12 Curly Questions with author Amie Kaufman

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I took my very first steps on a boat, and I could walk on a deck before I could walk on land. I loved writing about the ships Jake and Marisol sail on in The World Between Blinks, including the Ship of the Desert, in book two.

2. What is your nickname?
My friends mostly just call me Aims, but one of my favourite teachers used to call me Aimless, because I was always staring off into space. I was daydreaming about stories!

3. What is your greatest fear?
I think it must be all my teeth falling out, because I have nightmares about that more than anything else. It feels like a problem I could solve if it ever really happened in real life, but in the dreams it’s terrible.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Funny, heartfelt adventures about family – born and chosen.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Hardworking, generous, loves a cliffhanger.

6. What book character would you be, and why?
I would be the Very Hungry Caterpillar, because I love snacks, and all that caterpillar does in life is snack, snack and snack.

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
This is one of my greatest dreams, and choosing just one year feels impossible! But in The World Between Blinks, Jake and Marisol encounter all kinds of lost things, people and places from our own world, and one that truly intrigued me was the Great Library of Alexandria, which held books and texts from all over the world. I’d love to hop back a couple of thousand years to see it.

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
She’d be amazed I was a writer – she didn’t know that was an option. Then she’d probably want to meet my dog, Jack. He’s part dingo, and she’d love him.

9. Who is your greatest influence? 
Arthur Ransome. He wrote a series called Swallows and Amazons that I read over and over growing up – it’s about a group of kids who are on holiday in the Lakes District in England, and imagine themselves as pirates and explorers, creating whole worlds out of their imaginations. I still love re-reading those books, and as a kid I spent so much time creating maps of where I lived, just like they did. Those books taught me about the power of my imagination, and changed everything for me. It taught me I could make my own magic, without waiting for some to come along.

10. What/who made you start writing?
My first recorded storytelling incident was in Grade 2, when I told Magic Faraway Tree stories to all my friends, claiming that the big gum tree in our playground was the Faraway Tree itself. I suppose I’ve always loved the idea of escaping to other worlds.

11. What is your favourite word and why?
Fiasco! It means a disastrous situation that has gotten so out of control that it’s starting to become funny. I love fiascos, and it’s such a fun word to say out loud.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
It would be The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper – it’s my all-time favourite book, and I read it every year at Christmas. It fills me up with the kind of wonder I need to write, and I can’t imagine not reading it. 

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author/. Her work has taken home multiple Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, a Gold Inky, and been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. The World Between Blinks and its sequel, Rebellion of the Lost, are both out now. For more information, see www.amiekaufman.com.

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Review: Metal Fish, Fallling Snow

Review: Batpig: When Pigs Fly

Gary Yorkshire is a regular pig. A pig, fuzzy pig. 

He lives in a big city and enjoys spending time with his friends Carl the fish and Brooklyn the bat.

One day, Gary is involved in a rather unusual accident involving his friend Brooklyn. It's soon after that when Gary begins to feel strange. Soon Gary, the regular, everyday pig, becomes something more.

Gary now wants to sleep during the day and be awake all night. He's suddenly really hungry and strong and has x-ray vision. He can also float in the air. Is it floating or flying?!

When realisation hits, Gary is quite excited. Could he possibly be a superhero? 

What should his superhero name be? It doesn't take long for Gary to decide. Batpig. And Batpig is not a regular, everyday pig.

Batpig: When Pigs Fly is the story of how Gary adjusts to becoming a superhero and keeping the city safe. It's about how Batpig gets his own superhero outfit, saves someone from being robbed, and starts a new superhero legend. Batpig also encounters a villain, the enormous dinosaur Repto-Man.

Author and illustrator, Rob Harrell takes readers on a wild ride as Batpig develops his superhero persona. The story is full of humour for kids, and a little something extra for any adult readers. With a simple comic strip style, the story is presented in chapters in a novel-length graphic novel.

Batpig: When Pigs Fly is a great story for reluctant readers, and those who enjoy books like Captain Underpants and The Bad Guys series.

Title: Batpig: When Pigs Fly
Author/Illustrator: Rob Harrell
Publisher: Harper Collins, $ 16.99
Publication Date: 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781460760512
For ages: 9+
Type: Graphic Novel

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Review: The House At The Edge of Magic

Junior Review: The Iliad: A Graphic Novel

Meet The Illustrator: Diana Mayo

Name: Diana Mayo

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Painterly, mixed-media with delicate patterns, nature-infused with a sprinkle of surrealism.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Drawing board, daylight bulb, paint brushes, Arches Hot-pressed water-colour paper.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
A tossup between Liquitex acrylic paints and graphite pencils.

Name three artists whose work inspires you.
Lizbeth Zwerger, John Burningham, Odilon Redon.

Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?

The “Pop-Art” era must have been some fun!

Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?
Going to art college and realising I could make pretty things just with a pencil and paper.

Can you share a photo of your creative work space or part of the area where you work most often? Talk us through it.
My studio space is now in the family home amongst the dining-room area. It’s a pretty light, organised area but with interruptions from teenagers, a husband and two cats!
I used to share a dedicated studio-space in London, but times have changed…

What is your favourite part of the illustration process?
Either scribbling the first initial ideas or being deep into final artwork

What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?

Be true to what your hand naturally wants to create – don’t try and emulate others’ work. Work hard at both the art itself and the business side of your practice. Persevere and don’t give up if you truly believe you have talent. And you’ll need some luck!

