Thursday, 1 March 2018
Message in a Sock is a delightful picture book based on a true exchange between an Australian soldier and a young girl in World War I. Tammy and her mother...

Thursday, 1 March 2018
Gus Gordon delights and entertains with his newest picture book, a fable about two bugs who come across the most beautiful peach they’ve ever seen. In the beginning they’re overjoyed...

Thursday, 1 February 2018
Bo Mitchell is a typical guy in Lamistead. He’s nice, sporty, and doesn’t do anything that will make him stand out. Aurora Wild stands out in all the wrong ways....

Thursday, 1 February 2018
Ten-year-old Isaac and his mum run a caravan park on the coast of Queensland. Things have been tough since the death of Isaac’s father, with Isaac having to take on...

Thursday, 1 February 2018
Penni Russon’s new middle-grade novel centres on the rowdy but lovable Outhwaite family. When they inherit an old mansion on the other side of the world, otherworldly encounters ensue. The...

Thursday, 1 February 2018
This is a charming historical novel, based on a series of events in pre-federation Sydney. Told through the diary entries of the fictional 14-year-old Lucy Coombes, the book delves into...

Thursday, 1 February 2018
Kensy and Max are 11-year-old twins whose slightly eccentric lives change overnight after a string of strange occurrences sees them racing across international borders to London accompanied by their Nanny...

Thursday, 1 February 2018
Forget about any religious symbolism, for kids (and a fair few adults), Easter is all about chocolate eggs brought by the stealthy Easter bunny. This cute little self-referential picture book...

Thursday, 1 February 2018
We have seen a recent surge of books highlighting the achievements of great women throughout history. These books aim to redress historical imbalances and inspire children of all genders to...

Thursday, 1 February 2018
Apart from rhyming texts in picture books, poetry for children seems to be largely neglected, even though it is an active part of the Australian primary curriculum. So it is...

Wednesday, 1 November 2017
It’s never too early to instil empathy and compassion in the formative minds of the young, and Room on Our Rock does an admirable job in cultivating such qualities in...

Monday, 23 October 2017
Marlowe Jensen was The Dying Girl. Born with a congenital heart defect, no-one expected Marlowe to make it to her 18th birthday until she won the organ-donation lottery, and got...

Monday, 23 October 2017
One of the joys of early childhood are those moments when you discover the remarkable in the everyday. The Hole Story turns on such uncanny moments. When Charlie discovers a...

Monday, 23 October 2017
While out shopping for pickles, a chance discovery lands Keagan in a parallel world: a pristine land of eerily similar clones, who quickly throw him out with the trash for being too different....

Monday, 23 October 2017
Seventeen-year-old Gwen runs every day from the thoughts of her future and the ghosts of her past. She is unable to imagine a life beyond the boundaries of her small...

Monday, 23 October 2017
A mother is missing in the jungles of Panama and a father and daughter are attempting to discover the truth behind her disappearance. This is the premise of Sue Whiting’s...

Monday, 23 October 2017
As far as dogs go, pugs are pretty adorable with their squishy faces, flat noses and curly tails, but Ellie is no ordinary dog. Her owner Roz treats her like...

Wednesday, 4 October 2017
Sixteen-year-old Lily lives a pretty normal life with her mum, Angela, on a farm in Northern California—until Angela vanishes. Lily discovers that her mum has been abducted by a secretive...