Review: The Gruesome General: Costa Banana

Rosa Fernando is the President’s daughter.

Her father is the much-loved (or so he believes) President Pablo Fernando of Costa Banana.

President Fernando has some strange laws — all children in Costa Banana must be called Pablo, everyone must call him ‘Great Leader Genius’ or ‘Big Strong Man’ and on Fridays everyone must eat banana soup — but the president truly believes everyone loves him, and he believes everyone will love his son Fico when he becomes president, because girls are absolutely not smart enough to become presidents, so Rosa absolutely never will.

Rosa, of course, disagrees. Actually, she disagrees with a lot her father says and does. She knows she would make a great president one day, but she also believes the people should get to choose their leader. 

Rosa takes every opportunity to persuade her father he has it all wrong, but he never listens. 

Until the family discovers there’s a spy in their mansion, and Rosa decides she’ll uncover the spy’s identity and prove to her father once and for all that girls can do anything!

Competing with her brother (who’s also determined to uncover the spy’s identity), Rosa must use her wits to outsmart the spy and reveal who they are and what they are planning. It isn’t easy, particularly when no one in your family believes she can do it, but Rosa won’t give up. 

The Gruesome General: Costa Banana is a funny and fast paced mystery-adventure. Filled with huge doses of fun and even more ridiculousness, it’s a book junior readers are going to adore.

Funky black and white illustrations by Elly Hees are scattered throughout and there are loads of spy tricks to learn along the way. Heaps of fun and an easy read for younger readers, The Gruesome General: Costa Banana is a fabulous mystery adventure for kids, and I dare say the start of a very cool new series.

Title: The Gruesome General: Costa Banana

Author: Jozua Douglas (translated by Michele Hutchison)

Illustrator: Elly Hees

Publisher: Affirm Press, $14.99

Publication Date: 26 March 2019

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781925870091

For ages: 9 - 12

Type: Middle Fiction

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Review: Trees

'Trees are marvellous beings.'

Come and discover the life of trees and their role in nature.

Appreciate their beauty in all the seasons. See deciduous trees bare of foliage in winter and their fruit bearing branches in summer.

Discover how trees communicate with one another.

Reflect on where trees grow.

Contemplate a tree's function in the environment, 'Trees clean the air we breathe.'

Trees by Lemniscates pairs mixed media illustrations with words that create a gentle and eye-opening story. It takes readers on a conscious journey showing that trees are a constant in our lives.

Lemniscates' illustrations cleverly show a bird's life intertwined with trees. It depicts a bird feeding on fruit, raising a family amongst the branches and sheltering from tree to tree as it travels across the landscape.

Trees, prompts me to be mindful about trees in my environment. Just like the child in the illustrations, I need to stop and give a humongous hug to the next tree I see and to say, thank you.

Title: Trees
Author/Illustrator: Lemniscates
Publisher: Walker Studio, $24.99
Publication Date: 1 April 2017
Format: Hard Cover
ISBN: 9781406376746
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book

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Meet The Illustrator: Debbie Coombes

Name: Debbie Coombes

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Modern and contemporary colours with Tiwi designs.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
The main space for me before I became employed on a full time basis was at the art centre,in the open space and sitting with fellow
artists while telling,listening to each other stories and listening to music playing in the background. You have a big, long table with plenty of room for other artists. All I need is my paints, canvas and paint brush.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Painting has always been my favourite artistic medium. I use various sized paint brushes to paint on canvas.

Name three artists whose work inspires you.
My grandfather Justin Puruntatameri
My mum Florence Coombes
My sister Jennifer Coombes

Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
I wish I could visit the past when the old traditional styles of designs were being used by my elders before me. I see pictures in books and online from a very long time ago and it amazes me every time.

Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?I had dreamed about being a children’s book illustrator for a long time, but I never thought it would actually happen! Munupi Arts manager, Michael Stitfold, approached me and informed me that Magabala Books were interested in working with me. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this experience, but it turned out to be a very exciting one which I am delighted and excited to share with my family and friends.

What is your favourite part of the illustration process?I’m not sure as this is all new to me. I believe the whole process with Magabala Books was great

What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?The advice I would give is, don’t be scared of doing something you are passionate about, don’t be afraid of doing something new. Give yourself the opportunity to do something awesome for yourself. Only you can make it happen.

