Maggie Hutchings (text) and Evie Barrow (illustrator), I Saw Pete and Pete Saw Me, Affirm Press, July 2020, 24 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925972825 This is a sensitive story of a young boy’s concern for a homeless youth whom he sees regularly in his neighbourhood. He and his mother and the local shop keepers give the young man food, a blanket and jacket, and colour chalks as he spends his days drawing. The boy worries about him especially on cold wet nights and when he becomes ill – and finally disappears from the street. A gentle ending allows the…
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Jane Godwin (text) and Alison Lester (illustrator), Sing Me the Summer, Affirm Press, October 2020, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925972924 Sing Me the Summer is the second collaboration by Jane Godwin and Alison Lester. Its beautiful illustrations and gentle rhyming structure take us on a journey through Australia’s seasons. The story begins in summer with lazy days at the beach and night-times spent on the seaside exploring. A double-paged spread shows the summer fun of making tidal pools, lazing under an umbrella with a good read, kite flying, boogie boarding and splashing in the waves. Lester’s illustration teems…
Armin Greder, Diamonds, Allen & Unwin, August 2020, 36 pp., RRP $29.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760877040 Armin Greder creates books that live in a liminal space between picture books for children and pieces of art for adults. Although, who is to say which books are simply “for children” and what art is “for adults” anyway? His previous works have touched on refugees, animal cruelty, imagination, and justice. Diamonds begins with a conversation between a white child, Carolina and mother about a pair of diamond earrings. Her mother tells Carolina that the diamonds have been mined and that she won’t find any…
Jane Godwin (text) and Sara Acton (illustrator), I’ll Always Be Older Than You, Hardie Grant Egmont, April 2020, 32pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760129781 I’ll Always Be Older Than You is a kind, warm, delightful poem from an older sister to her younger brother about how their relationship will grow and develop as they mature. From the masterful Jane Godwin and with soft, pastel illustrations from Sara Acton, this book will reflect the sibling relationships in many families. One of the reasons it touched me so much is that I have a daughter and a son who are 4 years apart…
Sarah Allen, Busy Beaks, Affirm Press, September 2020, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925972948 Busy Beaks introduces 23 birds that, if not readily seen everywhere, are certainly well known. Each page depicts a different bird in its habitat together with its common and scientific name, favourite food, and typical song. Although the birds are not drawn in ornithological detail, they would certainly help children to identify them. An illustrated glossary of 25 birds includes additional interesting facts, while the colourful endpapers show dozens of birds’ eggs, unfortunately not identified. Suitable for ages 3-8. Busy Beaks has been shortlisted in…
Margaret Wild (text) and Jane Tanner (illustrator), Girl from the Sea, Allen & Unwin, May 2020, 32pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760524302 A dark and moody sea. A girl rises out of the water, searching, yearning for a home and a family. Is she a ghost? A spirit? The family in the cottage by the sea can’t see her, but the animals feel her presence. She imagines what she would do in the warm embrace of the family. Will they let her in? Wild and Tanner have collaborated on a lyrical tale that will intrigue and engage readers of all…
Emily Rodda, Eliza Vanda’s Button Box, HarperCollins Children’s Books, May 2021, 288 pp., RRP $22.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781460759608 Eliza Vanda is a seamstress of quirky nature and magical persuasion. When she arrives in Tidgy Bay, a sleepy seaside town of too few people, and sees the sign Cabins for Rent, Eliza knows she has found the right ‘pocket’ – the perfect place to make her home, for a while anyway. She quickly settles in and, by some mysterious process, manages to furnish the entire cabin with the contents of the few squishy bags she carries with her upon her arrival.…
Nick Bland, Wolfred, Hardie Grant Egmont, October2020, 32pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760505660 Wolfred McFlea is hungry—he’s not making ends meet as a writer. Lured in by the lustrous Fancy Pants Tower and the characters who visit there, he takes a job as a lift operator. Though the rich and famous don’t notice Wolfred, he notices everything. He shares all of the Tower’s weird and wonderful happenings with his friends, finding himself at home as he travels between floors. From the author of the Very Cranky Bear series, Wolfred is a delight to read. The rhyming structure of the text…
Asphyxia, Future Girl, Allen and Unwin, September 2020, 384 pp., RRP $24.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760294373 Reading Future Girl is an incredibly immersive, tangible experience. It is an important book, one that every young adult should read. Written and illustrated by Deaf artist and writer, Asphyxia, Future Girl is an Own Voices story that proves illustrated books are not just for children. Future Girl is portrayed as the art journal of Piper McBride, a 16-year-old Deaf teenager living in a near-future dystopian Melbourne. Her mother has raised her to hide her deafness behind oral skills and the ability to lipread. But Piper has never felt at ease communicating with…
Margaret Wild (text) and Judith Rossell (illustrator), Pink!, Working Title Press, July 2020, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781460757499 Pink is born… er, pink. The other dinosaurs are green, brown, and blue. Her colour is not a problem until she grows up a little and tries to play hide-and-seek with the other dinosaurs. With her bright colouring, she can’t help but stand out. Pink’s mother tries to console her saying she’s pretty and sweet but Pink responds that she wants to be brave and smart. When Pink becomes lost with some playmates, of course it is her colour that…