Suzanne Lang (text) and Max Lang (illustrator), Grumpy Monkey Party Time!, Scholastic, May 2021, 48 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760975104 This is a sequel to the New York Times picture book hit Grumpy Monkey. Jim Panzee, the monkey, is invited to Porcupine’s party, but he doesn’t really want to go. Jim can’t dance. His friends, Norman, a gorilla, an Hyena, Ox and the baboons encourage him to learn some moves, so off they go. But all is not well, and it looks like the party is over until Jim locates the food and games. Boldly illustrated with jungle animals…
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Jason Cockcroft, We Were Wolves, Walker Books Australia, May 2021, 216 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781839130571 This powerful first-person illustrated narrative is the story of a young boy living with his father John in the woods. Boy never tells us his name, implying he could be anyone, but describes his life with his father, John, who has PTSD after his time in the army; life with no school but a father who loves the poet Blake and who loves reading. Mam is in the background and recognises all the flaws in her estranged husband, and in her son. For…
Vita Murrow (text) and Aitch (illustrator), Once Upon Our Planet, Walker Books, June 2021, 80 pp., RRP $34.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781913520083 The cover of the book invites readers to ‘rewild bedtime with 12 stories’. The stories within the book revolve around the last wildernesses on Earth and explore our relationship with these. The stories are allegorical and animals are used as the focalisers but the message that we need to look after these wilderness areas is clear. The stories mostly begin with the traditional opening of “Once Upon a Time’ and end with an ‘ever after’ message which highlights one…
Lili Wilkinson (text) and Dustin Spence (illustrator), Flummox (How to Make a Pet Monster, #2), Allen & Unwin, June 2021, 208 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760877392 Flummox: How to Make a Pet Monster #2, is written by Lili Wilkinson, an award-winning author of picture books That Christmas Feeling and Clancy the Quokka, along with eleven other YA novels. This title follows on from Hodgepodge: How to Make a Pet Monster and is the second instalment of this hilarious new series, full of action and adventure with brilliant illustrations by Dustin Spence. Artie, a young science enthusiast lives in a big, spooky house with…
Briony May Smith, Margaret’s Unicorn, Walker Books UK, June 2021, 40 pp., RRP $27.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781406399882 Author Briony May Smith lives in the shire of Devon in the south-west of England, an area famous for its rocky coastline and fossil-rich beaches. She makes use of this wild and beautiful countryside in her gorgeous full colour illustrations that feature wildflowers, waves, and windy weather. Margaret’s family has moved to a seaside cottage, so she finds herself alone in this new and isolated place—her imagination her only recourse to making her new world her own world. A tiny unicorn fallen from…
Robert Vescio (text) and Joanna Bartel (illustrator), The Art of Words, EK Books, April 2021, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925820843 The Art of Words is a visual feast and joyful celebration of those wonderful things called words. Children will enjoy the playful exploration of this topic in this beautifully illustrated book. Robert Vescio highlights some of the many things that words can be: big; little; colourful; ugly; shortened; extended; reversed; stand for something else; brilliant and plain. Also, how they can be used with punctuation, created; collected but best of all strung together to make stories. In my opinion though, the…
Hélène Rajcak (text) and Damien Laverdunt (illustrator), Fossils from Lost Worlds, Walker Books, March 2021, 72 pp., RRP $37.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781776573158 This oversized information book uses graphic visual techniques to encourage children to explore the detailed information and link these to the images on each page. The timeline reconstructions of strange creatures such as a walking whale to the headless sea worm to the gentle diplodocus have a stylish finish with the combination of ink line drawings and an earthy colour palette. The text is a mix of facts and humour with a sprinkle of scientific names in the…
Alexander Kaufman (text) and Mariana Rodrigues (illustrator), Earth’s Aquarium: Discover 15 Real-life Water Worlds, Walker Books, June 2021, 80 pp., RRP $44.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781913520090 Earth’s Aquarium is a beautiful non-fiction/reference book which explores 15 real-life underwater habitats, and the creatures that call them home. The large book is almost A2 in size and has 80 pages combining beautiful illustrations with encyclopaedic text. The foreword explains that the purpose of this book is to give readers a place to start connecting with our water worlds. The accessible text does just that, introducing readers to dozens of aquatic creatures, from minuscule…
Mark Wilson, Rachel’s War, Hachette Australia, May 2021, 32 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780734420114 Rachel grew up on a farm in rural Victoria where she remained, after her parents’ early deaths, until she went to train as a nurse, so she could realise her dream of being able to help people. In 1914 when war comes to the world, after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Rachel and her best friend Elsie enlist in the Australian Army Nursing Service. They are sent overseas where they deal with the wounded being evacuated from Gallipoli, and other battlefronts. Wilson shows in both…
Anna Zobel, Little Gem and the Mysterious Letters, Penguin Random House Australia, June 2021, 272 pp., RRP $ 14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760896096 It’s been a few months since Little Gem accidentally magicked herself through time and space to the small town of Ellsworth Pining. She’s settled in well as the town witch, doing what she does best, helping people. Everyone is preparing for the Midsummer Festival, and Little Gem is excited to be in charge of special effects for the annual Midsummer Play. However, Gem’s newfound confidence plummets when spell after spell starts to awry, doing more harm than good.…