A.L. Tait, The Wolf’s Howl (A Maven & Reeve Mystery #2), Penguin Random House Australia, August 2021, 304 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761041792 A secret mission.A missing cook.A hostile landscape.A mystery to unravel. The Wolf’s Howl is the thrilling new instalment in the Maven and Reeve mysteries. Picking up from where book one left off, Maven and Reeve join Sir Garrick and Lady Catherine as they travel to Glawn Castle on their secret mission to uncover political alliances. Their quest is thrown into peril as the Airl’s favourite cook goes missing in suspicious circumstances. Maven’s position as Lady Catherine’s…
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Rebecca McRitchie (text) and Danielle McDonald (illustrator), Meet Ella: Spotty Puppy, Scholastic Australia, July 2021, 48 pp., RRP $7.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760973902 Rebecca McRitchie (text) and Danielle McDonald (illustrator), Meet Ella: New Teacher, Scholastic Australia, July 2021, 48 pp., RRP $7.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760973919 The first two titles of a new series continuing the adventures of six-year old Ella, have been written and designed for newly independent readers. Divided into chapters, they are set in large type with key words in bold, and generous line spacing. There are copious black and white illustrations. The stories develop with action and humour.…
Eric Hill, G’Day Spot!, Penguin Random House Australia, July 2021, 18 pp., RRP $14.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780241489543 Spot is off to the beach! Along with his mum and dad they meet an array of Australian animals on their sunny outing. Kookaburra, Kangaroo and Koala are all there. But where is Spot? G’Day Spot! is filled with adventure as readers are introduced to well-known Australian animals on a day at the beach. Sparking curiosity, imagination and learning it is a perfect introduction to the world of books for babies from birth. Eric Hill created a much-loved character in Spot. The books are…
Edwina Wyatt (text) and Katherine Quinn (illustrator), The Magic of Magnolia Moon, Walker Books Australia, September 2021, 160 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760652722 Magnolia Moon sees magic in all the most interesting places – a bubble, a book of fairytales, a tree – but getting anyone around her to listen to her and see it too is hard sometimes. Magnolia finds magic everywhere, and some of it works in surprising ways, like the Green Magic potion that Magnolia makes for her best friend, Imogen May, so that she won’t be invisible to everyone at her new school. Or the Mind Magic when Magnolia becomes…
Simone Collier (text) and Naya Lazareva (illustrator), Jeremy’s Changing Family, Little Steps Publishing, March 2021, 32 pp., RRP $14.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781922358790 Jeremy’s family life is complex. He just loved to play Lego with his mum and older brother, Riley but now things have changed. His parents have become foster carers, meaning unfamiliar children come to stay at Jeremy’s house because their families cannot look after them safely. Sometimes Jeremy connects with the new children immediately and enjoys sharing his toys and playing with them, but sometimes it is harder for Jeremy to befriend a child, especially if they are…
Various authors, Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds, Children’s Book Council of Australia NSW Branch and Eastern Suburbs Sub-Branch, 2021, 192 pp., RRP $25.00 (pbk), ISBN 9780645154504 This year the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s (CBCA) theme for its much loved Book Week was Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds. And so, as part of this year’s campaign, the CBCA (NSW Branch) launched a book of the same name filled with short stories, poetry and plays for children that explore this theme in some way. The book is jam-packed with works from over 60 Australian creators. It includes stories from…
Sally Garland (illustrator), Little Days Out: At the Shops, New Frontier Publishing, May 2021, 12 pp., RRP $12.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922326256 This sweet, relatable lift-the-flap book will delight young readers as it shares the story of weekly grocery shopping. With scooter, baby-carrier, and reusable shopping bags at the ready, Mum and her two children head off to the supermarket. One baby is placed in the trolley seat while a little helper bounces around eager to gather up the food items. The flaps reveal the hidden food items in each department of the supermarket. Some with an interesting fact to be…
Karen Wyld (author) and Jaelyn Biumaiwai (illustrator), Heroes, Rebels and Innovators: Inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People from History, Hachette Australia, July 2021, 32 pp., $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780734419835 This lavish and beautiful book tells the stories of seven Aboriginal heroes and heroines from the eighteenth century through to the twentieth. Each character’s story is presented once through a text that is dramatic, poetic, and vivid, then it is told again through a more sober historical text. You might say that the story is told once proper way, then repeated white way. Each of the historical figures is presented…
Leigh Bardago, Rule of Wolves (King of Scars, #2), Hachette Children’s Books, April 2021, 528 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781510109186 Rules of Wolves is the second and final book in the King of Scars series, part of the GrishaVerse collection, created by popular fantasy novelist, Leigh Bardugo. In similar fashion to the Shadowhunter novels, Bardugo is developing a number of different series in the same universe, which follow different characters, although they all pop up in each other’s books. With the success of the Siege and Storm adaptation on Netflix earlier this year, these books have grown more popular,…
Anh Do, An Unexpected Hero (Pow Pow Pig #1), Allen & Unwin, August 2021, 200 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760526405 Pow Pow Pig 1: An Unexpected Hero is the latest action-packed graphic novel series, written by author, artist, and comedian, Ahn Do. The story opens with Piccolo the Pig reflecting on the world changing events that have led to widespread poverty in the year 2025. Instantly, the reader is aware that the story has deep themes, however the humour of Ahn Do keeps it light, fun, and fast paced. Piccolo’s scientist parents encourage him to join organisation called CHOC…