Three twigs and a stump. The characters are best friends, funny and playful, full of wild ideas, and always looking out for each other.
The four books in this graphic series for early readers are released all together. They come in different colours and each book carries its own theme.
In Surprise, red is the colour of the book. Red, the twig, thinks he is the best because of his colour.
He decides to play a game of surprise and sets about jumping out at his friends at every turn.
He sees it as fun.
But that’s not what the others think.
How will the twigs teach Red to give more welcomed surprises instead of scary ones?
As there are no rules to art, there are no limits to the imagination!
But the colour blue, the most important, is missing from the palette. Can they reach the sky to take a piece of its colour? Impossible! Can Ziggy solve this dilemma?
Each defines treasure differently. Things found in the natural world can be seen as treasures. Can the friends meet somewhere in the middle? Then, another issue arises. Ziggy is scared of heights. How can Ziggy overcome his fear?
These colourful books will awaken children to the beauty of nature, its usefulness and glory. They are encouraged through the twig’s examples, to be creative, innovative, work as a team, and accept each other’s differences.
Title: Hello Twigs:Surprise!, Time to Paint, Let's Find Treasure, How are you Feeling?
Author: Andrew McDonald
Illustrator: Ben Wood
Publisher: Hardie Grant, $9.99
Publication Date: 2 August 2023
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781761211980, 9781761212017, 9781761212000, 97816121997
For ages: 3 – 6
Type: Graphic Novel
She can’t answer their curious questions. She wants to fit in, make friends, but finds it difficult, so she turns to her mother for answers.
In response to her What am I, Lupe’s mum points out all the wonderful characteristics that are hers.
As the list grows, Lupe realises that being who she is, is a great gift, something to be proud of because there is only one like her in the whole world.
The uniqueness of being one of a kind is hard for children to recognise.
They need the nuts and bolts explained clearly to them.
That is what Lupe’s mother does.
This is a delightful celebration of difference.
Messages of diversity, acceptance and knowing your good points, all essential to the identity each person claims, come through with simplicity and warmth.
Beautiful full-page images appear on a double spread with one side accommodating the text. The illustrations are in vibrant colours reflecting the children’s emotions. Even without the words, it is easy to identify what the characters are thinking and saying.
This book offers a superb opportunity to open discussion between adults and children, teachers and students, on difference and diversity, as that is the pride of this wonderful country.
Title: I am Lupe
Author: Sela Ahosivi-Atiola
Illustrator: Yani Agustina
Publisher: Lothian, $ 24.99
Publication Date: 26 July 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780734422538
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book
Title: One Little Duck
Author: Katrina Germein
Illustrator: Danny Snell
Publisher: HarperCollins, $22.99
Publication Date: 5 July 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781460761649
For ages: 0+
Type: Picture Book
When Grace Cahill, grandmother and guardian of Amy and Dan dies, the shocking news that she has changed her Will at the last moment, becomes a magnet that draws together the countless branches of a lineage that boasts many famous and powerful people, including Benjamin Franklin.
A seismic shift occurs in the sibling’s lives. They no longer have a home or protector, but are now at the mercy of greedy, privileged relatives that will stop at nothing to get their hands on more money.
Grace has left a challenge so great it will rock everyone’s world.
One clue, the first of many, will be given only to those who forfeit their share – a million dollars - and take the challenge, which the siblings do.
Left to their own resources, Amy, a bookworm, uses her accumulated wide range of knowledge from all she has read. Deciphering Grace’s conundrum is a challenge she takes to heart. Dan is full of surprises and solutions which surface when needed.
With their lives constantly in danger, not knowing who they can trust, the two, together with their au pair Nellie, and cat Saladin, follow clues to Philadelphia, on a journey that will change their lives.
Brilliant in every way, this series covers many themes. It is filled with excitement, mystery, suspense, and full-on action. These elements are accentuated by the exceptional, expression-filled artwork by Ethan Young.
I loved it! So will anyone that sets out on this series of adventures, created by a collaboration of authors, with outstanding characters, many of whom you will love to hate. Never a dull moment here!