Debbie is the daughter of Florence Puruntatameri-Coombes, and Graeme Coombes. Her mother is a Tiwi woman from Pirlangimpi Community on Melville Island. Her father originated from Queenstown, New Zealand but married Florence as a young man and called Pirlangimpi home for over 30 years. He raised Debbie and her siblings (including sister and fellow artist Karina Coombes) on the islands, visiting New Zealand only a handful of times with his wife and children. Graeme passed away in 2010.Debbie lived and worked in Darwin for over 4 years, returning to live back home in the Tiwi Islands in 2011. From this point Debbie painted under the direction of her grandfather, Justin Puruntatameri and Florence (Justin’s eldest daughter). Justin in particualr was able to give Debbie invaluable advice on what she could correctly portray as defined by her Tiwi family ties. Debbie is now well known in artistic circles for her joyful depictions of Tiwi Life in figurative forms. People travelling by cars and canoes of all shapes and sizes to the football. A huge part of contemporary Tiwi Lifestyle.

Please find more of  Debbie's art on this website.

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Review: Captain Cat and the Treasure Map

Look What I'm Reading! Zoe Bechara Publicity Manager

Zoe Bechara is a Publicity Manager for Young Readers at Penguin Random House, based in Sydney. She has worked in publishing for a decade. As a publicist for some of Australia’s most celebrated and emerging authors she is frequently on the road: rattling about in radio or TV studios, wrangling pull-up banners and filing young children into signing queues at events. She loves big newspapers and small coffees and thinks that small humans are usually the best kind of humans.

Which children’s book are you currently reading?

A book by debut children’s author Nat Amoore called Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire (out June.)

Can you tell us in two sentences what the book is about?

It follows two best friends who find a million dollars in the backyard, and all the trouble they get themselves into. 

How much did you enjoy/are enjoying this title?

It’s hilarious and I’m loving the harebrained schemes, entrepreneurial tips and emphasis on treats from the funny, flawed characters.

What made you choose this title? Was it a review, advertising, the cover, the blurb, the author/illustrator, or the subject/genre?

Often I’ll pick up a new book while in a bookstore in a Publicist capacity: I’ll nip to the counter as the author is signing books for a child and grab something new for myself. Last week that was Schadenfreude which I’m rather enjoying (the book that is, not other people’s horrid misfortunes.) Naturally book reviews will influence me, however I still haven’t read 2018’s Lenny’s Book of Everything – I’ll get to it soon!

What other titles are on your bedside table /To Read Pile?

I’m really looking forward to rereading Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth, a middle-grade book out in July. I read an early version and I just adore Lisa’s writing: witty, whimsical and irreverent. I’m also looking forward to Melina Marchetta’s The Place on Dalhousie.

How did you come by these titles: personal choice/request, publisher’s review copy, or other?

I usually have a minimum of two books on the go, often three. One will be a Young Readers book I’m reading for work; presently that is the aforementioned Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire. Often there will be another book, for grown-ups, in my handbag for reading on the ferry, on flights, and at the hairdressers and various other public places where I don’t want to talk to anyone. Then by my beside are a smattering of comforting reads that don’t challenge me too much before sleep; presently stacked there are How to Eat by Nigella Lawson (simply brilliant writing) and a couple of books about tidy houses in Sweden.

Do you have a favourite genre? If so, what is it, and why do you prefer it?

Publicists tend to be a broad church by necessity, and like most voracious readers I’ll consume all matter of the written word from newspapers to design magazines to ALDI catalogues. I can’t say I have a favourite genre but I am passionate about middle grade writing; it’s a rich area of storytelling for readers who are at a time of their lives when the world seems at once both enormous and suddenly (and thrillingly) accessible. I like the hope that represents. There’s an art in telling big stories in succinct prose that excites, moves, motivates. I particularly love children’s books that acknowledge a child’s capacity for complex thought, big ideas and clever humour, like RA Spratt’s Friday Barnes series and my beloved childhood favourite Hating Alison Ashley.

Do you read from printed books or some other medium? Please expand a little on the why of your choice.

Printed, for preference, as my husband (handy bookshelf-installer and book-packing-house-mover that he is) can attest. I do also find audio books particularly companionable when pottering around the house cooking or doing housework, and they’re terrific for car trips. Interestingly audio books also allow for a heightened appreciation for good writing; being read to highlights a beautiful sentence or a clever bit of dialogue in a way similar to hearing poetry or theatre performed. Rereading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone read by the inimitable Stephen Fry certainly affirmed this for me: an excellent bit of writing read by an excellent storyteller.

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Review: Stepsister

12 Curly Questions with author Stef Gemmill

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I used to be a Montessori teacher by day and a music journalist by night at heavy rock and metal gigs for music magazines. Both experiences bring a lot to my writing for children now and I had a lot of fun in both jobs.