 

Diana Mayo is an illustrator now based in Chelmsford, near London.
She enjoys working for a broad spectrum of clients across the publishing, design and has recently published Snow Ghost, written by Tony Mitton, published by Bloomsbury UK. Other clients include Penguin Random House USA and Macmillan USA. Diana is represented by Artist Partners illustration agency.

For more information, please visit Diana's website or follow her on instagram or twitter.

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Antonia Pesenti & Hilary Bell on Summer Time

10 Quirky Questions with author Paul Russell

1. What's your hidden talent?
I am a little bit artistic. I have a Fine Art degree, which I spent making large sculptures, and I can actually draw, at least by author standards. I would never illustrate my own work. I am blown away by the talents of picture book illustrators and can’t hold a candle to them. But, I am fairly good at Pictionary or putting little pictures in the margins of notebooks.

2. Who is your favourite literary villain and why?
The big fish in This is Not my Hat by Jon Klassen. I guess technically the little fish could be the villain due to his thieving nature, but the determination and cold, ruthless retribution of the big fish makes him such an unsung villain. Otherwise, it has to be Captain Hook in the book version of Peter Pan. If you take away the Disney, he is downright terrifying and such a great villain. He smokes two cigars at once, actually employs his hook as an extra weapon when fighting and hunts children. Terrifying.

3. You're hosting a literary dinner party, which five authors would you invite? (alive or dead)
Ben Elton, William Shakespeare, Jessica Townsend, Mem Fox and Theodor Seuss Geisel (and there is no way I am cooking).

4. Which literary invention do you wish was real?
Floo Powder.

5. What are five words that describe your writing process?
Quick, hopeful, imaginative, misspelt and quirky.

6. Which are the five words you would like to be remembered by as a writer?
His books said it all.

7. Picture your favourite writing space. What are five objects you would find there?
Laptop, scrunched up post-it notes, multiple pens (only some of them still working), a pillow and some sort of empty sugary food packaging.

8. Grab the nearest book, open it to page 22 and look for the second word in the first sentence. Now, write a line that starts with that word. (Please include the name of the book!)
Lodged between hope and optimism, I look forward to the year ahead. Keeper of the Lost Cities - Lodestar. My 11-yearold has me hooked on this series and I am trying to catch up.

9. If you could ask one author one question, what would the question be and who would you ask?  I would ask Jessica Townsend for a complete breakdown on the rest of the Nevermoor series, with explicit detail. Possibly so much detail that I would need her to write it down for me in a number of books. I mean, she is already coming to dinner.

10. Which would you rather do: 'Never write another story or never read another book'? 
That is like asking me if I had to choose, would I choose to breathe or have my heart beat. I think stopping either would be terribly difficult but I think that writing is such a part of me I could never not write.

Paul Russell is a primary teacher, artist, playwright and children's author. Having been in classrooms for over 30 years, it really isn't surprising that all of his heroes are teachers. Paul is particularly passionate about children's literacy and in building an appetite within children for the written word and sharing stories. For more information, see www.ekbooks.org.

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Review: Read This Book and Never Fart Again

The Fart Monster is back.

In this book he seems to have had a change of heart away from ongoing flatulence.

Or has he?

A poor (unnamed) child had been embarrassed when he farted in class and his peers used it as an opportunity to tease him.

In desperation, he turns to the Fart Monster, who puts his efforts into teaching him the various ways to abstain from tootin' trumpets and bottom bazookas forever.

The Fart Monster takes him through a series of exercises, each guaranteed to eliminate under-thunder and roars from the rear.

Maybe.

The narrative is told in comic book style, a dialogue between the monster proposing progressively more bizarre and silly ways to stop farting and the child enthusiastically adopting each suggestion.

To no avail of course.

In the end, the Fart Monster normalizes what is a perfectly healthy - albeit funny - bodily function. One that is impossible to eliminate altogether.

Stanton's bold, cartoonish illustrations are minimalist and cute and depict the child's embarrassment and growing skepticism beautifully, despite the limited colour palette.

Title: Read This Book and Never Fart Again
Author: Tim Miller
Illustrator: Matt Stanton
Publisher: HarperCollins, $19.99
Publication Date:
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9780733339042 
For ages: 3 years +
Type: Picture Book

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Review: I Am Hungry

I Am Hungry is about a topic that young children will understand. Being hungry!

Former UK Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen has written I Am Hungry as a humourous take on what you might think and feel when you're hungry.

The star character is a red squirrel and the first words on the page are: I am hungry. 

The word hungry is repeated many times through the book, so children who are learning to read will quickly be able to recognise and read it with or for you.

Squirrel is so hungry that he could eat just about anything, whether it's popcorn or peas. He'd even chase a gingerbread man.

But squirrel is so hungry he is also imagining things that could result after eating too much. Like eating most of a birthday cake, and having a tummy ache. Or eating a signpost!

I Am Hungry is full of rhymes and silliness bound to appeal to children, and is best read aloud. 

The illustrations by Robert Starling are cute, simple and colourful; and there's lots of humour as there is in the text. 

I Am Hungry, which was first published in the compilation A Great Big Cuddle, is the second in a series of books which started with I Am Angry. Up next will be I Am Happy and I Am Wriggly. They are great for exploring feelings and language with young children.