Title: The 39 Clues - Book 1: The Maze of Bones
Author: Rick Riordan
Illustrator: Ethan Young
Publisher: Scholastic, $16.99
Publication Date: 1 May 2023
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781336803365
For ages: 8 – 12
Type: Graphic Novel
You'll learn lots about them in a funny way from Bush Turkey, written by Kate and Jol Temple, and illustrated by Rhonojoy Ghosh.
In this rhyming story a bush turkey runs out of the bush and into the suburbs. There Bush Turkey encounters builders working on a new house.
Bush Turkey is inspired by what he sees. He can build a bigger and better nest than ever before.
With his imagination running wild, Bush Turkey dreams of a mansion with a deck and pool. He'll need some new tools, and materials for construction. Perhaps he can 'borrow' them from the building site?
When Mollie the collie spies Bush Turkey making off with items from the building site, she's after him in a flash and chaos ensues.
Will Bush Turkey's nest be a lovely home for his new chicks, or will it be a disaster? You'll have to read the book to find out. Look for the toad that appears throughout as well.
If you loved Bin Chicken and Winner Winner Bin Chicken Dinner, then you'll love Bush Turkey, too.
Bush Turkey is a crazy wild goose chase (or perhaps that should be bush turkey chase), and a great story to read aloud one-on-one or in a group.
Title: Bush Turkey
Author: Kate and Jol Temple
Illustrator: Ronojoy Ghosh
Publisher: Scholastic Australia, $18.99
Publication Date: July 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761124655
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book
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Kristin Darell has been a passionate storyteller since she was a child. Whether it was making up adventures with her twin sister, or writing about the world around her, she was rarely found without a pen and paper in hand. As an adult, she made this passion her life. She worked as a broadcast news and sports journalist for major Australian news organisations for more than 20 years. After the birth of her two children, Kristin re-focussed her attention on writing for children. As an author, she has contributed to children’s writing anthologies and has published her first junior fiction series. Kristin is a strong advocate for children’s literature, working as the Program Manager for the Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation. She lives on Sydney’s northern beaches with her husband, two children, two dogs, pet snake and three-legged pygmy bearded dragon. For more information, see https://ift.tt/DVaw8qh.
Title: Super Sloth Episode 1: The Shar-Wolf of New York City
Author: Aleesah Darlison
Illustrator: Cheri Hughes
Publisher: Big Sky Publishing, $14.99
Publication Date: 10 April 2023
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781922896537
For ages: 7 - 9
Type: Junior Fiction
In 1928, it wasn't the done thing for women to drive a car, but Jean and Kathleen weren't going to let something like that stand in their way. They were well prepared and determined, despite the naysayers.
Setting out from Fremantle, they drove to Adelaide then Melbourne and finally Sydney, all without road maps. It was between Fremantle and Adelaide they broke the record set a few months earlier.
Travelling in their Lancia Lambda, and accompanied by their dog Barney, Jean and Kathleen drove almost constantly through the vast, dusty outback. They stopped for fuel, but took turns sleeping in the back so they weren't delayed.At night they had just the stars and car headlamps to light their way. When tyres needed repairing, they did it themselves. And when they were behind schedule, they took a short cut, and ended up surprising the officials waiting to record their time of arrival in Adelaide.
Jean and Kathleen smashed the land speed record by five hours. They also 'created some of Australia's earliest outback road maps for the Shell Company'. And in 1932 they participated in Europe's Monte Carlo Rally.
Neridah McMullin and Lucia Masciullo have re-created Jean and Kathleen's life in a wonderfully atmospheric way, giving us a window to a small part of it.
Jean and Kathleen were pioneers who broke records and stereotypes. Their achievements particularly resonated with me as a reminder of my great-great-aunt who was a motorcycle courier and also rode in rallies in the 1930s.
This is a story of perseverance and resilience, and an important yet relatively unknown part of Australian history. Read Eat My Dust! with your kids, it's a story that deserves to be celebrated.
Title: Eat My Dust!
Author: Neridah McMullin
Illustrator: Lucia Masciullo
Publisher: Walker Books Australia, $26.99
Publication Date: August 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN:
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Book
The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature (NCACL) has launched a new database that will bring substantial opportunity for indulgence by older readers of picture books. The contribution of extensive knowledge from a vast range of children’s literature experts are the foundations and building blocks in the development of this database.
