Deborah Abela, author of Final Storm, answers some questions about her book. We thank her and Penguin Books Australia for this interview. Why did you decide to write a trilogy based on climate change? About 15 years ago I got really angry because scientists told us that the way we were living was causing the climate to change, which was going to lead to a whole bunch of problems including rising sea levels and wild weather. They also told us if we stop putting so much carbon in the air by stopping burning coal, fuel, and chopping down trees, we could stop…
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Deborah Abela, Final Storm, Penguin Books Australia, August 2019, 336pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780143794462 After climate change and wild weather destroyed their homes, Griffin, Isabella and their friends had finally settled down in New City. As they start at a new school they think their troubles have finally passed, little do they know that they are just beginning. When the weather becomes even more unpredictable and fierce ice storms batter the city they are forced to temporarily move in with their charming new friend Aleksander. But Griffin has his suspicions about the cause of the wild weather and of the…
Pip Smith (text) and Beau Wylie (illustration), Theodore the Unsure, Scholastic Australia, August 2019, 32pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760661861 Theodore, the king of all animals, has big shoes to fill. It’s no easy task making the big decisions, like whether to cut his perpetually growing mane. But he learns that indecision leads to atrophy and while a good leader should listen to the voice of the masses, the final decision must be made. Theodore is thrust into the role of king of the entire animal kingdom with a heavy heart and lacking any self-belief. How can he lead all of these…
Mario Ramos and Linda Burgess (translator), I am so Clever, Gecko Press, August 2019, 48pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781776572496 I am so Clever is an amusing retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood story written and illustrated by Mario Ramos. This is an English-language edition, originally written in French as Le Plus Malin in 2011. Mario Ramos was a well-known Belgian children’s book author and this paperback edition is published posthumously. The text is translated by Linda Burgess. Ramos creates a modern conversational dialogue between Red Riding Hood and the wolf. Burgess has translated this into English keeping the…
Julia Lawrinson, author of Maddie in the Middle, answers some questions about her book. We thank her and Fremantle Press for this interview. Maddie in the Middle is based around a tween’s need to fit in and this need being stronger than the desire to follow the rules (or the law). Do you think that social media plays a role in increasing social pressure or is this simply a developmental rite of passage? Social media has given demon wings to social pressure. It’s not as if social pressure didn’t exist before, but at least there used to be a break…
Julia Lawrinson, Maddie in the Middle, Fremantle Press, September 2019, 224pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925815931 Maddie Lee and Katy are best friends. But now that they are in Grade 6, Katy has become a school councillor and is working extra hard to earn a scholarship. Maddie is feeling left out and inadequate. That is until a new girl, Samara, arrives at the school. Maddie is desperate to be friends with Samara, but it comes at a cost. Samara lets Maddie in on a secret – her family are struggling. After a car accident involving her father and brother, Samara’s father left them,…
Daniel Gray-Barnett won the 2019 Book of the Year Award: New Illustrator for Grandma Z. The Award was presented at Deakin Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne on Friday 16 August. This is Daniel’s acceptance speech: Firstly, I’d like to thank the Children’s Book Council of Australia as well as the judges for this incredible honour. A big thank you to my publisher, Miriam Rosenbloom and the team at Scribble Kids for their faith in my work and giving me the opportunity to bring Grandma Z to life. It’s probably fitting that this book didn’t start with a manuscript at all, but with…
Damon Young (text), Peter Carnavas (illustrator), My Dad is a Dragon, University of Queensland Press, August 2019, 32pp., RRP $24.95 (hbk), ISBN 9780702260490 Following on in the series of imaginative picture books that take a fun look at busting some stereotypes of family roles with My Nanna is a Ninja, My Pop is a Pirate, My Sister is a Superhero, My Brother is a Beast and My Mum is a Magician – it’s time for dads to be treated to the creative joy of writer Damon Young and illustrator Peter Carnavas in My Dad is a Dragon. In My Dad…
Valanga Khoza (text) and Matt Ottley (illustrations), Dumazi and the Big Yellow Lion, Scholastic Australia, September 2019, 32 pp,. RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781742994116 Dumazi is a young girl out for a walk to get water from the local waterhole, when she comes across a ferocious lion caught in a trap. He asks her to free him and promises that if she does, he won’t eat her. After the kind girl frees him, he breaks his promise and threatens to eat her. Can Dumazi escape from the lion? Khoza and Ottley have created a lovely spin on the traditional tale of the duplicitous lion and…
Louise Park, Grace’s Secrets, Berbay Publishing, September 2019, 136 pp,. RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780648397366 My first impression of Grace’s Secrets, based on the cover art, was that it was dated and unappealing; I felt quite unenthusiastic about reading it. So, given my initial reservations, it took me a little while to really get into the story of the book. Grace is a young girl who has recently moved from Australia to a castle-cum-hotel which her mum runs as though it were Victorian times. The castle still holds some mystery which Grace is determined to investigate and given that she is…