Watch and listen to Michael Rosen sharing I Am Hungry with other poems on his YouTube channel.

Title: I Am Hungry
Author: Michael Rosen
Illustrator: Robert Starling
Publisher: Walker Books, $ 27.99
Publication Date: January 2022
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781406396669
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book

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Review: When Days Tilt

Cover Reveal: This Is My Dad

Did you know, over 10% of households in Australia comprise of a single or primary parent and of those single parents, 82% of them are female? Similar figures exist in countries throughout, New Zealand, the Americas and Europe. 

Until I was promoted by a proactive teacher librarian during a Book Week visit to her school, I was only vaguely aware of these statistics. She highlighted a notable absence of mainstream picture books reflecting children who had never known a ‘father figure’ and or had no significant male model in their lives. 

Like other casual suggestions for book ideas from people in the frontline of education and child care, this was an idea I simply couldn’t let go.

Fortunately, I didn't and in a couple of short months, my latest picture book will hopefully help fill those literary gaps on school library and home bookshelves around the world. This story, illustrated  by Nicky Johnston with generous heart and unfettered affection, is a timely commentary on contemporary family dynamics and societal trends that highlights a situation many children experience within classroom set ups. And so without further ado, it's time to become acquainted with ... 

... This Is My Dad.

This Is My Dad suggests that although the presence of strong positive male role models is crucial to a child’s well-being and healthy emotional balance, it is simply not always a realistic possibility and that the strengths and attributes of primary carers be they female, single-parents, same-sex parents, grandparents or otherwise are equally worthy of celebration.

This book embraces the themes of family, relationships, fathers, single parents, imagination, writing, occupations, and positive role modelling and is available to pre-order through EK Books. 

To learn more about Leo's story visit Dimity's website. This is My Dad will be coming to a bookshop and library near you mid March 2022.

Award winning children's author Dimity Powell loves to fill every spare moment with words. She writes and reviews exclusively for children and is Kids' Book Review's very own managing editor. She is a seasoned presenter both in Australia and overseas and believes picture books are food for the soul, to be consumed as often as possible. She regularly relishes creating her own including Oswald Messweather (2021), Pippa (2019), the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner, At the End of Holyrood Lane, (2018) and the critically acclaimed, The Fix-It Man, (2017). Dimity is a tireless advocate of Kids’ Lit with strong convictions about the power of storytelling, reading and writing. She loves sharing her accumulated knowledge with big and little kids and is a Books in Homes Australia Volunteer Role Model, Story City Community Mentor and G.A.T.EWAYS online and onsite presenter.

Get to know Dimity better via her website or Instagram. 

Nicky Johnston is an educator, speaker, and author/illustrator of children’s books. She is passionate about promoting emotional resilience in children and raising awareness of mental health issues. As well as teaching, she works from home writing and illustrating and has contributed to 20 books including The Fix-It Man, At the End of Holyrood Lane (SCBWI Crystal Kite Award Winner), Grandma Forgets (CBCA Notable Book), and The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bowen Bartholomew Crisp.

Find out all about Nicky via her website.

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Junior Review: The Westing Game

Review: The ABC Kids Guide to Loving the Planet

Did you know you can grow peas in an egg carton? Did you know you can make delicious icy treats with fruit? Would you like to learn easy tricks and tips to help the planet? 

You need to check out The ABC Kids Guide to Loving the Planet.

This is a great non-fiction book for kids. It’s filled with loads of facts and ideas on how to live clean and help support our land. And it’s super easy to read. The book doesn’t have a contents page, and instead jumps right in. But most pages are themed, exploring different aspects of caring for the planet.

Learn about growing your own garden, everything seeds, how wriggly worms are super helpful, how to use less power and save energy, recycling, saving water and more.

I love how accessible this book is for junior readers. The info on each page is presented in lovely short snippets, so kids can read the text themselves and take lots of breaks if they need to. The stunning and colourful illustrations extend across every page, encouraging and engaging kids as they move through the information.

All the advice provided is also super kid friendly. The book is filled with things that kids and classrooms can control and do themselves. These pages inspire kids to take action to help the planet with simple tricks that can make a big difference.

A book like this, presented with less text and more illustrations, can make a big difference for a child. Sometimes non-fiction can be intimidating for kids, providing too much information and not enough illustrations to support the reading process. This book does not have that problem. It’s a book for every child and I love how easy Jaclyn Crupi and Cheryl Orsini have made it for their audiences.

It’s a book kids can dip in and out of whenever it suits them or read from start to finish. It provides options for kids to read it their own way. And that’s important, because the subject matter of the book is important. The words and pictures will inspire big change.

Perfect for homes and perfect for classrooms, Loving the Planet is a fabulous non-fiction book that can help change the world.

Title: The ABC Kids Guide to Loving the Planet
Author: Jaclyn Crupi
Illustrator: Cheryl Orsin
Publisher: HarperCollins, $19.99
Publication Date: 5 January 2022
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780733341045
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Book, Junior Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction

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10 Quirky Questions with author Stef Gemmill

1. What's your hidden talent?
I can make Boobook owl hoots by pressing my thumbs together and blowing a whistle through them.

2. Who is your favourite literary villain and why?
I absolutely love a literary ‘false’ villain. Professor Snape from JK Rowlings' Harry Potter series is so misunderstood. The plot twists and emotional turns he brings to Harry’s trials and tribulations add so much depth to the books.

