Isabel Thomas (text) and Daniel Egnéus (illustrator), Moth An Evolution Story, Bloomsbury Publishing, July 2018, 48 pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781408889756 This stunning non-fiction picture book introduces the concepts of evolution and natural environmental adaptation along with pollution and heredity. The lyrical but sparse text, appropriate to the book’s format, is beautifully complemented by Egnéus’s evocation of the moth’s life-cycle and the changing environment over time. The opening lines set the scene. This is a story of light and dark. Of change and adaptation, of survival and hope. The peppered moth, usually pale salt-and-pepper coloured occasionally produces dark winged offspring, whose…
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Katrina Lehman (text) and Sophie Beer (illustrator), Wren, Scribe Publications, July 2018, 32 pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925322118 Wren, one of four children in the family, doesn’t like noise and just wants some quiet, away from noisy trucks, cars, trains, doors, kids. But the noise levels increase when his new sister comes home and constantly wails, whatever anyone does for her. Wren decides to go permanently to Grandpa and Gram’s. In the country, all is quiet, which Wren at first loves and then he misses all the activity at home. He is welcomed back and is able to cuddle his sister…
Allison Rushby, The Mulberry Tree, Walker Books Australia, July 2018, 304 pp., $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760650292 Immy and her family move to a small village in Cambridgeshire, England, and rent a cute thatched cottage. Local gossip says that the dead-looking tree in the garden will spirit Immy away on the eve of her 11th birthday, just as it has apparently done twice in the past, but the family decides to disregard the threat. Immy is haunted by dreams and the recurring refrain of a song in her head: Do naught wrong by the mulberry tree or she’ll take your daughters, one,…
Sonia Bestulic’s debut picture book is a celebration of the wonder of music. Here Sonia gives us some insight into her own background, developing the story, and what she hopes it will will achieve. Thanks for sharing Sonia. Books have been an integral part of my life ever since I can remember. I have an early memory as a three year old, being very attached to a cloth book, that was doll shaped as Little Red Riding Hood, and the apron section of the doll were the cloth pages that flipped through the story. I also recall the excitement of…
Walliman, Dominic and Newman, Ben (text); Newman, Ben (illustrator), Professor Astro Cat’s Human Body Odyssey, Flying Eye Books, July 2018, 64 pp., $29.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781911171140 This romp through the human body and its various systems is enlivened by colourful, cartoon illustrations of organs and cells surrounded by brief blocks of facts. Each double-spread page considers an organ (for example, the brain) or a system (for example, the endocrine system), extending into an overview of human DNA and the role of nanobots. There’s a glossary of terms at the back, and a page of random factoids such as the information that everyone’s…
Carly Nugent, The Peacock Detectives, Text Publishing Company, May 2018, 288 pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925603705 Cassie Anderson is eleven-going-on-twelve and has decided she wants to become a writer. When her neighbours’ pet peacocks go missing she thinks the search for them will make a good story. Little does she know that the year that it takes to recapture the peacocks will be filled with so many adventures and unexpected events that her family, her friends and her view of the world will be transformed completely. By the end of the book Cassie has acquired real wisdom as she tries to work…
Ewa Jozefkowicz, The Mystery of the Colour Thief, Head of Zeus Ltd., May 2018, 143 pp. $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781788546492 Izzy’s knows her nightmares are more than that. The shadowy colour thief that comes at night is conjured from the depths of her mind, but she can’t remember who he is. During the day, Izzy faces the reality that her mother remains in a coma after a car accident and that her best friend Lou is no longer any type of friend. The guilt of the accident, and the fading of colours from her bedroom mural, causes Izzy to flounder until she meets…
Kimberly Andrews, Puffin the Architect, Penguin Books Australia, July 2018, 32pp, RRP $24.99 (Hbk), ISBN 9780143793755 Puffin the architect knows how to exceed clients’ expectations — except when the clients are her pufflings! Tasked with designing their new abode, Puffin shows them a range of homes for different animals, each plan gloriously functional but swiftly rejected by her fussy pufflings. Poised to quit from frustration, Puffin finally listens to their unique needs and comes up with a grand solution for the family home. There is much to like about this large-format book: the depth and richness of the illustrations, especially…
Anne Fleming, The Goat, Pushkin Children’s Books, April 2018, 160 pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781782692140 The Goat is set in an apartment building near Central Park in New York. It is that most satisfying of mosaic stories, where the characters each go about their lives oblivious to each other until the presence of a goat on the roof brings them together, changing them all in wonderful ways. The cast of characters includes: – Kid, a young girl from Toronto who has come to New York with her parents while her mother’s play is performed off Broadway. They are house sitting and…
Elena Topouzoglou, Mr Pegg’s Post, New Frontier Publishing, July 2018, 32 pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925594195 Anna lives in a lighthouse on a beautiful Greek island far away from neighbours and friends, and is very lonely. When Mr Pegg the pelican who delivers the post has an unfortunate accident, Anna comes to the rescue with her trusty rowboat, and helps Mr Pegg deliver the mail across the island. In turn, Anna makes even more friends along the way, but soon realises just how lonely she is when her helpful turn comes to an end. Will she be forgotten by her newfound…