Kate Kelly (text), Albert Evans (illus.), Albert Has Two Homes Now, Forty South Publishing, 13 April 2017, 32pp., $20.00 (hbk), ISBN: 9780995408289 When Albert’s parents decide to separate, the four-year-old boy initially feels confused and scared. However, with ongoing love, support and encouragement from his parents and extended family, he gradually learns to adjust to the changes with a positive, confident outlook. Albert discovers that it’s fun to share two houses – one under the mountain with his mother, and the other high above the bush with his father. He also realises that even though his circumstances have changed, the important…
Author: Admin
Johanna Bell (author) and Dion Beasley (illustrator) won the Book of the Year, Early Childhood Award 2017 for Go Home, Cheeky Animals!. The Award was presented at Government House, Hobart on Friday 18 August. This is the acceptance speech Johanna gave on the day…. Thank you! What a thrill! Go Home Cheeky Animals! took three years to make and almost didn’t happen so it’s a surprise and a delight to be standing here. I had hoped to be up here with Dion Beasley, the remarkable young artist who illustrated our book, but Tennant Creek is an awfully long way from Hobart and Dion…
Katherine Rundell, The Explorer, Bloomsbury Australia, 1 Sept 2017, 416pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781408885284 When four children crash in the Amazon, they have no one to rely on but themselves. Using their wits, friendship and bits of knowledge collected from books, the survivors procure life’s essentials — food, shelter, warmth — and set off to save themselves. Inadvertently, they discover a wondrous place that holds the key to their rescue, if only they can keep it a secret. At once a classic adventure story and a modern day tale of the wonders of nature, Katherine Rundell’s much anticipated middle grade…
Jennifer Brown, How Lunchbox Jones Saved Me From Robots, Traitors and Missy the Cruel, Bloomsbury Australia, 1 August 2017, 256pp., $9.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781681194417 Luke’s school always loses. It’s sort of their thing. The school has a trophy case, and the only thing in it is a coffee mug that says “World’s Greatest Secretary” … Although at some point, someone crossed out “Greatest” and wrote “Pretty Good” instead. There’s a vague hope that the new robotics club might stand a chance of winning a robotics championship that’s coming up, and now Mr Terry is putting the pressure on Luke to join.…
Jacob Sager Weinstein, The City of Secret Rivers, Walker Books Australia, 1 August 2017, 352pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781406368857 Every time I picked up this book it brought a grin to my face. This story hit the same funny bone that loves Horrible Histories, Monty Python, and Blackadder (although without the adult references!). Hyacinth is a snarky heroine who has just moved with her mother from a farm in Illinois to a flat in London. Her aunts and grandmother have prepared her with all sorts of useful skills, like plumbing, but she doesn’t realise just what they’ve prepared her for until…
Gareth Ward, The Traitor and the Thief, Walker Books Australia, August 2017, 352pp, $17.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781925381504 The most obvious point about The Traitor and the Thief is that it is a steampunk adventure, and anyone looking for fascinating steampunk features, from the mekanikal fish that direct you where you need to go, to the darkly gothic laboratories that Sin finds himself in, is going to find plenty to enthrall them. Much as I loved the rich steampunk background of this story, though, it was the gripping adventure and the twists of the characters that kept me coming back for more.…
Dr Gina M Newton won The Eve Pownall Award for Information Books 2017 for Amazing Animals of Australia’s National Parks. The Award was presented at Government House, Hobart on Friday 18 August. This is the acceptance speech she gave on the day…. Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, fellow authors and illustrators, I’m so excited. To be honoured with the Eve Pownall award is a dream come true. I am so grateful to the wonderful and invaluable Children’s Book Council of Australia; 71 tireless years of inspiring children to read and supporting creators to create. It is particularly humbling…
Trace Balla won the Book of the Year, Younger Readers Award for Rockhopping. The Award was presented on Friday 18 August at Government House, Hobart. This is the acceptance speech she gave on the day… I would like to acknowledge the Palawa people and pay my respects to any elders that may be here today, as well as past and future elders, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community, and this country, Lutruwita. I also acknowledge the land where this book is set, Gariwerd, (otherwise known as The Grampians) in the country of the Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung people, and pay my respects to…
Bob Graham won the 2017 Book of the Year, Picture Book Award for Home in the Rain. The Award was presented at Government House, Hobart on Friday 18 August. This is his acceptance speech… I am bowled over to receive this award for Home in the Rain, and I want to make my own small tribute to all at the CBC, past and present. The Book Council and I share a few things beyond our commitment to children’s books. We are both septuagenarians; they being 72 this year and me running just a little ahead of them, trying to catch my breath. It’s…
Claire Zorn won the 2017 Book of the Year, Older Reader Award for One Would Think the Deep. The Award was presented to her at Government House, Hobart, on Friday 18 August. This is the very moving acceptance speech she gave on the day…. I’m supposed to be good at putting things into words, but I’m afraid this time words fail me. It is impossible to describe how much this award means to me. The last twelve months of my life have been some of the hardest I’ve ever experienced due to personal reasons. (If you read my blog you will…