3. You're hosting a literary dinner party, which five authors would you invite? (alive or dead)
Neil Gaiman is top of the list. His imagination is both dark and intriguing. I’d also invite Nat Amoore, Nova Weetman, AL Tait and Renee Treml – all Australian children’s authors. We’d sit around the table showcasing our wild imaginations to Neil.

4. Which literary invention do you wish was real?
A Dream Extraction Vacuum that sucks my dreams directly from my brain and translates them into a illustrated picture book ready for publication.

5. What are five words that describe your writing process?
I write from the heart.

6. Which are the five words you would like to be remembered by as a writer?
Layers of great storytelling imagination.

7. Picture your favourite writing space. What are five objects you would find there?
A huge desk to scatter my reference books, sketch books and plotting plans so they are always to hand; post-it notes for planning scenes on the wall; pencils for note taking and creating character sketches so I can visualise my characters; a blank wall to look at so I get my words down instead of waving out the window to people; a coffee machine.

8. Grab the nearest book, open it to page 22 and look for the second word in the first sentence. Now, write a line that starts with that word. (Please include the name of the book!)
I’m currently reading Wandi by Favel Parrett, a wildlife story about an orphaned Alpine Dingo and the word is ‘Mama’.

We’re off to somewhere new and strange,
The best adventures come with change.
New trees to climb and fields to roam,
And Mama’s call to bring us home.

9. If you could ask one author one question, what would the question be and who would you ask?
I would love to ask Neil Gaiman if he ever feels his writing is not good enough to publish. Most writers I know have deep feelings of self-doubt, much like I do at times.

10. Which would you rather do: 'Never write another story or never read another book'?
I couldn’t bear to not read another book. Other people’s stories are a fantastic place to escape to. If I can’t write stories, then I’d be content living in another author’s story world for a while.

Stef Gemmill is a children’s author and former technical writer, teacher, and freelance music journalist. She won the children’s category of the International Rubery Book Awards with her picture book A Home For Luna in 2020.

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Winner: Graphic Novel Double Prize Pack

Our lucky winner is...

Joseph Spagnolo. NSW

Congratulations!

You have won a copy each of Kayla Miller's graphic novel series, Click and Camp. 

Enjoy!

Thank you to ALL who entered. 

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Review: The Wild Guide to Starting School

If you have a child starting school, or even preschool, then you should find a copy of The Wild Guide to Starting School to share with them.

It's a new book from Laura and Philip Bunting, and full of cute and quirky pictures and information for children and parents.

What will it feel like on your first day of school? What will you do at school? What do you need to know?

Presented in a bright and friendly design, The Wild Guide to Starting School will help you start talking about these questions and many others.

Readers will learn about getting ready (and what is appropriate to wear), that it's ok to feel nervous or relaxed, and that it's important to listen and to wait your turn.

The Wild Guide to Starting School features wild animals as the children, parents, and teachers. This is a creative device for adding humour that will likely appeal to children. The examples of different ways to say goodbye when you arrive at school include the 'galah ta-ta', and the 'smell you later'. There are also tips about teachers. Although it's okay to ask the teachers questions, it's not good to squawk or growl at them!

Other topics covered include your classroom, lunch time, using the toilet, and making new friends.

There is a lot in The Wild Guide to Starting School. It will be a great tool for parents, and teachers, to subtlely and not-so-subtley explore the experience of the first day at school, and all the emotions that go with it.

Title:  The Wild Guide to Starting School
Author: Laura Bunting
Illustrator: Philip Bunting
Publisher: Scholastic Australia, $ 19.99
Publication Date: January 2022
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761126284
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book

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Junior Review: Starfish

Review: The Magic of Magnolia Moon

Magnolia Moon is the best friend you wish you had. 

She’s independent, creative, imaginative and fun. She’s quirky and kind and just… special.

The Magic of Magnolia Moon is the second Magnolia Moon book by award-winning author Edwina Wyatt, following The Secrets of Magnolia Moon. I haven’t read the first book, but this did not impact on my love of book two or made the read confusing.

In The Magic of Magnolia Moon, Magnolia’s best friend Imogen May has moved away and is going to a new school. 

Magnolia’s year of being ten is now filled with challenges: a new teacher, making new friends and learning to accept that Imogen May will also create new friendships.

But there’s more. Magnolia’s tenth year is also filled with magic. Magical, fantastical things keep happening to her, and each chapter explores a new kind of magic that Magnolia sees, experiences or controls. Magnolia’s eyes and heart are always open to the possibility of magic, and so it aids her through the year, helping to solve problems and bring people together.

But does it? Magnolia’s world sits on the very cusp of the fantastical. There’s broom magic, green magic and midnight magic. But is the magic real or does Magnolia just have a really big imagination? Does the grandfather clock at Magnolia’s house really talk to her? Wyatt lets readers decide, which creates an exquisitely special reading experience.

Magnolia inspires kids to embrace magic and open their mind to possibility. It provides relatable reassurance that there are solutions to kid-life challenges, but those solutions don’t need to be boring or expected. Creativity and imagination (and magic) have power, and this book is a giant celebration of these things.

There are also stunning black and white illustrations by Katherine Quinn sprinkled throughout the pages, engaging readers, and making this a brilliant next-step novel for kids ready for books more challenging than early junior readers.

This book truly is enchanting. It’s a book you feel like hugging when you complete it and a story that lingers in your thoughts.

