Tanya Byrne, Afterlove, Hachette Australia, July 2021, 352 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781444955958 Ash Persuad’s love life has been a series of disappointments and embarrassments. That was until she meets Poppy. After a chance encounter on a school trip, Ash and Poppy fully blaze in the flame of their new romance. As Ash sees the town she grew up in with new eyes, she feels like her life has just begun. When she tells Poppy she loves her for the first time, Ash sees their future stretching out like the endless sea before them. As it turns out, their…
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Rich Moyer, Ham Helsing: Vampire Hunter (Ham Helsing #1), Scholastic Australia, July 2021, 240 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761123177 The graphic novel was created by Rich Moyer a cartoonist and award-winning animator. Moyer has truly taken his dad jokes to a whole new level in his debut graphic novel which he dedicates to his two daughters. Ham Helsing is a descendent from a long line of vampire hunters who have all reached their tragic ends, resultant of their brainless inventions. After his brother’s unexpected death, whom he had idolised all his life, Ham feels obligated to continue the family…
Aunty Patsy Cameron (text) and Lisa Kennedy (illustrator), Sea Country, Magabala Books, June 2021, 40 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925936032 This picture book is set on Flinders Island in Bass Straight, and shares with us First Nations’ stories, knowing and traditions. Aunty Patsy grew up there and was taught these by her family. We are taken through the seasons on Flinders Island, shown some of the things the Country can tell its people. There are signs about changes in the weather, seasons, and food if you know where to look and how to listen. Both the author and the…
Katrina Germein (text) and Hélène Magisson (illustrator), Before You Were Born, HarperCollins Publishers, May 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781876288150 My kids love to hear stories about when I was pregnant with them and their births. The story of Daddy taking a wrong turn on the way to the hospital in his excitement about becoming a first time Dad is a particular favourite. They also like to hear about my cravings and what it felt like having them somersault in my belly. Katrina Germein has written a charming picture book entitled Before You Were Born. This book is…
Karen Tyrrell, Drought Rescue (Songbird #5), Digital Future Press, May 2021, 200 pp., RRP $16.95 (pbk), ISBN 9780648161769 Song Bird: Drought Rescue is the latest installation in the Song Bird middle grade fiction action series, written by author, environmental educator and performer, Karen Tyrrell. The story opens with Rosie aboard the Spirit of the Outback train as it speeds towards danger. Instantly, the reader is aware that with her ‘song’ Rosie can access her powers, transforming into ‘Song Bird’. So begins a fast-paced story with our superhero at odds with villain, Destructo. Peril and danger are mixed in with outback…
Mandy Foot, Lucy and Copper, Hachette Australia, June 2021, 32 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780734420282 Not so long ago, Lucy and her Shetland pony Smudge galloped up hills and jumped small creeks. Now, Lucy is outgrowing Smudge but when her father brings home a bigger pony, Lucy isn’t interested. Copper is too bony, the wrong colour, too dirty. She loves Smudge and just wants to ride him forever. She doesn’t need Copper, she asserts to her father. But maybe he needs you, is his gentle response. This picture book is beautifully illustrated in pencil and water colours – a…
Lynne Lumsden Green, Summer Brook Spring, Iron Bridge Publishing, March 2021, 198 pp., RRP $21.40 (pbk), ISBN 9780648651376 Freya Patel isn’t happy to have been dragged away from London and all her friends to live at her Gran’s farm in the middle of nowhere in Queensland for a year. There isn’t even any internet connection there! There are, however, baby chicks and calves, and best of all, there is a girl her own age on the neighbouring farm. Emma likes the same books and is excited to have a potential new friend to talk to and share things with. Maybe…
Pip Harry, Are You There, Buddha? Hachette Australia, June 2021, 288 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780734420305 Are You There, Buddha? is the latest offering by award winning author Pip Harry. It’s the story of Bridget ‘Bee’ Ballantine a twelve year old girl navigating puberty, family, friends, starting high school, and pursuing personal goals. The title is a riff on the Judy Blume novel, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Unlike Margaret, Bee is desperate to avoid the onset of puberty. She’s a dedicated swimmer and the arrival of breasts, pubic hair and ultimately her period just doesn’t seem…
Chrissie Sains (text) and Jenny Taylor (illustrator), An Alien in the Jam Factory, Walker Books Australia, June 2021, 192 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781406396126 Meet Scooter McLay; a determined, hyper-creative, red-headed young boy with cerebral palsy. Scooter’s hyper-creativity is put to good use in his parent’s jam factory where he is chief inventor of weird and wonderful jam products and flavours, including Cherry Candy Floss Jam, Brussel Sprout Jam, Jam slices and Jam Smoothie Capsules. Life is pretty good for Scooter, but he yearns for a pet with whom he can share the secret world of the factory. Enter ‘Fizzbee’, a small,…
Edwina Wyatt (text) and Odette Barberousse (illustrator), Tish, Berbay Publishing, April 2021, 191 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780648953388 Tish by Edwina Wyatt and illustrated by Odette Barberousse is a whimsical and poignant lower middle grade read about the power of the imagination to create imaginary friends such as Tish who live, breath and feel just as we do. The book is cleverly divided into three parts, Somewhere, Elsewhere and Anywhere. In the first story, a lonely child protagonist, Charles Dimple, makes a list for the crucial features required for his ‘Perfect Friend’. Tusks are important to Charles, as is…