Katie & Kevin Tsang, Dragon Legend (Dragon Realm #2), Simon & Schuster UK, March 2021, 320 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781471193095 Dragon Legend is the second book in the Dragon Realm series, following Dragon Mountain, published in October 2020. Billy, his friends and the dragons know that they have a fierce enemy in the Dragon of Death and they need to stop her gaining power. But the Dragon of Death has kidnapped Dylan, along with his pearl, his source of power. They have lost Dylan but they have gained JJ – the grandson of Old Gold, camp leader and…
Author: Admin
Natashia Curtin, Vernon the Penguin, Scholastic Australia, February 2021, 32 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781743836972 Penguins can’t fly; they just aren’t born that way. But knowing that doesn’t stop Vernon the Penguin from trying his absolute best. Every night, he would dream of riding the wild west wind, curling and twirling, swooshing and swirling along its currents. Everyone knows penguins can’t fly! And every penguin in this story is determined to make Vernon understand that. But Vernon is plucky. He knows he just hasn’t found the right way yet. Vernon the Penguin by Natashia Curtin follows Vernon’s attempts to…
Eli Brown, Oddity, Walker Books, 2021, 363pp., RRP $18.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781406389272 What is an oddity? 13-year-old Clover Elkin wishes she knew. All she does know is that her dead mother collected them and her widowed father only kept one because they are so dangerous. When bounty-hunters track him down to steal it, Constantine throws Clover and his medical bag into the river before he is shot dead, urging her to go to Aaron Agate in New Manchester where The Society will protect her and the oddity. Clover is fascinated by these magical oddities but has to make sure she…
Gregg Dreise, Common Wealth, Scholastic, May 2021, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760975166 Common Wealth is the stunning and impactful new picture book from multi-award winning author, artist and lyricist, Gregg Dreise. This compelling title focuses on important issues dividing First Nation’s People from the rest of the population. It is a passionate yet peaceful plea for unity and promotes the important message of moving forward together as a nation. All that I’m wishing,Is that you take a moment to listen…You see, I’m on a mission,to spread unity – not division. Gregg’s full colour illustrations are a breath taking…
Philip Bunting, The Gentle Genius of Trees, Scholastic, April 2021, 32 pp, RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760975173 ‘You, me, the birds, the bees, the trees and the seas– we’re all a part of one beautifully balanced being – a delicate system of life that exists on and with the Earth.’ Bunting’s latest release, The Gentle Genius of Trees, is an informative, comical, and highly engaging creative non-fiction picture book that will delight young readers with both known and relatively unknown facts about trees and their role in our natural ecosystem. Guided by Bunting’s quirky art direction and his informative text, young…
Akala, The Dark Lady, Hachette Australia, April 2021, 336 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781444957259 The Dark Lady takes readers back in time, to the era of William Shakespeare and all its strange terms and phrases that no longer appear in the conversations of today. Akala’s dedication to researching and attempting to understand how society functioned in Elizabethan England is evident in his writing. He has worked hard to make the novel as authentic as possible. The Dark Lady can be described as a history lesson with added fictitious elements. While at first, flipping between the page being read and…
Shirley Marr, A Glasshouse of Stars, Penguin Random House Australia, May 2021, 288 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760899547 Meixing, together with her parents, has arrived in her new home, in a new country, where they don’t speak the language and don’t understand the customs. She struggles to make friends and fit in at school and is embarrassed by her second-hand shoes and school uniform. Shirley Marr has used her own experience as a migrant child as the basis for this novel. She hopes that by sharing her story, by asking the reader to walk in her shoes, she will…
Dave Hughes and Holly Ife (text) and Heath McKenzie (illustrator), How (Not) To Annoy Mum, Scholastic Australia, April 2021, 24 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781761120794 A follow up to How Not to Annoy Dad, this book is a catalogue of sorts, structured under headings that follow the day through, starting with: “Help Mum have a relaxing start to the morning”. The family in this case is represented by a koala family, and Heath McKenzie’s clever illustrations of them are my favourite part of the book. Parents and children will no doubt identify with many of the comments of the…
Dhana Fox (text) and James Hart (illustrator), How to Make a Friend in Six Easy Steps, Scholastic Australia, January 2021, 24 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760973414 Children will enjoy James Hart’s vivid illustrations and Dhana Fox’s very witty story about the optimistic main character, Rosie the shark. How to Make a Friend in 6 Easy Steps is a sweet story about Rosie’s struggle to find a new friend. In order to make a friend Rosie consults a book called ‘How to make a friend in 6 easy steps’. However, when she attempts to put what she has learnt into…
Jack Heath, 200 Minutes of Mystery, Scholastic Australia, April 2021, 144 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760660840 Following on from his bestselling, award-winning series Minutes of Danger, celebrated Australian author Jack Heath delivers the next instalment of high-speed, thrilling stories for middle grade and young adult readers. 200 Minutes of Mystery is a collection of 10 short tales written in real-time – 20 minutes. The reader is given countdown markers in the tab to keep track of how long they have left to solve the mystery and how long it will take them to finish reading the story. From a death-defying sky-diving accident to…