The Spectacular Suit (Kat Patrick, illus by Hayley Wells, Scribble)
Wednesday, 9 June 2021
Parties can be extremely important for children. Especially for Frankie, the protagonist of The Spectacular Suit, who has never asked for a party before. With everyone in her class coming,...
Malla Nunn on ‘Sugar Town Queens’
Wednesday, 9 June 2021
Malla Nunn's Sugar Town Queens (A&U, August) is a young adult novel set in Sugar Town, South Africa. This coming-of-age story follows 15-year-old Amandla as she uncovers her family history and...
Sugar Town Queens (Malla Nunn, A&U)
Tuesday, 8 June 2021
Sugar Town Queens is a young adult coming-of-age novel by Malla Nunn, author of When the Ground is Hard. Her latest book follows 15-year-old Amandla, who is mixed-raced and growing...
HGCP to publish ‘Freedom Day’, sponsor Freedom Day Festival
Wednesday, 2 June 2021
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (HGCP) has announced the acquisition of picture book Freedom Day, which will be released under the new Bright Light Books imprint in August. Freedom Day tells...
Australian children’s book creators sign open letter in support of Palestine
Wednesday, 2 June 2021
Almost 300 publishing professionals, authors, illustrators and others with a connection to the children’s book industry have signed an open letter in support of Palestinian liberation since it was posted online on...
Readings YA Book Prize 2021 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 2 June 2021
The shortlist for the 2021 Readings Young Adult Book Prize has been announced. The shortlisted YA novels are: The F Team (Rawah Arja, Giramondo) Future Girl (Asphyxia, A&U) The End of the...
Albert Namatjira (Vincent Namatjira, Magabala)
Wednesday, 2 June 2021
In his picture book biography Albert Namatjira, Vincent Namatjira paints a stoic and quietly devastating portrait of his great-grandfather Albert, one of the most iconic figures in Australian painting. An...
Girls in Boys’ Cars (Felicity Castagna, Pan)
Tuesday, 1 June 2021
Felicity Castagna’s Girls in Boys’ Cars is not dissimilar to her Prime Minister’s Literary Award–winning young adult novel The Incredible Here and Now, which centres on a 15-year-old coming of...
Hardie Grant acquires Ampersand Prize–shortlisted YA novels
Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing has acquired two additional titles from the Ampersand Prize 2020 shortlist: Completely Normal (and Other Lies) by Biffy James and We Who Hunt the Hollow by...
All Dogs Bark (Catherine Meatheringham & Deb Hudson, Windy Hollow Books)
Tuesday, 25 May 2021
A picture book that is particularly appealing for canine lovers, All Dogs Bark is a joyous and raucous look at the dogs of the world. Its simple language makes it...
The Memory Thief (Leonie Agnew, Puffin)
Tuesday, 25 May 2021
Following her last spellbinding tale The Impossible Boy, Leonie Agnew has created another spine-tingling adventure novel for middle-grade readers. The Memory Thief tells the magical story of an unlikely friendship...
The Cat Thief (Pat Simmons, illus by Liz Duthie, Little Pink Dog Books)
Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Olive desperately wants a cat. So much so she is willing to steal them from off the street! The Cat Thief is a wickedly sly and humorous tale of theft,...
Rainfish (Andrew Paterson, Text)
Tuesday, 11 May 2021
Debut middle-grade novel Rainfish is set in the 1980s during the uncomplicated glory days of Transformers and Star Wars, when ‘being offline’ meant you left your phone off the hook....
The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bowen Bartholomew Crisp (Paul Russell & Nicky Johnston, EK Books)
Tuesday, 11 May 2021
The title of this picture book is a bit of a mouthful, but it is rather apt because there is a lot going on in the mind of young Bowen...
The Story of Australia: For the young (and the curious) (Don Watson, Black Inc.)
Tuesday, 4 May 2021
After being out of print for 20 years, Don Watson’s The Story of Australia has been given a new life, a new target demographic and a new subtitle. Now targeted...
