Kevin’s Best of 2016

Reviewer Kevin shares his Best Books for Children in 2016…

After reading more than 65 books so far this year, what were for me the best of the bunch for children and young adults? There were many excellent books, some stunning ones, and a few deeply enjoyable books. For older readers, one of the best has to be Francesca Haig’s The Map of Bones (HarperCollins London). This marvellous post-apocalyptic novel of character and thrilling tension was the second in a promised trilogy. The first in the series, The Fire Sermon, was a stunning debut by this Australian YA novelist living in London. Watch for the third novel in 2017, and in the meantime treat yourself to a 2-novel package for Christmas.

 

I discovered Dub Leffler, indigenous illustrator and writer, this year. Once There was a Boy (Magabala Books, Broome) was published in 2011, and will delight readers who come across it for many years to come. It is a simple allegory with bold artwork and a spare text telling a tale of how much risk and pain each of us faces when we give our heart to someone else. It is a bold, poetic and strikingly artistic book. Dub Leffler’s work can stand beside some of the best by Australian book illustrators.

 

 

West Australian indigenous artist, Sally Morgan, is also one of the most loved, most adventurous, and most prolific Australian writers for children. In a remarkable mother-daughter duet, Sally Morgan and Ambelin Kwaymullina have produced, I Love Me (Fremantle Press), a book that offers a range of rhyming reasons we should love ourselves, with matching illustrations of indigenous children. This is a superbly well designed book, witty and absurd, and at the same time a serious plea for tolerance towards diversity and individuality in our world.

 

A bit about Kevin Brophy…

Kevin Brophy teaches creative writing at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of fifteen books of poetry, fiction and essays. In 2009 he was a winner of the Calibre Prize for an outstanding essay. His latest book, This is What Gives Us Time, was published by Gloria SMH Press in 2016.

 

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