The aim of PBOR (Picture Books for Older Readers) is to reach a broad audience. It will benefit and encourage reluctant readers, those with visual rather than textual comprehension, those who prefer image analysis and varied literature style, or those who simply enjoy the beauty of picture books.
Along with design and layout, the above elements play a huge part in understanding and analysing the visual narrative of picture books. Able to address more sensitive topics appropriate to older readers, PBOR embraces non-traditional plot structure, welcoming the challenge and options of literary devices aimed at these age groups.
Not only for children, this database opens up new areas of exploration for people who adore picture books of all kinds, who read them to find the sometimes-hidden or disguised meanings in both image and text, or a combination of the two.
PBOR is easy to navigate, with its drop-down choices and search function. There is also a Guide to using the PBOR database, with free on-line resources available. On exploration, I found it easy to navigate through the subject headings, annotations and curriculum links that line up from grade 5 through to secondary school (Australian Curriculum Version 9).
PBOR is still in its early stages, so content will expand as books are added. Nevertheless, the database promises to prove a useful tool for reading and learning about picture books in schools.
The PBOR database can be accessed at https://www.ncacl.org.au/pbor-database. For further information email ncacl@canberra.edu.au
Children are entertained and educated as they count, discover, search and find, while creating their own colourful interpretation of the images they see, based on and around Peppa’s life experiences.
Mermaids and their underwater world, unicorns, dragons, treasure hunts, holidays, camping, favourite places, and most certainly, friends and family members, fill the pages with fun and activity.
There are lots of fairies and all the excitement and magic that comes with them.
There is more than a glimpse into special overseas holidays to Japan and Paris, and readers easily sense Peppa’s delight at travelling to new places and sharing in the diverse traditions of other cultures.Every page is filled with all the laughter and liveliness that comes with Peppa due to her zest for living. Be assured that whatever Peppa is doing, children will make her adventures their own.
Title: Peppa's Magical Adventures Bumper Colouring Book
Author/Illustrator: Peppa Pig
Publisher: Penguin Random House, $5.99
Publication Date: 13 June 2023
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780241634080
For ages: 2+
Type: Activity Book
Peter Rabbit loves the outdoors and being surrounded by nature and his family. It is a glorious day, so the young ones decide to bring their toys out into the sunshine.
They play hide and seek. There are so many secret places to hide. Peter Rabbit knows them all. Under bushes, behind trees and in all the nooks and hollows that nature provides.
Too soon mother is calling them in to prepare for bedtime. She reminds the little ones to pick up their toys.Mopsy, Flopsy and Cotton-tail return their toys to their usual places. But what about Peter Rabbit’s bunny?
A search begins. Everyone takes part.
Where can that bunny be?
Mother suggests that sometimes, when something is misplaced, it is best to do and think of something else. So, they have their bath, then enjoy some warm milk and cake.
Now, will all this help Peter Rabbit to find his bunny?
Little ones will have lots of fun lifting the flaps to see if bunny can be found. This is a most pleasurable interaction as it can be repeated over and over, with each repetition feeling like the first.
Stunning images fill each page as they go through the house, looking in cupboards, under pots, behind things. They check even in the most unusual places. Peter Rabbit must find his friend before he goes to bed!
Title: Bedtime Bunny Hunt
Title: Mr Impoppable
Author: Trent Jamieson
Illustrator: Brent Wilson
Publisher: Larrikin House, $24.99
Publication Date: 1 June 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922804440
For ages: 3 - 8
Type: Picture Book
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Do you love dragons? Yes? Well, then you'll know that they love tacos. But not spicy and hot tacos. They hate hot and spicy tacos. Dragons also love parties.
This is central to Dragons Love Tacos, the story of a boy who wants a friendly relationship with dragons and plans a party.
When hosting a party for dragons how do you decide what kind of tacos need to be on the menu?
Dragons love tacos of all sizes, so big and little tacos are good. But their contents are another matter.
The boy experiments with various food combinations. Tomatoes, lettuce and cheese are all good. But salsa, and hot sauce, is not. The thing is that spicy food sets a dragon smoking and snorting. And that can lead to sparks and fire. All of that can be a dangerous combination.