Henry Hamlet’s Heart (Rhiannon Wilde, UQP)
Tuesday, 4 May 2021
Henry Hamlet lives in his head, and his head is full of worries—will he ever get a girlfriend and lose his virginity? Will he pass his year 12 exams? What...
Cameron Nunn on ‘Echo in the Memory’
Wednesday, 28 April 2021
The historical YA novel Echo in the Memory (Walker, June) took author Cameron Nunn 10 years and a PhD in the history of child convicts to write. The book features...
Coco, the Fish with Hands: Endangered Animal Tales 1 (Aleesah Darlison, illus by Mel Matthews, Puffin)
Tuesday, 27 April 2021
Coco, the Fish with Hands is a simple book that reads almost like a souvenir from a conservation habitat visit. Its story is practical and streamlined, introducing an individual handfish,...
Echo in the Memory (Cameron Nunn, Walker Books)
Tuesday, 27 April 2021
Cameron Nunn presents an ambitious work of historical fiction in his latest novel Echo in the Memory. Seamlessly telling the stories of two adolescents existing almost 200 years apart, the...
Hachette acquires Temple middle-grade series
Wednesday, 21 April 2021
Hachette Australia has acquired ANZ rights to a middle-grade series by Kate Temple. The first book in the series of the same name, The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat...
Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the monsoon forest (Diane Lucas and Ben Tyler, illus by Emma Long, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 20 April 2021
Combining their expertise in and passion for botanical work, wild landscapes and the culture of the Top End bush, authors Diane Lucas and Ben Tyler join with illustrator Emma Long...
‘As Fast as I Can’ wins Readings Children’s Book Prize 2021
Thursday, 15 April 2021
Penny Tangey's middle-grade novel As Fast as I Can (UQP) has won the 2021 Readings Children's Book Prize. Readings bookseller and prize judge Clare Millar writes that the judging panel were...
Kunyi (Kunyi June Anne McInerney, Magabala)
Wednesday, 14 April 2021
Kunyi, an illustrated memoir of Kunyi June Anne McInerney’s childhood, collects snapshot moments and stories of her life, told in her own words and accompanied by her paintings. The lively...
100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze (Clayton Zane Comber, HarperCollins)
Wednesday, 14 April 2021
Xander Maze’s best friend is his Nanna. When she is diagnosed with stage four cancer and asks him to write a list of 100 Remarkable Feats for him to achieve...
A Pair of Pears and an Orange (Anna McGregor, Scribble)
Tuesday, 13 April 2021
A pair of pears are good friends who like to spend their days together, playing games that are just right for the two of them. When Orange appears, Little Pear...
Marlow Brown, Magician in the Making (Kesta Fleming, illus by Marjory Gardner, Celapene Press)
Wednesday, 7 April 2021
Kesta Fleming has written stories and poems for junior readers for many years, making her publishing debut with the Marlow Brown chapter books in 2019. Magician in the Making, the second in...
Evans, Chun, Dabarera win Australian Picture Book Illustrator Awards
Thursday, 1 April 2021
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) has announced the winners of the inaugural Australian Picture Book Illustrator Awards. The winners in each category are: Established Illustrator Award...
A Glasshouse of Stars (Shirley Marr, Puffin)
Tuesday, 30 March 2021
Meixing and her family have recently arrived in the New Land with hopes of a better life. Everything is different for Meixing, including the large house that is now the...
Frizzle and Me (Ellie Royce, illus by Andrew McLean, Ford St)
Tuesday, 30 March 2021
Frizzle and Me jumps on board a current—and vital—trend for books celebrating diversity, and makes a respectable contribution to the cohort. The premise is that the definition of ‘family’ is...
CBCA 2021 Book of the Year shortlists announced
Tuesday, 30 March 2021
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its 2021 Book of the Year shortlists. The shortlisted books in each category are: Older readers The End of the World...
