Reviewer Raquel shares her picks for 2017… The 91 Storey Treehouse – Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton My son loves this series and couldn’t wait to start the latest installment. I loved to listen to his giggling while he read page after page. Work Strife Balance – Mia Freedman Mia had me laughing out loud so many times. This book was an easy read as Mia writes in such a relatable way that I felt like we were actually having a conversation. Do Not Open This Book – Andy Lee Laughs all round for…
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Reviewer Julie Murphy shares her picks for 2017… Crazy About Cats – Owen Davey This book is beautiful. The writing is interesting, entertaining and witty, the information is faultless, and the illustrations and design are simply gorgeous. This information book would make a great gift for kids who love animals (especially wild cats) and dabbling in facts. Double Take – Susan Hood and Jay Fleck This is a picture book for kids 3+ about opposites…and a whole lot more. It reveals that things are not always as they seem – it just depends on your perspective. What a great message! Duck, Death and…
A F Harrold (text), Joe Todd-Stanton (illus.), Greta Zargo and the Death Robots from Outer Space, Bloomsbury, 7 Sept 2017, 256pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781408869475 Greta Zargo, an eleven-year-old orphan who lives by herself, is trying to find out who’s responsible for stealing cakes in Upper Lowerbridge. Meanwhile alien robots intent on creating an encyclopaedia of the universe are heading for Earth, ready to obliterate it completely—once they have permission. While on the case, intrepid reporter Greta, thanks to a spelling mistake and a talking parrot, inadvertently becomes responsible for the fate of planet Earth. Full of wit and humour…
Robyn Osborne (text), Sadami Konchi (illus.), My Dog Socks, Ford Street, 1 Oct 2017, 32pp., $24.95 (hbk), ISBN: 9781925272826 ‘Most people think Socks is an ordinary dog, but when we explore the beach, he turns into a… daring dolphin! Surging through water and cresting the waves, splashing and crashing, tumbling and stumbling.’ My Dog Socks is a timeless tale of one boy and his best friend in all the world, his loving and energetic dog, Socks. Told from the little boy’s perspective, through sweetly written prose, readers are invited into the magical world of imaginative play and the endless possibilities…
Paul Griffin, Saving Marty, Text Publishing, 2 Oct 2017, 208pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781925498868 ‘First, the rain wasn’t just in my father’s eyes, it was in his voice too. A gentle rain, a soft sadness. In that letter he wrote about music, the music in it, how it was like surfing, he described his heart as broken, and here it was. Second, my father was flat-out amazing. He had that thing Pal had. Like he would sing the same way if nobody was listening. Meanwhile, he was singing to the universe.’ Saving Marty is an uplifting, bittersweet novel about enduring friendship…
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, The War I Finally Won, Text Publishing, 2 Oct 2017, 400pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925498851 ‘I knew my mother –Mam- worked nights in a munitions factory in London. I knew bombs were falling on London now, every single night in fierce, horrendous waves. I knew the Germans targeted factories, especially munitions ones. I’d been caught in a bombing raid myself. Brick walls exploded above my head. Afterwards shattered glass drifted across the streets like snow.’ The War I Finally Won is an astounding novel that follows on from Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s first award-winning historical adventure, The War…
Reviewer Romi shares her picks for 2017… A Monster Calls – Patrick Ness This novel for young adults is one that pulls on every nerve and heart string. Everything about this book almost literally grabs you; from the graphic and provocative language to the incredible visual literacy, raw and complex storyline and fascinating characterisation, the suspense, thrill, pure angst and incredible sorrow. So powerful and absolutely unputdownable. Somewhere Else – Gus Gordon This is the kind of book you just must have in your collection. Charming and relatable on so many levels, Somewhere Else is a reminder of…
Sally Murphy (text), Celeste Hulme (illus.), Sage Cookson’s Christmas Ghost (Sage Cookson #6), New Frontier Publishing, Nov 2017, 56pp., $9.99 (pbk) ISBN 9781925594058 Sage Cookson, 10, doesn’t go to school. Instead she travels around with her celebrity chef parents, while they film their television cooking show. In the latest book, number six in the series, the family is off to Perth to film a Christmas special – a world record attempt to make the biggest ever pavlova. The attempt is taking place at a former Brickworks, using its huge ovens to bake the meringue. But the Brickworks is supposedly haunted…
Mark Carthew (text), Simon Prescott (illus.), A Christmas Surprise (Marvin and Marigold #2), New Frontier, Nov 2017, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk) ISBN 9781925059991 It is so special to pull out treasured handmade Christmas decorations each year. My kids delight in remembering when they made particular baubles and, as they grow, our tree becomes more and more adorned! Award-winning Victorian author Mark Carthew has perfectly captured this Christmas tradition, using rhyming couplets that roll off the tongue. Marigold receives a special parcel in the mail from her mum. It’s a Christmas tree and a box of treasured family ornaments for Marigold to…
Reviewer Verushka shares her picks for 2017… Let’s Do Diwali (Chook Doolan #7) – James Roy My young nephews are 2.5 years old, and it’s become clearer that diversity in books for their age group still has a long way to go. Books like Let’s Do Diwali show me that there is progress being made as it celebrates a Hindu festival that is so important to our family. When Dimple met Rishi – Sandhya Menon I don’t think I’ve ever quite related to a character as much as I did with Dimple – from her desire to…