers are twins who live in their own world. But when she plays with the perfect puppy, she starts to feel unwell, breaking out in a rash and sneezing, and it’s soon discovered that Maggie is severely allergic to…
Charlie Higson, Worst. Holiday. Ever., Penguin Random House, May 2021, 352 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780241414781 When Stan has the opportunity to join Felix, his fourth best friend, on an exotic holiday to Italy, he reluctantly takes it. Meanwhile, he’s drawn up a Duck-It List. That’s the opposite of a Bucket List, listing all the things he hopes never to do. Stan is a shy, anxious kid and the prospect of “going on holiday with people you don’t know” (Stan’s Duck-It List #10) is the terrifying premise for Worst. Holiday. Ever. But being pushed out of his comfort zone…
Nancy Springer, Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (Enola Holmes #7), Allen & Unwin, August 2021, 272 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761065255 Enola Holmes is at it again. A young woman in the Victorian era and sister of the famous Sherlock Holmes, Enola is not one to underestimate. Smart, observant, and stubborn, Enola won’t let anything, or anyone, stand in her way. When a distraught Miss Letita Glover arrives on Sherlock’s doorstep, desperate to learn the true fate of her twin sister, it’s Enola who takes on the case. With very few clues Enola must investigate every possible avenue…
Shannon Takaoka, Everything I Thought I Knew, Candlewick Press, October 2020, 320 pp., RRP $18.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781406395365 Shannon Takaoka’s debut novel, Everything I Thought I Knew, begins like any other contemporary YA novel but quickly takes an unexpected turn that brings up a multitude of questions about life and reality itself. Seventeen-year-old Chloe had big plans for the future: she would excel in her studies, attend a top college and become a scientist. But all this unravels the moment she collapses during her cross-country practise. Chloe is told she will need a new heart. But getting a heart is not…