The Secrets of Magnolia Moon, a CBCA Honour Book, is now on my to-read list. And I thoroughly hope there is still more Magnolia Moon magic to come because I, for one, am a believer!

Title: The Magic of Magnolia Moon
Author: Edwina Wyatt
Illustrator: Katherine Quinn
Publisher: Walker Books, $19.99
Publication Date: 6 October 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760653972
For ages: 7 - 9
Type: Junior Fiction

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Meet The Illustrator: Katia Hinic

Name: Katia Hinic

 
Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Little foxes, little bears, lots of details and fine hairs!

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Materials to work with and music to listen to.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
I work in a wide variety of mediums - oil, gouache, ink, pastel, fabric, digital. I tend to go from one medium to another depending on what I’m trying to do. 

But recently, I do most of my work digitally. It’s a convenient way to create art even if I can only do it on the sofa for 15 minutes – which is what I usually have time for!

 
Name three artists whose work inspires you.
Hieronymus Bosch, L. S. Lowry and Marlenka Stupica. (an honorary mention goes to William Morris)

Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
Providing I can avoid the plague, Renaissance would definitely be top of my list. As a period between the Medieval and modern times, it connected the spiritual importance of the old world and the human, lived experience of the new. The connection between the two is very much something I explore in my drawings as well – mixing magical with the mundane, folklore with modern time.

Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?

My parents were both important in their own way. My dad was the one that made incredible technical drawings, taught me the basics and instilled a keen interest in details. But it was my mom who always encouraged me to draw. Even when I decided I wanted a more secure and cerebral job and became an Architect. She was the one who saw my potential, even when I had not, and was certainly not surprised when I finally acknowledged my passion for illustration.

Can you share a photo of your creative work space or part of the area where you work most often? Talk us through it.
I don’t have a fixed workspace – working from home in a pandemic meant a lot of adjusting. Since I still work as an Architect, I do all my creative work when I can and where I can. This means my laptop is my best friend. So is my sofa.

I don’t really mind where I work. If the space is tidy or messy. If it’s inside or outside. Once I start drawing, the space and sounds around me disappear. I may as well be on the Moon!

What is your favourite part of the illustration process?
I don’t think I have a favourite part. All stages are important when trying to create something that works, but I guess finishing a large and detailed piece is always very satisfying.

What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
I’m sure I won’t say anything new here: practice, practice, practice. If you’re young, practice as much as you can as you’ll never have more time than you have now. If you’re older, pick up a medium that is quick so you can get as much practice in with the valuable time you do have.

Also, diversify. Try making products from your art to sell or try projects that you normally wouldn’t. You never know where those avenues lead or what doors they may open.

 
Katia Hinic is a Slovenian Architect and Illustrator. She is based in Bath, UK. Alongside her architectural projects she also works on various art projects, children’s illustration, book illustrations and design. She advocates for sustainability and social inclusivity in illustration and the wider art world.

For more information, please visit Katia's website or follow her on instagram.

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Review: The Boy and the Elephant

A quiet boy who doesn’t fit in has a busy family that doesn’t always see him. He finds solace in the patch of trees beside his home where he imagines up a new friend — an elephant. 

But when progress cannot be stopped, and workers come to cut down the trees, the boy does something amazing to save them.

This story is filled with emotion, with power. It pulls on your heart strings and makes you think and smile with wonder. And there is not a single word on the pages.

Award-winning illustrator Freya Blackwood brings the world something exquisite in this wordless picture book. Each spread tells a story in itself but also adds to the bigger narrative of the book.

What this provides readers is a unique experience to travel alone or with others, because the story I see might be different to the story you see, and that is something truly magical. And the ending is… unforgettable, but I’ll say no more than that because its power lies in experiencing it for yourself.

I first explored this book with my six-year-old daughter, who adores wordless picture books (and often brings them to class to share). As I devoured Blackwood’s stunning illustrations in my mind, I asked my daughter what she saw.

Often, we saw a similar story (though not always), but we always noticed different details and my daughter’s interpretation of the Boy’s expressions and feelings opened my eyes to how she sees the world. It was a wonderful experience to share with my child, and I highly recommend you grab a copy a of this book and do the same.

The Boy and the Elephant is more than special. It’s powerful and unique.

Wordless picture books are not easy to deliver, but Blackwood shows us how it should be done, giving the world images that will imprint a story in your mind and never be forgotten.

To have your mind blown even more by Freya Blackwood's stunning creations, make sure you check out The Unwilling Twin, The Tiny Star and Molly and Mae. 

Title: The Boy and the Elephant
Author/Illustrator:  Freya Blackwood
Publisher: HarperCollins, $24.99
Publication Date:  3 November 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781460759998
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book

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Review: How We Fall Apart

Ah, elite high achievers. Don’t we love reading about them? We especially love the loud splat they make when they ignominiously plummet to a hard, humiliating landing.

This is a Young Adult thriller, set in a super elite New York prep school. The characters are intriguing, four ultra competitive teenage “Crazy Rich Asians” plus Nancy, the main protagonist, the scholarship girl with a cleaning lady mother. She and her peers have no choice but to excel at everything. It’s been drummed into them since birth that there are no prizes for second place.

 Failure is not and never has been an option. Pressure, much?