2. What is your nickname?
Everyone calls me Stef, except I am Stephanie to my Mum (particularly when I’m in trouble).

3. What is your greatest fear?
That all the school libraries will close and children will lose that opportunity to pick whatever book they want to read. I grew up in a house where money for books was scarce. Freedom to choose books from my school library opened my imagination. It encouraged an ability to read up for my age and made writing my passion.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Untold tales mixed with light, dark and strange events.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
I write from the heart

6. What book character would you be, and why?
Atreyu, Bastian’s alter ego from The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende who flew the powerful Luck Dragon through the sky to save the Childlike Empress from her impending death. Who wouldn’t want to fly a dragon? A child flying on a dragon features in my next picture book ‘In My Dreams’ and is influenced by this story.

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I’d like to travel back to visit 10-year-old me. I’d tell myself that all the jumbled characters and fantasy worlds in my mind will one day turn into published books.

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Kids do want to read powerful stories and don’t worry what everyone else is doing.

8. Who is your greatest influence?
Definitely Neil Gaiman. His stories move boldly into dark territory without terrifying children (not too much!).

10. What/who made you start writing?
It’s wired in me – it’s like electricity coursing through my veins. My mind is filled with so many story ideas it’s so satisfying to get them down on paper.

11. What is your favourite word and why?
Phantasmagorical which means having a fantasy-like appearance like it's in a dream sequence. I think this is what the inside of my brain looks like.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Just one? Oh that is tough but my most read book is Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. No one captures a child’s wild emotions like he does. When I read this on my own as an older child I realised no matter how angry you get and how much despair there is in your world, someone still loves you. And your Mum will leave you a hot supper, no matter what. Such a satisfying ending.

Stef likes to draw on her past experiences as a Montessori teacher when writing picture books that are both imaginative and challenge young minds. She also has 15 years’ experience working as a technical writer by day and a freelance music journalist by night. More recently, Stef swapped the sweaty mosh pit for toys and tantrums turning her pen to writing children’s books. Her focus has been on picture books for 3-6 year olds and short stories for 7-12 year olds. A Home For Luna is Stef's debut picture book, with more picture books due for release in 2020 and 2021. For more information, see www.stefgemmill.com.

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10 Reasons to Visit Story Time: Australian Children's Literature Exhibition - with Dr Belle Alderman AM

Design adapted from: Koala Shape Book, (Sydney: John Sands Ltd., 1931) nla.cat-vn4272738

KBR warmly welcomes Dr Belle Alderman AM, Director of the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature with this guest post on the incredibly wonderful upcoming children's literature exhibition at the National Library of Australia. Here are 10 reasons why you simply cannot miss this stunning, extensive (free!) exhibition. For more on the exhibition and how to plan your visit, see here.

The National Library of Australia and the National Centre for Australia Inc have collaborated to bring you Story Time: Australian Children’s Literature at the National Library from 22 August 2019 - 9 February 2020. Here is your unique opportunity to enjoy almost 200 years of stories for children and the young at heart. Story Time: Australian Children’s Literature  offers many associated programs for adults all described on the National Library of Australia and the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature Inc websites. 

1.What are two very rare items?
A Mother’s Offering to Her Children published in 1841, featuring a child’s name neatly handwritten and coloured in opposite the title page, also coloured in!

The 1915 preliminary artwork by May Gibbs for her first Australian-published children’s book, Gumnut Babies : Words and Pictures (1916).

May Gibbs, Study for Lovers of Music for Gum-Blossom Babies, 1915, National Centre for
Australian Children’s Literature, © The Northcott Society and the Cerebral Palsy Alliance

2. What book has sold over five million copies after being rejected by nine publishers as Hush the Invisible Mouse?
That’s Possum Magic, of course! See the manuscript including Mem Fox’s famous post-it note.

3. Are there special attractions for children?
Yes! There are text panels at child-height that encourage children to think about the artworks. A ‘Playtime’ room features a spectacular wall of some 20 individual artworks from favourite books. These are there to inspire children to write and illustrate their own books.

Children are encouraged to lift the black curtains protecting Ida Rentoul Outhwaite’s delicate and spectacular watercolours. Story Box Library films of several stories in the exhibition are available for viewing and listening. 

4. Are there examples of the creative process?
Several! Bob Graham’s Silver Buttons (2013) and Max (2000) feature original artworks plus his amazing dummies detailing his thinking process. Alison Lester’s highly detailed and fascinating planning for Sophie Scott Goes South (2012) also feature, along with a fascinating dialogue between Jackie French and Nina Rycroft, plus a tiny laparello for Dinosaurs Love Cheese (2013).

Bob Graham, Artwork for Max, c.2000, National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature,
reproduced by permission of Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd

 
5. How do artists get their jacket covers just right? 
Have a look at Graeme Base’s final and draft jacket cover for The Eleventh Hour (1988), which shows his highly detailed pencil sketches and intricate positioning of animals.

6. What is a highlight of works by Australia’s First Nations people? 
Several works are presented, along with an entire wall devoted to Dick Goobalathaldin Roughsey’s The Rainbow Serpent (1979), which is simply unforgettable. 