When spicy salsa tacos are accidentally served at the dragon taco party, sparks are going to fly. And that means trouble.
Dragons Love Tacos is colourful and quirky. You'll love it whether or not you love dragons or tacos yourself.
You can learn more about Dragons Love Tacos, by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri, on the official website for the book.
Title: Dragons Love Tacos
Author: Adam Rubin
Illustrator: Daniel Salmieri
Publisher: Scholastic Australia, $ 19.99
Publication Date: July 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760262174
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book
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Title: Sam Francisco and the Cat Disco
Author: Sarah Tagholm
Illustrator: Binny Talab
Publisher: Affirm Press, $19.99
Publication Date: 30 May 2023
Format: Hard Cover
ISBN: 9781922930330
For ages: 3 - 6
Type: Picture Book
Wordless picture books are open to interpretation by the reader. They activate imagination and create discussion.
It opens on darkness. The dark rain of destruction falls, filling the surrounding world. Insurmountable barricades appear; barbed wire fences are erected. A child stands staring through the spikes. A shadow of that same child becomes any child; alone and defenceless.
The child sees the barbed wire reforming, becoming a giant spider trying to devour her. She runs but there is no escape.
Filled with fear, she enters a tunnel.
All her eyes can see is the giant spider. She trips on a stone, and tumbles forward.She is afraid to open her eyes. When she does, a bright yellow butterfly appears surrounded by blinding light in the centre of a barbed wire circle.
The child follows the yellow butterfly along the wire fencing. Its flightpath creates large images of her shape. It leads her past huge black posts and flies into the light.
She passes a man standing still as a scarecrow. Birds rest on his outstretched arms. He has an outline of a yellow butterfly on his chest. Now two butterflies accompany the child on her journey.
Bombs fall around her but the butterflies increase. They fill a bomb hole. She passes a playground and remembers how children played there and butterflies fill the air around them. Her shadow keeps moving and butterflies increase in volume.
Now ruins are surrounded in butterflies. Their brilliance is magnificent against the charred remains. She longs for carefree times when cats climbed trees and trees still stood tall.
She is filled with rage at war which destroys all things. She wants to push away the bombs that destroy with the help of the butterflies that represent hope and renewal.
The darkness is now filled with a waterfall of illuminated yellow butterflies. They surround her; follow her and lead the way out of the darkness.
What she finds is a world of colour and brilliance. She runs from the piles of bombed cars to a place of thousands of yellow butterflies against blue sky.
The butterfly leads her past barbed wire fencing, where black skies have turned blue, and the air is filled with yellow hope. The colours of the Ukraine flag. She comes alone but realises she is joined by others in the light, with their faces turned toward the future.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to The Universal Reading Foundation who send children’s books to Ukraine.
Title: Yellow Butterfly: A Story from Ukraine
Author/Illustrator: Oleksandr Shatokhin
Publisher: Red Comet Press, $32.99
Publication Date: 1 Jan 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 97813636550640
For ages: 5+
Type: Wordless Picture Book
With text full of information, including history on the entries, design puts the decoration on the cake.
In her latest offering, Australia is the centrepiece. Seven areas of this beautiful country are showcased and allocated a colour from her palette. They are also identified by their Indigenous clan names.
Beginning with Uluru (the lands of the Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people, Anangu land) and the colour red - referring to the earth, Jess shows us how to see colours in nature and appreciate what we are looking at.
Colour, connected to the Australian landscape, has been a subject for poets and writers forever. Dorothea Mackellar’s My Country opens with the rich language found in Readers that took many through primary school.
Vibrant varying shades and how you can feel them, form a specific wonderland of colour in nature: earth, sky mountains, grassland, wildflowers, animals, and insects.
Purnululu National Park - brown and orange, Mount Kosciuszko - yellow, Tara Bulga National Park - green, Great Barrier Reef – blue, Bruny Island – violet and purple, Kati Thanda Lake Eyre – black, white, and grey.
All these places are accompanied by illustrations and blurbs on the animals etc. that belong to them. Entries are labelled with their Latin as well as their common name.
Colour in relation to nature and art is identified here with a personal warmth emanating from the text.