The author skillfully portrays a toxic teen-girl relationship; this is the novel’s strength. Nancy’s best friend, the queen bee rich girl Jamie, is driven and highly motivated, a girl who thrives on the thrill of sabotaging her rivals when the prize of being number one is threatened. Jamie seems to tolerate Nancy due to her not being a threat (she is from a poor family after all), although is not above rubbing Nancy’s nose into her lowly status. Nancy puts up with Jamie’s gaslighting and passive aggression because she can also be hugely generous and lots of fun to be with (a classic bullying pattern). Thankfully, as the story progresses, the reader learns that Nancy is not as much of a doormat as she initially seems.

But their rarified world is overturned when Jamie is found dead, and the police are treating it as suspicious. Nancy and each of the three other friends in their circle all have secrets, all of which are motivations for wanting Jamie dead.

Enter the mysterious “Proctor”, an anonymous on-line presence who seems to know all of the four kids’ secrets, whose messages threaten to expose them all and thereby ruin their lives. And in so doing, Zhao shows just how deeply unhappy, pressured and troubled these children with perfect lives really are, which was her inspiration for writing the novel.

The tension builds as their attempts to identify the Proctor all fail and the threats intensify. One by one, secrets are exposed. Zhao teases the reader, implying that Nancy’s secret is truly shocking, something referred to as “The Incident”, but keeps the reader guessing until the finale what Nancy had been involved with two years previously.

The story threads are tied off in the story’s climax. However, like most thrillers, the motivation and actions are far-fetched. 

In fairness, I have read thrillers with a much less convincing denouement. But it really irked me that the police were only in the background and never bothered to follow up and identify the Proctor who seemed to have a broad insight into Jamie’s murder. And it’s also a stretch to believe that the super-rich are unable to use CCTV for the purpose it was intended.

Overall a fast and fun ride that can withstand being picked apart – as I just have.

Title: How We Fall Apart
Author: Katie Zhao
Publisher: Bloomsbury, $16.99
Publication Date: 5 January 2022
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781526632791
For ages: 13+
Type: Young Adult Fiction

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12 Curly Questions with author Pamela Rushby

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I’ve been invited to visit the ongoing excavations of ancient tombs in Egypt. And I’ve gone on a boat up the Nile. Which was all very helpful as background for my book The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle. Not that I knew that at the time.

2. What is your nickname?
I don’t have one, unless you count ‘Pamela’ being shortened to ‘Pam’.

3. What is your greatest fear?
Big brown grasshoppers. They give me the screaming horrors.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Delving into history and uncovering stories I have to write.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Inquisitive. Imaginative. Never miss deadlines!

6. What book character would you be, and why?
The one I’m writing about – because I can have her do exactly what I want. Which doesn’t happen in real life.

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I’d go to the day of the next Melbourne Cup, then come back and put a bet on the winner.

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
I thought you said you were going to be a tiger tamer.

9. Who is your greatest influence?
Very hard to say. Maybe kids when I do school visits – they ask questions and make comments that start me thinking.

10. What/who made you start writing?
Reading a lot as a child. And I mean a lot. Then discovering that people actually made books, they didn’t just appear magically on library and bookshop shelves. Thinking, this can’t be too hard, then! And then, making my own books (bits of paper sewn together) and forcing my long-suffering family to read them.

11. What is your favourite word and why?
Contract. I’m ecstatic every time I see it.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The very longest one I could possibly find. Running out of reading matter is another Great Fear – almost as bad as grasshoppers.

Pamela Rushby is the author of over 200 books for children and young adults, as well as children's TV scripts, documentaries, short stories and freelance journalism. Pam has been an advertising copywriter, pre-school teacher, and producer of educational television, audio and multimedia. She has won several awards, including the NSW Premier's Ethel Turner Prize, five CBCA Notable Books – and a bag of gold coins at a film festival in Iran! Pam believes the strangest, most riveting, heart-breaking, laugh-out-loud stories aren't fiction. They're real. They come from history. And she loves tripping over unusual incidents from history – and then writing about them. For more information, see www.pamelarushby.com.

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Review: Young Oracle Tarot

Review: A Hundred Thousand Welcomes

A Hundred Thousand Welcomes is a story, a poem, about peace and friendship.

It's about welcoming people, whatever their background, and sharing culture. The welcome might be for new friends or neighbours, and it might be for people who speak a language different to that which you speak.

A Hundred Thousand Welcomes uses words of welcome in languages other than English, incorporated into the English language poem, to demonstrate how a simple welcome can be offered. It also expresses the specific cultural meanings, customs and food linked to such welcomes.

As the book's introduction explains, there are 'almost as many ways of making someone feel welcome as there are people on the planet'.

From Japanese and German to Urdu and Indonesian, there are thirteen languages represented. For each, the page also includes phonetic spelling to help readers learn how to pronounce the words. Look carefully for them, usually in a corner or along the bottom of the page.

The final greeting is the Irish blessing, céad mile fáilte (a hundred thousand welcomes).

Author Mary Lee Donovan and illustrator Lian Cho have created a beautiful, warm and heartfelt picture book, which reminds us all how being welcoming can open our lives to valuable new friends and experiences, and increase cultural understanding.

A Hundred Thousand Welcomes is highly recommended, and includes notes from the author and illustrator, and a pronounciation guide, and a selection of further reading.