7. What early work has never been out of print, is widely translated, televised by the BBC and the ABC, offered as an audio recording, appeared as a stage musical and made into a movie? 
This is Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner (1894), here presented with a portion of her manuscript and her comments on why she wrote this favourite classic.

8. Favourites! What’s on show by Shaun Tan and Jeannie Baker? 
Shaun has loaned several artworks from his personal collection, including detailed doodles, pencil drawings and various studies for both The Arrival (2010) and The Lost Thing (2000). Jeannie’s relief collages for The Hidden Forest (2000) offer mesmerising detail.

9. Who is Australia’s first merchandised author and what’s on show? 
That would be May Gibbs. A large showcase features handmade miniature calendars with May Gibbs’s Gumnuts, Forget-me-nots and A Bush Greeting to You; The Gumnut Game; Gumnut Babies 750 Piece Puzzle; a booklet of sticker fun; a Peek-a-Book Sweater; Gumnut Baby Badge; Gumnut Babies Fabric by the fabric designer Peter Stripes; a Gumnut Babies plate and a collection of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie toys.

10. Which authors’ manuscripts will be on exhibit? 
Here are just a few! Nan Chauncy, Jackie French, Morris Gleitzman, Elyne Mitchell, Joan Phipson, Emily Rodda, Ivan Southall, Nadia Wheatley and Patricia Wrightson. And check out whose typewriter is on exhibit!

A Memento of Story Time

The experience of Story Time is not over when viewers leave the exhibition or another exhibition takes its place. There is a ‘companion’ book, Story Time Stars: Favourite Characters from Australian Picture Books (2019), written by Stephanie Owen Reeder, which is the perfect companion when visiting and later reminiscing favourites featured in the exhibition.  

Story Time Stars spans 100 years and captures 60 favourite and memorable Australian children’s book characters appearing between 1918 and 2018. Each character has its own double page spread, a typical illustration from the book, story précis, its first appearance as a book, on stage or on screen, awards won and other points of interest. Story Time Stars is a welcome memento for family sharing of favourites.

Story Time Stars is out 1 September. You can learn more about the book, and pre-order, right here.




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Review: Cryptosight

Book List: Superheroes Picture Books

Superpowers may be obvious, or hidden to all but those who really need them. Superheroes come in many forms and eveyone has their own special talents.

My Superhero by Chris Owen and illustrated by Moira Court, Freemantle Press, $16.99, 9781925161212.

Super Duck by Jez Alborough, Harper Collins, $14.99, 9780007273270.

The Three Little Superpigs by Clare Evans, Fourth Wall Publishing, $16.99, 9781910851241.

Just Jack by Jane Tanner, Penguin Books, $14.99, 9780143504924.

A Really Super Hero by Charlotte Lance, Allen & Unwin, $19.99, 9781743313022.

Super Rabbit by Stephanie Blake, Gecko Press, $16.99, 9781877579578.

Super Rawr! by Todd H Doodler, Scholastic, $14.99, 9780545799690.

Pom Pom is Super by Sophy Henn, Penguin Books, $16.99, 9780141365039.

The Wolf Who Wanted to Be a Superhero by Orianne Lallemand and illustrated by Eleonore Thuillier, Auzou Eveil, $18.99, 9782733843239.

Ninja Bunny by Jennifer Gray Olson, Random House, $29.99, 9780385754934.

Zippo the Super Hippo by Kes Gray and illustrated by Nikki Dyson, Pan Macmillan, $14.99, 9781447279914.

My Sister is a Superhero by Damon Young and illustrated by Peter Carnavas, University of Queensland Press, $24.95, 9780702253928.

Superbuns! by Diane Kredensor, Aladdin Paperbacks, $26.99, 9781481490689.

Max by Bob Graham, Walker Books, $16.99, 9780744598278.

Elmer and Super El by David McKee, Andersen Press, $19.99, 9781849394574.

Grug the Superhero by Ted Prior, imon & Schuster, $5.99, 9781925030501.



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Review: Little Mouse's Holiday

Giveaway: Noodle Bear

Noodle Bear, the new picture book by Mark Gravas, is a hilarious story about a bear who becomes obsessed with noodles, and ultimately is a tale of friendship and discovering what’s truly important in life, on a journey to noodle-filled fame, and then back home again.

Noodle Bear is crazy about noodles. His best friend, Fox, brings him other delicious treats when he's a no-show at her party but he's so noodle obsessed that doesn't he notice them. And when he's run out of noodles, his only thought is to go to the big city and become a contestant on the TV game show, "Noodle Knockout". Of course, he becomes a surprise star with more noodles than he can eat. But no amount of noodles and fame can fill the empty space where home and friends should be.

