John Heffernan (text), Kate Durack (illus), Two Tales of Brothers from Ancient Mesopotamia, Christmas Press, 1 May 2016, unpaged, $19.95 (hbk), ISBN 9780994234049 There is nothing like traditional tales for good, gutsy stories with larger-than-life heroes, formidable rivals and great tests of physical prowess, moral fibre and cunning. There is a compelling colour and texture in the myths, legends and sagas of the past, a fact that clearly drives the Christmas Press series of picture book interpretations of traditional stories across different cultures, places and eras. Here, John Heffernan retells two exciting tales from the great Mesopotamian saga, The Epic…
Author: Admin
Ailsa Wild (text), Ben Wood (illus), Squishy Taylor and the Vase that Wasn’t (Squishy Taylor #3), Hardie Grant Egmont, 1 March 2016, 118pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760126673 Squishy is a girl detective who has to solve mysteries as well as deal with the joys and frustrations of living in a blended family. Squishy Taylor and the Vase that Wasn’t is the latest in a series that includes: Squishy Taylor and the Bonus Sisters and Squishy Taylor and a Question of Trust. In this book, one of Squishy’s neighbours’ possibly Ming Dynasty vase is stolen by a possible ghost and Squishy…
Lisa Shanahan (text), Leila Rudge (illus), The Whole Caboodle, Scholastic Australia, 1 April 2016, 24pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781743629321 The Whole Caboodle seems to be, at least initially, a picture book for small children about a man and his dog going for a walk; with reference to cross-bred dogs with one poodle parent. Families who live with actual Irish Troodles, Goldendoodles and Pomeroodles now have a book with which they can identify. However my interest in the book is the number of unusual words included in the text to entertain and test the mental agility of parents. The phrase ‘the…
Marisa Reichardt, Underwater, Pan Macmillan Australia, 9 Feb 2016, 256pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781509818006 When our newspapers report those massacres in US high schools, we try to grasp the effects they must have on those who have undergone the experience. This book is about those people. Seventeen-year-old Morgan played an important part in just such an event. She attended Pacific Palms High School when a student with a gun attacked and killed those around her and himself, a student whom she had had a part in bringing to school. Morgan is traumatised after the event, and is unable to leave the…
Helen Chebatte, Bro, Hardie Grant Egmont, 1 Feb 2016, 240pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760125509 Romes (Romeo Makhlouf) and Diz (Aziz Mansoor) are best friends and schoolmates at a Sydney Catholic high school, Christian Boys High, which has a multicultural population. There are Lebs (Lebanese), Fobs (Fresh off the Boat, but that includes Samoans, Maoris and Fijians), Rez (Asians, rez being the Arabic word for ‘rice’) and Ozzies. The latter can be called Bogans, Skips or Convicts – take your pick. Romes and Diz are Lebs, despite the fact that Romes’s mother was Australian and that he was born in Australia. The…
Robyn Bavati, Within These Walls (My Holocaust Story #2), Scholastic Australia; 1 April 2016, 208pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781760152857 Within These Walls is the second in a series, My Holocaust Story, the first being Hanna by Goldie Alexander. Bavarti has extensively researched written and oral material in her attempt to authentically portray the life of a Polish girl, Miri, before and during the Nazi occupation of Warsaw. Miri’s experiences are mirrors of the reality Bavarti discovered. It is a terrible reality, as we know. The story opens with a picture of the happy, fun-filled life of Miri’s family. She and…
Sally Morgan (text), Ambelin Kwaymullina (illus), Joey Counts to Ten, Little Hare/Hardie Grant, Feb 2016, 24pp., $24.95 (hbk), ISBN: 9781760121266 In lyrical, rhythmic prose, a young joey learns how to count to ten by noticing the wonderful wildlife surrounding him in the Australian bush. The bright, colourful illustrations on each page were created by Aboriginal artist Ambelin Kwaymullina and will mesmerise children. Beyond numbers, young readers will be introduced to iconic Australian animals, the phases of the day, changing weather and various outback sounds. The natural beauty of a day shines through the sparse text on each page. In addition, we…
James Lee, author of the Ghostworks series, gives us some insight in to what he is offering readers. In today’s world of TV, mobile phone apps and computer games, how do we get kids to read? As an author, I believe that people will always read what they want to read. Getting them started is the real challenge. As readers, kids are more open to new ideas than adults. They are also sterner critics! Which is why I often argue that I don’t write for kids as such — I write for “short adults”. Treating young readers with respect is essential. It’s…
Debut author, Cheree Peters muses on the origins of her first book, Time Catcher, and reflects on her writing process. Thanks Cheree for giving us your time and your insights. Like any sane person, I always find myself coming up with scenes in my mind, replaying them over and over. Amongst the countless scenes is one where the idea for my book first started. I began writing ‘Time Catcher’ in 2014, thinking it was the only logical thing to do after completing my creative and professional writing degree. I picked one of the ‘scenes’ from my mind that had stuck…
We are lucky enough to have received a terrific piece from author, Jessica Walton about her just-released picture book, Introducing Teddy. Welcome to Reading Time. Jess. This week, my picture book Introducing Teddy, illustrated by the wonderfully talented Dougal MacPherson (15minutedrawings on Instagram and Twitter) will be released in the US, UK and Australia. It will eventually also be released in Germany, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Brazil and Japan. This seems completely unbelievable to me, considering that twelve months ago I wrote the book for an audience of just two: my dad Tina and my one-year-old son. Dad…