Title: A Hundred Thousand Welcomes
Author: Mary Lee Donovan
Illustrator: Lian Cho
Publisher: Harper Collins, $ 19.99
Publication Date: December 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780063228658
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book

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Giveaway: Graphic Novel Double Prize Pack

Review: Twelve Little Festive Frogs

Review: Macquarie Junior Atlas of Indigenous Australia

Review: Click

Everyone questions their sense of place and belonging at some point in their lives. For the young, school can be a minefield of self-doubt and friendship conundrums that threaten ones esteem and self-assuredness. Click is Kayla Miller's pert interpretation of the topic of 'fitting in' smartly conveyed in a colourful graphic novel.

Olive has a wide friend base. She is neither an overt leader or follower but mingles aka 'clicks' with the lunch crowd and bus chums with an easy disposition. That is until a school variety show is announced and friendship groups immediately begin to cluster based on their variety act ... without Olive.

She feels adrift in a sea of rejection. Why don't any of them want her to be part of their act? Karate spectacles, singing duos, cheerleading squads all enthusiastically plan their performances heedless of Olive's growing consternation. 

Her family are some comfort but little help; Olive's mother typically wants to intervene and rectify, oblivious to the fact that this would create further feelings of ostracization for Olive. Only her more 'with it' Aunt Molly seems to understand that what Olive really wants is to be asked by her friends to join them, not forced to out of pity. 

As the night of the show grows closer, Olive finally decides upon a role that appeals. She sets her heart on hosting the whole shebang and after a lot of research and gathering of jokes, feels ready to take on her first live audience. Meantime, her friends realise their oversight and invite her to join their act, but is it too late to make amends? Will Olive fulfill her destiny or flip to her friends in the name of fitting in with the cliques? 

This is a tale that tiptoes on the precipice of preachy teachy however the page-flipping pace, winning comic strip styled illustrations and balance of text prevent it from falling into a didactic mire. Click is spot on for the upper primary schoolers age group who are still essentially kids who want to hang with the crowd but are beginning to experience the complexities of clique warfare. I use the term warfare with respectful flippancy for at this age, the art of friendship can be brutal and challenging.

Fortunately books like, Click help almost-tweens-teens survive this period of childhood with more grace and good humour.

For a chance to win your very own copy of, Click plus Kayla Miller's brand new graphic novel, Camp, enter our Double Pack Giveaway competition, open this Saturday 8 January 2022!

Title: Click
Author Illustrator: Kayla Miller
Publisher: Walker Books Australia, $17.99
Publication Date: October 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760654870
For ages: 8 - 11
Type: Graphic Novel, Junior Fiction

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12 Curly Questions with author Candice Lemon-Scott

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
When I was a writing student, I was given a job as a sports reporter for the soccer during the 2000 Olympic Games, but I knew nothing about soccer. I interviewed the Italian soccer coach, took quotes from players as they left the field after matches, and reported on games results. A fellow reporter gave me a crash course in soccer to write up the articles and I ended up having a blast. On the last night we even played a friendly soccer match on the MCG. Years later, I wrote Hubert and the Magic Glasses about a soccer playing kid, using that knowledge I’d gained.

2. What is your nickname?
Candy.

3. What is your greatest fear?
That the next generation will grow up without our amazing wildlife due to animal extinction.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Fast-paced, adventurous, fun, quirky, interwoven with subjects I care about.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Passionate, persistent, motivated, driven, fun.

6. What book character would you be, and why?
I would be Skye from my Jake in Space books because she’s smart, cool and can handle any situation. Most importantly she comes from the planet Venus.

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
The Enlightenment period of the early 18th Century because it was a time of great philosophical and scientific discussion. I would love to sit in on the literary salons, where women exchanged ideas, and both amused each other and increased knowledge through conversation about art, culture, literature and politics.

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Believe in yourself.

9. Who is your greatest influence?
I’m influenced by authors I read as a child like Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, L Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, Ruth Park, and Frances Hodgson Burnett. My family, writing friends and teachers also influence me to pursue my goals and motivate me to write through their example and encouragement.

10. What/who made you start writing?
A combination of reading and daydreaming prompted me to begin writing from a young age. Receiving encouragement from my teachers throughout my school and higher education at Tafe and university spurred me to continue writing and pursue it as a career.

11. What is your favourite word and why?
Enigmatic, because I’m interested in things that are mysterious, obscure and difficult to understand. It forces me to ponder things a little more deeply, which I love to do to challenge my thinking.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry because it’s a beautiful book about life, friendship and love. For me, it reminds me to look at the world through the eyes of a child, who is open-minded and sees the beauty in everything.

Candice Lemon-Scott is an award-winning Australian author, editor and presenter. She has published 13 books for children, and written one for adults, and her books have been published in Australia, the US, the UK and China. Her quirky style, fast-paced narratives and originality appeal to young readers in particular. For more information, see www.candicelemonscott.com.au.

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Review: Adam Gilchrist's Champions of Cricket

Adam Gilchrist's Champions of Cricket is a special book for young cricket buffs. It might also appeal to older cricket lovers, too.

As one of Australia's most famous cricketers, a wicketkeeper and batter, and now a commentator, Adam Gilchrist, known as 'Gilly', knows cricket better than most. 

This book is Gilly's list of 30 cricketers who have made a significant impact on his career, and the game of cricket in Australia. They are some of the players who have inspired Gilly, and their stories might inspire young cricketers today.