Thanks to the delicious people at Walker Books Australia, we have three copies of this brilliant book to give away!

To enter, simply tell us in 25 words or less if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

Email your answer along with your name and postal address to dimity. The three responses we like best will each win a copy of the book. Competition is open to anyone, worldwide, so long as they have an Australian postal address for delivery of the books. Please note, we cannot deliver to PO Boxes. Entries without a name and street address will be ineligible. Winners will be announced right here on our website on Monday 26 August 2019.

Competition runs from 5 pm 17 August 2019 to 5 pm 24 August 2019. Adults can enter for those aged 17 and under. This is a game of skill, not chance. The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

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Review: Just Breathe

Review: Argh! There's a skeleton inside you!

Argh! There's a skeleton inside you! explores the story of Quog (an arm-less blob) and Oort (a gas cloud). These two aliens are attempting to get to a birthday party - if only they could get out of their spaceship! They decide what they really need is a hand, but neither of them have one.

So begins a hilarious narrative about their attempts to grow a hand, with a whole lot of non-fiction information thrown in.

This book, by Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost, who also brought us the hilarious Do Not Lick This Book (It's full of germs), is fast-paced, funny and factual - and this makes for a perfect combination!

The illustrations are bright and colourful, with an animated, cartoon-like style. This book does not look at all like a traditional non-fiction book and yet manages to explain about the bones, muscles and nerves in our hands. As the alien characters come to grip with this knowledge, so too will young readers.

The final section on How to Grow Hands contains more detailed explanation of the anatomical components of the hand and arm, subtly introducing readers to more detailed terminology and concepts. It is fiction and non-fiction combined in the best possible way.

Title: Argh! There's a skeleton inside you!
Authors: Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost
Illustrator: Julian Frost
Publisher: A & U Children's, $19.99
Publication Date: 5 August 2019
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9781760631635
For ages: 4 - 8
Type: Picture Book




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Review: Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth

Things aren’t going great for 11-year-old Vincent.

He lives in a smelly town (quite literally — it stinks like cat food), his parents are consumed and distracted by his misunderstood baby brother Thom, and his grandfather recently passed away.

But, sometimes, sad things are the start of something amazing. 

When Vincent finds out his grandfather has left him his shoe-shining kit, Vincent heads straight to the train station to set up shop in the hope of earning enough for a delicious snack. 

What he gets instead is a job proposal — an opportunity to work at the mysterious and wondrous Grandest Hotel on Earth, which happens to be located up, up, up in the mountains, just outside of town.

Florence Wainwright-Cunningham the third (currently in charge of the hotel because her parents are away on business) is looking for a shoe-shiner to work at the hotel. When she meets Vincent at the train station, it appears to be fate.

And so begins Vincent’s adventure at The Grandest Hotel on Earth. And when I say grandest I really do mean grandest. 

The Grandest Hotel on Earth is the Hogwarts of hotels. It has every experience you can imagine (and so many more). It cares for every amazing animal you’ve ever heard of (and many you haven’t). It serves up triple servings of the most delicious foods, and somehow the hotel staff seem to know just what the guests need for their holidays (and also what they need to help improve their lives). 

Vincent thinks he’s hit the jackpot, and his job at the hotel is the best thing that’s ever happened to him. But there are secrets at The Grandest Hotel on Earth, and when Vincent discovers one, he must risk everything he’s built (a fabulous shoe-shining career and the best of friendships) to save the hotel (and maybe his own family) from tragedy.

Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth is an epic and addictive adventure for junior readers. This is a book-world to fall into headfirst, dream about when you aren’t reading and fantasise about long after you’ve come to the end of the story.

Lisa Nicol has created something magical — truly, truly magical — and this is obvious from the very first page where Nicol and her mysterious co-author introduce the central characters in the preface. 

A unique start to a novel? Absolutely. But there is nothing ordinary about The Grandest Hotel on Earth, so a standard novel format would just not be fitting for a story written about it! 

Nicol and her co-author’s special style of writing gives this book that extra special pizazz. They appear at various points throughout the story, highlighting important facts and providing secret details, but in no way is this ever disruptive (a very hard thing to achieve, indeed!).

In fact, when you read this book, you feel like you’ve been let in on a very special secret — like you’re part of special club. And when you get to the end and discover the mysterious co-author’s identity, you’ll understand why this book, and The Grandest Hotel on Earth, is so very exceptional.

This is a book that is destined to become a treasured favourite in so many homes. I highly recommend it for fans of the fantastical, magical and magnificent, and I predict lots of people are going to be talking about it (so you don't want to miss out!).

