Marlee Jane Ward impressed with her YA debut Welcome to Orphancorp in 2015, winning Seizure’s Viva La Novella Prize as well as the YA category... Read more
Writer Idan Ben-Barak and illustrator Julian Frost’s guide to microbes is a ‘fun, beautifully designed and repulsive [picture] book’ that will have kids ‘[delighting] in... Read more
Archie and the Bear is the whimsical first collaboration between author Zanni Louise and illustrator David Mackintosh. It’s the story of a boy who is sure he’s a bear, and... Read more
Veteran children’s author Phil Cummings has produced over 60 books for young readers so he knows how to tell a simple story. The nameless titular character lives in a small... Read more
What a fun, beautifully designed and repulsive book! Its premise is humble: let’s meet some microbes. It sits between educational text and narrative picture book, following Min the microbe on... Read more
Great Goal! Marvellous Mark! is a lively alphabet book for budding AFL champions. The story of a junior football game is woven into the alphabet book structure, capturing the joy... Read more
This is Mark Carthew and Anil Tortop’s first collaboration, though both bring extensive backlists in their respective areas. The Great Zoo Hullabaloo! is an energetic account of missing animals who,... Read more
Heads and Tails is an educational book for small children either at home or at school, incorporating a game into the narrative to make the animal information fun rather than... Read more
I had a teddy who lost an eye, but my Nanna didn’t have a button tin. My daughter had a nanna who kept her buttons in a range of colour-coded... Read more
Here’s a picture book that unpacks mindfulness and the awareness of transient moments in time. Ollie’s grandma knows he loves treasure hunts so she sends him a map. He enthusiastically... Read more
Ready, Steady, Hatch has to be read aloud. That’s where the magic is, in the rhythm and cadence of this amusing tale. The story of a lost newborn chick unfolds... Read more
Jane Tanner’s rich, textured, gorgeous illustrations work in parallel with Sarah Brennan’s equally complex and affecting language in this verse-narrative of three young girls who find a beached whale. Their... Read more
A Cardboard Palace is the Dickensian story of 11-year-old Jorge, a Romanian boy brought to Paris to be part of a gang of child thieves. Jorge is a sweet, kind... Read more
Isaac has finally talked his mum into a proper holiday—a trip to Rottnest Island, where he’s hoping for a proper adventure instead of a holiday care program. But he’ll still... Read more
Begin, End, Begin traverses the rough terrain of adolescence, pausing to wonder at some of the many beginnings and endings that young adults will encounter during their high-school years. This... Read more
As a young child, Nevo Zisin knew they were a boy—the only problem was they were born a girl. They were bullied for being a tomboy at their Jewish primary... Read more
Demet Divaroren’s YA novel Living on Hope St does not shirk from tackling the big issues that concern society today. Refugees, domestic abuse, racism, grief and bullying all feature in... Read more