Author: Admin

Karen Foxlee, Lenny’s Book of Everything, Allen & Unwin, October 2018, 352 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760528706 Lenny, small and sharp, has a younger brother Davey who won’t stop growing – at seven, he is as tall as a man. Raised by their mother, they have a roof over their heads but not much else. The bright spot every week is the arrival of the latest issue of Burrell’s Build-It-At-Home Encyclopaedia. Through the encyclopaedia, Lenny and Davey experience the wonders of the world – beetles, birds, quasars, quartz – and dream about a life of freedom and adventure. But…

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Stephen Davies (text), Luke Pearson (creator), and Seaerra Miller, (illustrator) Hilda and the hidden people, Flying Eye Books, October 2018, 176 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781912497973 Here is the novelization by Stephen Davies of Luke Pearson’s graphic novels. Included in this book are storylines from the graphic novels Hilda and the troll and Hilda and the midnight giant. The graphic novels have also been adapted into a Netflix series. Hilda and her mum live alone in the mountainous wilderness – her mother is an architect and can work from home. Hilda loves their house and its surrounds, until she…

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Jodi Toering (text), and Tannya Harricks (illustrator), Mallee Sky, Walker Books Australia, February 2019, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925381672 This story effectively highlights the struggle of drought and the effect of climate change. I was instantly captivated by Tannya Harricks’ illustrations in this book; They perfectly represent an Australia that is familiar to me – blazing sunsets, dreamy starlit night skies, and the dry and dusty earth.  Jodi Toering’s style is poetic and thought provoking. Her selection of words portray the heartache of drought through different lenses and perspectives. Mum fighting to keep the dust out of the…

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Henrietta Strickland (text) and Paul Strickland (illustrator), Dinosaur Roar! Pan Macmillan UK, Decmber 2017, 32 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781509885398 With young children there is often a fascination about dinosaurs which can’t be denied. This 25th anniversary edition of Dinosaur Roar! celebrates the joy which dinosaurs; and books, can bring. Its rhythmic style feels almost song like when read aloud, and its rhyming sequence based on opposites engages children in its predictability. A fun and appealing exploration of language and dinosaurs, this book is sure to have young readers bopping along to its beat and expressing curiosity throughout its…

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Matt Shanks, Queen Celine, Walker Books Australia, February 2019, 40 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760650346 Queen Celine is a driven and focused ruler; protective of her kingdom and its beauty. But as she strives to maintain her kingdom as she knows and loves it, she encounters life lessons too big to ignore. After building a rock wall to protect and preserve her kingdom, Queen Celine unintentionally creates change and witnesses the impact of her actions unfold as her kingdom succumbs to ruin. By demonstrating responsibility and self reflection, Queen Celine endeavours to right her wrong. She returns her kingdom…

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Craw, Rachael, The Rift, Walker Books, November 2018, 358 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760750025 Meg and her mother Cora return to the rather mysterious island called Black Water after an absence of nine years. The island is home to a herd of deer the horns of which contain a substance with extraordinary healing powers. Black Water Island is also home to a special group of people chosen to be Rangers to protect the herd, particularly from the sinister and ferocious Rift Hounds which can appear from another world when the balance on the island is disrupted and a ‘rift’…

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Kate Gordon, Girl Running, Boy Falling, Rhiza Edge, October 2018, 236 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925563528 This latest book from Kate Gordon is a very touching and emotionally raw story. Therese is sixteen and lives with her aunt in a small town in Tasmania. She is a typical teen in many ways – she goes to school, has a group of close friends and works in the local supermarket. Therese is also a high achiever, involved in many extracurricular activities, and she is in love with her best friend Nick. He is the high school golden boy – handsome,…

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Stephen Michael King, Rainbow Bear, Scholastic Australia, November 2018, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781742997698 There is a delightful kind of fantasy element to this book, right from the opening endpapers which, in black and white, depict animals picnicking, strolling on a hillside overlooking a city and making up the elements of a fountain. No humans are visible in the city illustrated on the title page – an illustration which cleverly hints at what is to come in the rest of the story as we see one small animal painting a canvas with rainbow colours and a rainbow arching…

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Robyn Osborne (text), and John Phillips (illustrator), Bruno: The Boisterous Blue Dog from the Bush. Big Sky Publishing, August 2018, 32 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925675504 Bob and his blue-heeler dog Bruno are best friends. They live a simple country life in a rather ramshackle house, happy to eat sausages and baked beans. However, when Bob wins a large amount of money they move to the city, buy a new house and car and dine on much fancier food than they have been used to. Unfortunately for Bruno, Bob makes new friends and Bruno feels lonely and abandoned. It…

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Lynn Jenkins (text), and Kirrili Lonergan (illustrator), Grey-glasses-itis, EK Books, January 2019, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925335958 Grey Glasses-Itis is a clumsy-at-times read. The title itself is a play on a medical condition (rhymes with laryngitis, get it?) and was a little tricky to convey to a preschooler. However, the story is sweet, with Loppy the LAC (the origins of whose name is not revealed but it may have been in previous installments to the series) being a lovable and cheerful creature. Loppy loves to paint and sees the world in all its colours. One day, however, the LAC…

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