Title: Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth

Author: Lisa Nicol

Publisher: Penguin, $16.99

Publication Date: 2 July 2019

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781760890681

For ages: 9 -12

Type: Middle Fiction

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Review: Max's Dinosaur Feet

Max’s dinosaur feet can stomp and smash, but it’s what they do to show love for his baby sister that makes them; and him so delightful.

A beautifully written story about Max’s mission not to wake his little sister Molly; even in his big green dinosaur feet. With a clever idea from his mum, Max may have the perfect solution, but will it work with all the disturbances from the rest of his family? Will little Molly continue to sleep peacefully?

I loved the calm and mindful vibe of this story and Max’s focused thoughts for his baby sister Molly who is sound asleep in her cot. Max’s actions deliver a lovely message and example about sibling love and considering others. The text flows beautifully and leads the reader to interact with fun expressive sounds like Stomp!, Flip! and Thwack!

A harmonious colour palette and beautifully soft watercolour illustrations by Penelope Pratley work in unity with the text. I love that this is a dinosaur book which is not all about loud roars and sharp teeth, it’s perfect for bedtime or reading aloud in a group.

Max’s Dinosaur Feet is the debut picture book for author Lana Spasevski, it’s left me eagerly awaiting her future work. Illustrator Penelope Pratley is an ex-reviewer for Kids Book Review, The Art Garden, released in 2018, was her debut picture book.

Title: Max's Dinosaur Feet
Author: Lana Spasevski
Illustrator: Penelope Pratley
Publisher: New Frontier, $24.99
Publication Date: 1 August 2019
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781912076376
For ages: 3 – 6
Type: Picture Book




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Review: A Year in the Wild

If you're looking for a book with serious wow factor, you have to check out this treasure from UK artist Helen Ahpornsiri.

Helen takes us through each season, introducing us to the cycle of nature. We meet the animals and plants that follow the pattern of the seasons, from the butterflies and blossoms of spring, to the winter berries and birds of winter.

This is a distinctly European book, where we meet the red fox and the deer, along with the meadows and woodlands, but it is still bound to ignite the imaginations of children everywhere.

The main reason, of course, is that every illustration in the book is made entirely from pressed plants. Every dot, every curve is either a seed, a petal, a frond or stem. The result is exquisite.

Helen is renowned for her nature artworks, made from plants that are grown or foraged responsibly and then pressed using traditional techniques. There are no paints or dyes in any of her pieces. This process is sure to mesmerise children and encourage them to look beyond the surface of things.

Helen's beautiful and delicate explanations of each season in the wild, with just a touch of whimsy, are also accessible and delightful for young children.

This is one you'll find them poring over for hours. And don't forget to look out for her latest book, Beneath the Waves.

Title: A Year in the Wild
Author/Illustrator: Helen Ahpornsiri
Publisher: Big Picture Press, $26.99
Publication Date: March 2018
Format: Hard Cover
ISBN: 9781783707966
For ages: 4+
Type: Non-fiction Picture Book

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Review: Lunch At 10 Pomegranate Street

A delicious collection of recipes, beautifully illustrated and collated in a way which honours ingredients, sharing and love of food.

In the different apartments at 10 Pomegranate Street, 15 dishes are in the making. From Mister Ping’s Little Trees to Matilda’s Strawberry Crumble, each recipe shows a little of the heart, soul and culture of the occupants. Each page spread features a new recipe; illustrated ingredients and a succinct cooking method.

What will be of all these delicious dishes? A wholesome feast and a message of community, culture and food prevails.

This fabulous book has already made its way from my kids' rooms for bedtime reading to the kitchen for cooking and back again a few times. Peanut Butter Cookies and Green Rice are favourites of ours and I can’t wait to try some of the other enticing recipes such as Coconut Dahl, Mini-Quiches and Baba Ganoush.

Beautifully illustrated details create a world of wonder behind each of the recipes and apartment occupants; like Mister Ping’s kitchen, authentically decorated with lantern light shades and a maneki-neko (Japanese Lucky Cat).

I loved talking about each recipe, its ingredients and quantities in a factual and educational way with my 5-year-old as we read it together. We’ve since researched ingredients, alternatives and had great conversations about the food and characters.

With stunning watercolour and coloured pencil artwork, and a beautifully textured cover, Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street is perfect for both displaying and practical use. It will be used, loved and grow with my family for years to come, as it would for anyone who loves food and cooking.

Felicita Sala is an award-winning illustrator with many published books including I Don't Draw, I Color! and My Father is a Polar Bear.

Title: Lunch At 10 Pomegranate Street
Author/Illustrator: Felicita Sala
Publisher: Scribe Publications, $27.99
Publication Date: 6 August 2019
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781925849059
For ages: 3+
Type: Cookbook




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Junior Review: Mister Cassowary

12 Curly Questions with author Jannali Jones

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I’ve always wanted to play the violin. I hope to learn one day.