A two-page biography is provided for each of the 30 players, along with statistics from their playing career. They capture something of the cricketers' experiences, all from the perspective of Gilly's childhood and professional perspective.

All the biographies begin with a highlighted quote from Gilly summarising their achievements, contribution to the game, playing style, or memories.

'Belinda Clark has done more for Australian women's cricket than almost anybody else. She is an icon and legend of the game.'

'The man who never stops talking and thinking about cricket. He's mad for it!'

'Seeing Dennis come steaming in, shirt unbuttoned, gold chain flying, sweat dripping down the side of his brow and his hair flying in the wind was one of the great sights of cricket.'

The players include men and women from the last 30 or more years. From Dennis Lillee and Allan Border, to Belinda Clark, Steve Waugh, Ellyse Perry, and Ashton Agar, you will find all kinds of stories in this book.

Adam Gilchrist's Champions of Cricket is a great robust design, and illustrated by Michael Weldon in a bright, caricature style.

Whether cricket-mad or sports-mad, Adam Gilchrist's Champions of Cricket is a perfect book to add to a young reader's home library.

Title: Adam Gilchrist's Champions of Cricket
Author: Adam Gilchrist
Illustrator: Michael Weldon
Publisher: Affirm Press, $ 35
Publication Date: October 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922626127
For ages: 8+
Type: Junior Non-fiction

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Review: Born to Run

Born to Run is the picture book edition of Cathy Freeman's autobiography of the same name.

It traces Cathy's life, beginning as a young girl growing up in Queensland. That's where she spent time with her family and spent a lot of time running. It's also where she ran her first race, and won.

Cathy's story tells readers how she would practice sprinting by chasing her brothers on a dry, sandy riverbed. And she would practice running laps at a local track. 

It was hard though, and Cathy didn't always want to train, but her mum would help to motiviate her and remind her that she could do so much her sister, who had cerebral palsy, couldn't do.

Born to Run tells the story of Cathy's success, but doesn't shy away from difficulties either, including showing she faced racism. Cathy's road to achievement in sport took her far from home and her family, but Cathy always remembered her sister and ran for her as much as for herself.

The Sydney Olympics marked the pinnacle of Cathy's running career, with a proud moment lighting the cauldron at the opening ceremony, and then winning gold in the 400 metres. The girl who was born to run made her dream come true.

Although Born to Run finishes with the Sydney Olympics, and Cathy retired a couple of years later, the book is not the end of the story. She went on to begin the Cathy Freeman Foundation. Cathy, a Kuku Yalanji and Birri Gubba woman, has used the Foundation to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids get an education and to support them to follow their own dreams.

Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, an award-winning Indigenous artist and descendant of the Bundjalung people has illustrated Born to Run with beautiful, intimate pictures which help capture Cathy's perspective.

Born to Run is a wonderful story that acts as a reminder for everyone that dreams can come true.

Note: Born to Run contains the names and images of deceased Aboriginal people.

Title: Born to Run
Author: Cathy Freeman
Illustrator: Charmaine Ledden-Lewis
Publisher: Puffin, $ 24.99
Publication Date: November 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761043802
For ages: 5+
Type: Junior Non-Fiction

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Review: Dragon Mountain

Do you like adventure and magic? Perhaps flying on dragons is your cup of tea? If so, you’re going to love this book.

Set in the mountains in China, the story starts with the mysterious line, ‘Mountains always have secrets’. This sets the scene for 12-year-old Billy Chan’s entry to Camp Dragon. Billy would rather be back home in California, surfing, but instead he is on a summer camp, learning about his Chinese heritage and improving his limited Mandarin.

Once settled, Billy is paired with three campmates Dylan, Charlotte and Ling-Fei. He soon learns that Dylan is funny and pessimistic, Charlotte likes to win and has fierce determination and Ling-Fei loves nature and is kind.

After the first activity, the four children stumble upon a secret entrance into a mountain. There they find magnificent dragons who have been trapped in the mountain for over a hundred years. And what’s more, the dragons have been waiting for them … Billy and friends are then thrust on a nail-biting quest to save both the dragon and human realms from destruction.  

Dragon Mountain is the first book in the Dragon Realm middle grade series and is written by Katie and Kevin Tsang, a wife-husband team. The Tsang pair have written a thrillingquest tale and have cleverly used humour to cut through the high tension. The characters hurtle through the action and must keep growing, being flexible and adapting to what’s happening to them, to ensure that they have a chance of succeeding. It is through this growth that the authors have highlighted important themes of friendship, loyalty and individual strengths. 

The story leans more towards action than complexity, suiting younger readers, but there is room to develop the characters further in the rest of the series. I, for one, am looking forward to the next instalments of this suspenseful story.

Readers who like fast-paced action will enjoy this book. I read it aloud to my ten-year-old daughter and my eight-year-old son is eagerly awaiting a reserved copy of the audiobook on Borrowbox. Further, in the classroom, the moral dilemmas embedded in the story will raise interesting debate. 

Dragon Mountain was shortlisted for the Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards. It was also shortlisted for the Children's Book of the Year (British Book Awards) and longlisted for the Diverse Book Awards.

I highly recommend this story. It’s heart-pumping stuff, making you feel alive. It certainly left me feeling wired for more.

Title: Dragon Mountain
Author: Katie and Kevin Tsang
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK, $14.99
Publication Date: 7 October 2020
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781471193071
For ages: 9+
Type: Middle Grade Fiction

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