Victoria Mackinlay (text) and Ronojoy Ghosh (illustrator), The Lion Who Came to Stay, Scholastic Australia, July 2021, 32 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760669218 The Lion Who Came to Stay is unbelievably based on a true story. In March 1935, young Francis Rushbrook-Williams was given a lion cub by Jan Sahib of Nawanagar, an Indian Maharajah. This was as an alternative to the elephant that was the Maharajah’s first choice as a gift for young Francis. In the book, young Francis receives a letter from his parents in India, who ask him what he would like for Christmas as they…
Author: Admin
Samantha Wheeler, Devils in Danger, University of Queensland Press, August 2021, 192 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925820898 Killarney wants to be a hairdresser, like her mother. She puts up with school, has some close friends and a happy home. Killarney and her family are realistically drawn. One night Killarney hears screaming under the house. She discovers that there are Tasmanian devils living there, and with the help of April, a professor at the local university, she falls in love with the creatures. She sets out to make their survival her responsibility despite the misinformation and lies told about them,…
Louise Zedda-Sampson, Bowl the Maidens Over, Our First Women Cricketers, LZS Press, April 2021, 98 pp., RRP $40.90 (hbk), ISBN 9780645125504 This is a strange little book! According to the author, it is written for adults and secondary school students. It’s certainly a scholarly piece, with nine pages of references. However, the book doesn’t look academic, with its nostalgic old-school cover, so it sends mixed messages to the reader. It is a slender volume which makes sense as it is actually a revised and expanded version of an article previously published in The Yorker, which is the journal of the…
Gregg Dreise, Today’s Sun, Penguin Random House, August 2021, 16 pp., RRP $14.99 (board), ISBN 9781760898335 Kamilaroi man, Gregg Dreise is well-known for his children’s poetry and vibrantly coloured, award winning books of First Nations stories and illustrations. Unlike those colourful books, his new book, Today’s Sun, has black and white illustrations only, making it perfectly suited for tiny, new babies. Yes, that’s right – the high contrast of black and white images is easier for very young babies to see. Despite the lack of colour, the illustrations are still as detailed and filled with appealing Aboriginal patterns, bold lines…
Penny Harris (text) and Winnie Zhou (illustrator), Flight of the Kite (Ginnie and Pinney), Big Sky Publishing, June 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922265760 Ginnie and Pinney are best of friends, but don’t always agree on everything. Ginnie always thinks about everyone else while Pinney often acts before he thinks. It is a windy day and Pinney is excited to make kites, but Ginnie is not so sure. Will the two friends find a way to work together and make a kite that flies? In Flight of the Kite, central themes of patience, persistence, friendships and working together…
Penny Harris (text) and Winnie Zhou (illustrator), A Brand New Band (Ginnie and Pinney), Big Sky Publishing, January 2021, 32 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922265753 In A Brand New Band, Ginnie the giraffe and Pinney the hippopotamus put on a concert. All the animals have an instrument except Lulu Kangaroo. Will the band let Lulu join in with her unique talent? In a story about inclusiveness Ginnie, Pinney and friends discover they all have special talents but that joining together in harmony makes all the difference. Exploring themes such as sharing, friendship and teamwork – all key qualities…
Penny Harris (text) and Winnie Zhou (illustrator), A Bedtime Story (Ginnie and Pinney), Big Sky Publishing, January 2021, 32 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922265746 Ginnie is a giraffe and Pinney is a hippopotamus. They are best of friends, but often do things very differently. Ginnie always thinks about everyone else while Pinney often acts before he thinks. In A Bedtime Story, Dodo the Komodo dragon comes to stay. But Dodo does not know how to share. Will Ginnie and Pinney work together to show Dodo how wonderful it is to share? Themes of sharing, empathy, and friendship are central…
Andy Geppert, Backyard Birdies, Hachette Australia, July 2021, 24 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780734420695 At first glance, Backyard Birdies appears to be a non-fiction bird book for young readers. However, consider the title, look a little closer at the flamingo, and read the description ‘somewhat factual’ on the cover, and you might get a better idea of what’s inside. Backyard Birdies does teach some bird facts, but it also hilariously adds in nicknames, translations, decorative birds, and facts the author admits to having made up. From budgies in colours to suit your mood, to willie wagtails (the puppies of…
Josh Pyke (text) and Daron Parton (illustrator), Chatterpuss, Scholastic Australia, July 2021, 32 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760976491 Chatterpuss is a fun read-aloud story for children 3+ which will have children learning a thing or two about friendship and compromise. Chatterpuss and Glenn are best friends, but Glenn is fed up with the constant chatter. She leaves to find peaceful bliss, only to be confronted with Graham, the big bad bully, accusing her of having no friends. Luckily, Chatterpuss steps in to defend her friend, using her gift of the gab to talk Graham dizzy. The fun rhyming text…
Andrew Levin (text) and Katie Kear (illustrator), Eggplants and Dinosaurs (Nelson, #3), Penguin Random House, August 2021, 176 pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761042294 Nelson hates vegetables, but sadly for him, they are the key to his superpowers. In the first book of the series, Pumpkins and Aliens, Nelson Hunter makes the startling (and disgusting) discovery that pumpkin gives him superpowers. In the second book, Broccoli and Spies, Nelson and his best friend, Olive Sadana, visit Nelson’s grandparents’ vegetable farm, where he discovers his grandma used to be a spy and she needs help finding out who has been stealing…