2. What is your nickname?
Nali (pronounced like ‘gnarly, dude’).

3. What is your greatest fear?
Tsunamis!!!

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
It takes you by the hand and doesn’t let go. (That’s how one of my writing teachers described it anyway!)

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Persistent, cathartic, analytical and dialogue-driven

6. What book character would you be, and why?
Daine Sarrasri from Tamora Pierce’s Immortals series because she can speak to animals (who wouldn’t want to be able to do that?) and she has a love interest who manages to be both cool and hot at the same time.

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I think it would be awesome to check out Medieval Europe. I’ve always been interested in that culture – the food, dress, the way they lived, their music. Being able to visit a year in that period seems like fun.

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Why are you writing contemporary realism when you could be writing science-fiction?

9. Who is your greatest influence? 
In my personal life, my late grandfather, Ken Brunton. He was blind (following an accident at a young age) but that didn’t stop him from becoming a respected history teacher at Pulteney Grammar School in Adelaide, raising four children and being one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. In my creative life, Jane Jensen (aka Eli Easton). As a female creative kicking goals with Gabriel Knight in the early 90s, she was (and still is) such an inspiration to me. I still love reading her books today.

10. What/who made you start writing?
I started writing at such a young age that I don’t remember exactly but RL Stine, Ken Catran and John Marsden were certainly early influences. Reading exciting books is what made me want to write my own.

11. What is your favourite word and why?
Deciduous. For me it immediately evokes images of beautiful orange and yellow trees in autumn.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Is it cheating if I say a notebook? So I can just write in it? There are actually a few books I can think of that would fit this category, but today I’ll go with Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn because I’ve read it about five times and will probably read it again.

Jannali Jones is an Aboriginal Australian writer of the Gunai nation. She holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Technology, Sydney. Jannali was the winner of the 2015 Black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowship and was shortlisted for the 2019 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing. For more information, see www.jannalijones.weebly.com.

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Announcing: Unsolicited Review Submissions Month

At KBR, we realise how tough it can be—in a flooded kids’ book market—to get noticed. We are a small team, there are only a set amount of days in the year, and we are already chronically flooded with review copies from major and independent publishers.

However, to give emerging creators and self-publishers a chance, we will be opening our review policy for ONE MONTH—to accept unsolicited review submissions from new, self-published or very small publishers.

If you fall into this category and would like to have your book considered for review on the #1 kids’ book review site on the web, please read the following guidelines carefully. Email the following to dimity.

A short EMAIL introducing yourself, with a link to your website or other online presence. Please only provide ONE main link. There is no need to give background on you or your books, or any explanations.

A single attachment—one PRESS RELEASE (either PDF of Word doc—no other format accepted) for your book. If you are unfamiliar with press releases, you can google their format and content, but for our purposes, they should include the following:

• A book cover image
• Up to two internal pages/spreads
• A short book synopsis
• Book title
• Book genre
• Publisher
• Publication date
• ISBN
• Retail price (in your country’s currency)
• A short creator biography
• Contact details

Ensure your attachment is no larger than 2MB. Zipped files cannot be accepted.

Please don’t send any other attachments or links to anything else, nor provide any extra, unrequested information.

All of the above must be contained in one single Word document or PDF, as an email attachment, not embedded in the body of the email. Remember, guidelines are an important part of this industry, and should be followed to the letter. Submissions that do not follow these guidelines cannot be considered.

What happens after submission?

If we are interested in your book, your press release will be emailed to the entire KBR review team. If someone on the team wishes to view the book, they will contact you directly for a review copy, and will provide their postal address. All reviewers currently reside in Australia.

Please note that we cannot accept anything but fully finished, published books. Galleys, proofs, mock-ups or electronic book versions are not eligible.

While over 99% of our requested books go to review, we reserve the right not to review any book, even those requested.

We regret we cannot acknowledge receipt of books and we cannot return books. 

We cannot advise if and when reviews will be posted. Reviews can take a week or three months or more to appear on the site. Do keep an eye on the site, and there is a search bar on KBR that allows you to search for titles.

Important

As we are expecting a large volume of submissions, we are unable to respond to emails. There will be no acknowledgment of receipt, and no follow-up. If you do not hear from us by the end of the first week of THE MONTH AFTER, you can assume your submission has not been successful this time. We regret we cannot respond to follow-up emails.

Unsolicited review submissions will be accepted from 5.00 pm Monday 12 August 2019 to Monday 9 September 2019. Please note that this is Sydney Australia time (GMT +10). Emails dated past 11.59pm on 9 September 2019 (Sydney time), no matter where you live in the world, cannot be accepted.

