Joanna Young, My Sister, New Frontier, 1 March 2018, 24pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781925594041 Inspired by the author’s own relationship with her sister, this simple book highlights the special and unique bond sisters share. Sisters laugh at each other’s jokes, while also protecting each other from the outside world. Sisters share and keep secrets, and care for each other. Sisters grow together, play together and are there for each other. The illustrations in this book are sweet, warm and playful; following the little blonde sisters on their unique journey and special connection. Teachers Notes are available on the New Frontier website.…
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Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg (text), Andrea Edmonds (illus.), Visiting You: a journey of love, Exisle/EK Books, March 2018, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781925335668 Visiting You takes its reader on a journey of love through a sense of community, family and memories. While embarking on a visiting journey with his mother, the character of the little boy narrates his observations, interactions, and similarities with others. Each journey begins in a similar pattern; by identifying the mode of transport, whether that be the bus, train or ferry; before introducing the fellow passenger on their own visiting journey. “Who are you going to visit?” The boy…
Mike Dumbleton (text), Robin Cowcher (illus.), Digger, Allen & Unwin, March 2018, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760296735 Digger is a kangaroo made of scraps who accompanies Annie’s brother James to war in France. Annie hopes Digger will keep James safe. When James is injured and needs to recover, he is taken to stay with a French family whose daughter, Colette takes it upon herself to mend Digger who has also sustained some damage. Sadly, a short time later when James is killed in action, Digger is delivered to Colette’s home where she mends the tiny kangaroo before sending him to…
Katherine Paterson. My Brigadista Year, Walker Books Australia, 1 Feb 2018, 208pp, $24.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9780763695088 My Brigadista Year is a book that makes a beautiful impression even before you open it. The creative design elements, the bold illustration on the dust jacket and the discovery of the book’s exquisite hardcover hidden underneath, set the scene for what is indeed a remarkable story. It is 1961 and Fidel Castro is the new revolutionary leader of Cuba. There have been years of great turbulence and violence throughout the country and the threat of danger remains ever-present. So when Castro calls out for an…
Maddy Proud, Grace on the Court, Black Inc Books, 29 Jan 2018, 240pp., $14.99 (pbk) ISBN 9781760640330 My twins, 9, are a few years away from high school yet, but they both love netball and enjoyed reading this book. While Grace is 13 and just becoming interested in boys, the book is appropriate for middle grade readers (aged 8+) and gives them a heads up of what’s to come. This books centres around Grace, a keen netballer, as she starts her first year at high school alongside her twin brother, Angus, and her best friends from primary school. At high…
Fu Wenzheng, Ash Dresses Her Friends, New Frontier, 1 Feb 2018, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk) ISBN 9781925594027 The quiet magpie in this story, Ash, sits off to the side, wishing for a friend. But, to make new friends, sometimes you have to put yourself out there and share a little of what makes you special. Ash learns this by chance, when a sad elephant mentions he wants a new shirt. It turns out Ash is a brilliant seamstress and she makes the elephant a vibrant bright red, patterned shirt. He is delighted and shows off the shirt to his friends. Word…
In a belated stop on her blog tour with Books on Tour, author of The Trouble in Tune Town, Maura Pierlot, sings the praises of procrastination… The Trouble in Tune Town came about as a happy accident, the result of productive procrastination. The book was inspired by our children, who loved to play piano but were never keen to practise. Our most musical child, perhaps not surprisingly, was the most vocal critic, insisting it was all so boooring: the music theory and all those scales, the songs assigned, the repetition of lessons. Every parent I bumped into echoed this experience…
Allayne L Webster, The Centre of My Everything, Random House Australia, 29 Jan 2018, 288pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780143783336 Set in Mildura, Webster’s story explores a range of issues within a regional town. Do not be fooled, this is not a quirky small-town novel. It is confronting, upsetting and, most importantly, real. The Centre of My Everything alternates the viewpoint of four young adults. Each one is struggling to cope with hardship. They do this through the only method they know: their own brand of escapism. For Tara this means attention seeking behaviour, for Corey, it’s getting blind drunk, for Margot,…
Armin Greeder, The Mediterranean, Allen & Unwin, Feb 2018, 40pp., $29.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781760630959 The Mediterranean is a powerful and distressing portrayal of the current global refugee crisis. A single sentence on the first page is the only text within the book and clearly conveys this is not a children’s book: “After he had finished drowning, his body sank slowly to the bottom, where the fish were waiting.” In this devastating story, Greder reinterprets the cycle of life by evoking a strong emotional response from the reader. In this portrayal, it is those involved with the arms trade who sit at…
Michelle Cooper, Dr Huxley’s Bequest: A History of Medicine in Thirteen Objects, Self-published, 15 Jan 2018, 350pp., $28.59 (pbk), ISBN: 9780648165132 The school summer holidays have not been that exciting for thirteen-year-olds, Jaz and Rosy. Jaz’s father and Rosy’s mother both work at the university and the deserted campus does not offer much in the way of entertainment for teenagers. As a result of circumstance both girls are tasked with organising and presenting a bequeathed collection of unusual items. Through a mishap, Jaz and Rosy no longer have the labels to provide any indication of what the items may be, nor…