Impressive detail and research have gone into this stunning and valuable publication. From cover to cover, Australia: Country of Colour is a must have resource for older children. Not to be missed.
Title: Australia: Country of Colour
Author/Illustrator: Jess Racklyeft
Publisher: Affirm Press, $ 29.99
Publication Date: 27 June 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922863881
For ages: 8+
Type: Junior Non-Fiction
In Stillwater and Koo Save the World, we observe Koo and Stillwater. They're family (Stillwater is Koo's uncle) and take care of each other.
When Stillwater asks Koo what he'd like to do for the day, Koo has a big idea -- to fix everything that's wrong with the world. It's such a big idea that he isn't sure where to start.
Stillwater has his own ideas about how to help Koo with his mission. Sometimes a big idea needs to start with something smaller.
In this instance, Stillwater suggests Koo start by tidying his room. Koo recognises that tidying up generates a good feeling because everything is less messy. After tidying, Koo, helped by Stillwater, moves onto other smaller actions. Like feeding Jasper the cat, and baking for their neighbours.Later, while on a bike ride in the countryside, Koo explains his worry for the world and its fragile state. An encounter with a family of ducks is a reminder of how we can help each other. And as Stillwater reminds Koo, each small act of kindness is a contribution to saving the world, one step at a time.
This is a picture book packed with gorgeous watercolour illustrations. The lines and pastel colours, combined with generous use of white space, create a gentle, calming effect, and the pandas will appeal to readers of all ages. Those who understand haiku, may also notice that Koo's speech patterns reflect this Japanese style of poetry.
A heartwarming book, Stillwater and Koo Save the World is a clear and simple demonstration of how we can all make a difference, beginning with the small yet powerful action of being kind.
Title: Stillwater and Koo Save the World
Author/Illustrator: Jon J. Muth
Publisher: Scholastic, $ 26.99
Publication Date: June 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781338812312
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book
A sheep, known only as Baa Baa Black Belt, claims to be the farm's 'mighty warrior', someone who can perform leaps and flips and spinning back kicks. Or so he thinks. Oh, and Black Belt has a student, a pig named Pork Chop.
While the text tells one story, that of a sheep famous for martial arts, the pictures tell another, with the sheep not quite as clever as he thinks. Or perhaps it's a case of telling tall tales.
A special kick aimed at the scarecrow goes awry and Black Belt is seeing stars, but as he tells it his moves are pretty sweet.
While he's strutting around thinking he's the boss, the other farm animals think he's 'cracking up' and acting arrogantly. It's up to them to show Black Belt that he's not better than they are.Author and illustrator Gain Aung Than has a great cartoon style, and the rhyming story of Baa Baa Black Belt is vibrant and expressive. The thematic endpapers are a collage of the sheep in realistic 'kata' poses, with the white line drawings particularly effective on a black background and likely to inspire budding martial artists.
One for bedtime, or individual enjoyment. Baa Baa Black Belt has big appeal as a read aloud story.
Title: Baa Baa Black Belt
Author/Illustrator: Gavin Aung Than
Publisher: Scholastic Australia, $ 18.99
Publication Date: July 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761290534
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Book
The versatile Andrew Daddo with his usual humour and light-heartedness, presents another unusual theme.
He has chosen a unique way to feature the importance of this bodily function and show children that everything living does it.
The individual way it is approached by animals, birds in flight, giraffes, pandas, monkeys, frogs or fish, adults, or children, produces a facial expression on everyone and everything indulging in a satisfying poo.
Many children find it gross.
Yet dogs and cats depend on smell to find the perfect place to do it.
What is in must come out, is what we teach our young ones no matter how distasteful they find it.
Poo Face makes it funny. The potty or toilet is a friend, even an escape. This book has embraced all the elements involved in a good dump and allows humour to take the place of negative beliefs and outlooks.
Jonathan Bentley’s illustrations transform a difficult subject into an acceptable and even enjoyable experience.
Beautiful visuals from start to finish. A stunning cover with bright yellow end pages support the happy, humorous atmosphere of the story.
Title: Poo Face
Author: Andrew Daddo
Illustrator: Jonathan Bentley
Publisher: Puffin Books, $17.99
Publication Date: 20 May 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761045776
For ages: 3 – 5
Type: Picture Book