We are looking forward to seeing your submissions!

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Review: A Girl's Guide to Kicking Goals

Review: The New Kid: Very Popular Me

Review: Possum Magic

Possum Magic by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas was first published in 1983 and became an instant Australian favourite.

Many generations have shared this magical story, celebrating  the love of Grandma Poss and her baby Hush. It has been gifted to children all over the world due to the inclusion of Australia's unique animals, Australian cities and food.

Grandma Poss could weave the most amazing magic that made Hush INVISIBLE. As Hush couldn't be seen, she was safe from snakes and she could slide down kangaroo's back.

One day Hush decided that she wanted to be visible again but Grandma Poss could not find the magic spell in any of her books.

'It's something to do with food!' 

And this is the most memorable and magical part of the book, on a bicycle Grandma Poss and Hush set off visiting seven of Australia's capital cities. At each city they ate Australian food* including; Minties, pumpkin scones, Vegemite sandwiches, pavlova and lamingtons.

Fox is a weaver of magical words that lilt in the air as you read them, they have splashes of rhyme where appropriate and a beautiful rhythm that reaches into the soul.

Vivas' watercolour illustrations are soft and dreamy. She makes the Australian animals adorable with many of them seeming cuddly.

I do hope that if you have never read Possum Magic before, that you get a copy to find out which foods make Hush visible again. If you read Possum Magic a long time ago, maybe it is time to share it with a new generation of children.

Both creators have published an extensive number of children's books since Possum Magic and these stories will also delight your senses. Two of my favourite Mem Fox stories are Where Is the Green Sheep? and Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. My two favourite Julie Vivas stories are I Went Walking and Puffling.

*Food Notes: Not all of the foods mentioned originate specifically from Australia but they are often associated with traditional Anglo-Celtic Australian cuisine. Some of the food origins are shared with New Zealand. I acknowledge that according to the Oxford English Dictionary (2010), the pavlova originated in New Zealand around 1937 about seven years before Australia's first pavlova recipe was recorded.

Title: Possum Magic
Author: Mem Fox
Illustrator: Julie Vivas
Publisher: Omnibus Books, $16.99
Publication Date: 1 April 2018
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781742763460
For ages: 3 – 7
Type: Picture Book




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Review: Up To Something

Review: Letters to Leonardo: The Truth Changes Everything

Guest Post: Peter Millett on The Invincibles: Down Under's New Superhero Team!

Meet The Illustrator: Macarena Smartt

Name: Macarena Smartt

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less:

Whimsical, emotive and quirky. Capturing moments and ‘painting emotions’.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Music, natural light and being surrounded by nature.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
My favourite medium is watercolour with pen and ink.
They’re quick drying and that makes for an expressive and spontaneous painting. There’s no time to overthink each brushstroke, and with ink, each line matters as there is no reverse gear. Watercolours have a romantic and charming aura. Inherently able to capture the essence of a watery lake or the innocence of a child’s face.

Name three artists whose work inspires you.

May Gibbs, Beatrix Potter, Asako Eguchi.

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

The beginning of the 20th century. Illustrators such as Beatrix Potter and May Gibbs were able to earn a living from illustrating. With the expansion of printing processes, children’s books and magazines became more affordable and widespread. Illustrators were becoming recognized as contributors to a vast array of disciplines. Botanical, medical, cartoons for newspapers, as well as children’s books to name a few. An exciting time to be an illustrator.

Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator? 

When I was about eight years old, I won a drawing competition. The prize was a ‘family’sized block of chocolate. I was so surprised at winning, that when it was announced, the kids around me urged me to go to the front of the hall and claim my prize. I couldn’t really believe that I had won. It dawned on me that if I could get paid in chocolate for drawing, then this was the career for me!

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 is purpose built with windows almost all the way around for natural light. It’s at the bottom of my garden overlooking my veggie patch. I have two studio dogs that sleep on an antique sofa and keep me company. It’s surrounded by large trees, and I can hear and see birds, possums, bees and other wildlife.

What is your favourite part of the illustration process?

When an idea first pops into my head and/or when brainstorming with a client. The evolution of an idea is exciting as the image(s) emerge in my mind's eye.

What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?

You are unique and the more you draw, the more your own personal style will emerge. Create every day, enjoy what you are doing. Each time you draw you are infusing the drawing with your own magic pixie dust, and that’s what will set it apart from the rest. Have a social media presence, show the world what you’ve got.

Macarena draws inspiration from the many places she has visited and lived, including London, Houston and Sydney. Expressing herself in classical form in a variety of ways, from large impressionistic landscapes to fun whimsical drawings. Having had several solo exhibitions, her artwork is held in private collections around the world.

Please visit Macarena's instagram to see more of her beautiful art.

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