Latest Review 
Sep 21 2018
The unscary book by Nick Bland
Scholastic, 2018. ISBN 9781742994147
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Monsters, Humour. Our hero is
all dressed up to scare the living daylights out of the reader. He
has a donned a skeleton costume, a hat with a row of teeth, large
furry slippers and googly eyes sprouting from his head - all things
to provoke and scare. But each time he brings something else into
the picture he is trying to create, something very unscary enters.
Told to expect something scary, readers will laugh with anticipation
and then surprise as he whisks aside the red sheet to reveal an
apple tree not a monster, nothing scary at all. He tries again,
pulling down the blue curtain covered in stars, expecting a monster,
but a rainbow appears. Then a bunch of rabbits hop into the picture.
Frustrated he calls again for a terrifying thing, only to have an
ice cream vendor come onto the page. By now with his hands on his
hips, he declaims loudly how he wanted this to be a scary book, full
of horrifying and terrifying things, aiming to scare the readers,
not make them hungry for an ice cream, or look at a bunch of cute
rabbits. Each page rings with his frustration, so after another
attempt, his grandma rides across the page, he has had enough, and
drags a monster onto the page. The monster unhappily scares everyone
else away, but our hero is happy that he now has something scary to
show the reader, although the monster is not as scary as he wishes
him to be.
A delightfully funny story of not getting what you want, of
frustration at things not working out as you intended, this tale
will resonate with younger children who will recognise exactly what
the boy feels.
Bland creates a wonderful mix of the scary and unscary, using words
in a different type to entertain the reader and make them aware of
the meanings of some of these new words. In the background can be
seen parallel stories: his dog loves the apple tree, digging around
its roots and finding a bone, the rabbits eat all the apples, going
to great lengths to get the last one on the tree. Readers will love
the humour, picking out details on each page, watching the antics of
all the other characters on each page.
Fran Knight
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Sep 21 2018
Wraith by Alexandra and Shane Smithers
Magabala Books, 2018. ISBN 9781925360950
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Themes: Science Fiction, Flight, Climate
Change, Aboriginal people. James can fly; he practices his technique
out in the bush, as his best friend Darren shouts words of
encouragement. He's unsure of his special powers and... more
Sep 21 2018
Puffin the architect by Kimberly Andrews
Puffin, 2018, ISBN 9780143793755
(Age: 4-7) Recommended. Themes: Housing, Design, Architecture,
Homes, Rhyming fiction, STEM. Puffin is a smart architect who's
trying to design a house for some very fussy clients, two pufflings.
They tour the town, investigating all the other animals'... more
Sep 21 2018
Other Worlds series by George Ivanoff
Ill. by James Hart. Random House Australia, 2018.
Game World book 3. ISBN 9780143786238
Dark World book 4. ISBN 9780143786252
(Age: 8-11) Recommended. Themes: Friendship, Adventure, Zombies,
Gaming. "Find the key! Open the doorway! Enter the other... more
Sep 21 2018
Found by Fleur Ferris
Random House, 2018. ISBN 9780143784326
(Ages: secondary) Highly Recommended. Themes: Crime, Survival,
Witness protection. About to tell her strict father, Bear, about her
boyfriend, Beth hesitates when she sees him across the road waiting
for her. A van pulls up and he is gone, his... more
Sep 20 2018
Fairytales for feisty girls by Susannah McFarlane
Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760523541
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Themes: Fairy tales. Fractured fairy
tales. Women and girls. Old stories rewritten for a modern age,
these tales will have younger listeners laughing out loud as they
recognise stories they have heard but with a... more
Sep 20 2018
The cook and the king by Julia Donaldson
Ill. by David Roberts. Macmillan Books, 2018. ISBN 9781509813773
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Humour. Fears. Cooking. Food
preparation. Medieval history. Castles. How wonderful to read and
look at a very funny picture book. So many coming across my desk at
the moment are... more
Sep 20 2018
You can't let an elephant drive a digger by Patricia Cleveland-Peck
Ill. by David Tazzyman. Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408879146
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: STEM. Probability. Humour. Verse. A
range of improbably domesticated animals are given impossible things
to do, inviting every reader to simply laugh out loud at the antics
shown. Each double page... more
Sep 20 2018
The Frooties series by Hil Rogers and Joshie Lefers
Ill. by Pete Petrovic. Scholastic, 2018.
"Bad Apple". ISBN 9781742765952
"Crazy Kiwi". ISBN 9781742765969
(Ages: 7-9) Themes: Fruit. Author and publisher Hil Rogers came up
with the crazy idea to humanise her fruit bowl, creating a cast of
fun characters with big personalities.... more
Sep 20 2018
Oscar the hungry unicorn by Lou Carter
Ill. by Nikki Dyson. Orchard, 2018. ISBN 9781408355756
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Themes: Unicorns. Fairy tales. Food. Home.
Humour. Oscar loves to eat and despite what he eats, he is still
hungry. He eats his stable, the gingerbread house, the pirate ship,
the toadstools which house the... more
Sep 19 2018
Black cockatoo by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler
Magabala Books, 2018. ISBN 9781925360707
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. Mia sees her brother Jy firing stones
at birds with his shanghai. Among the fallen birds there is a
dirrarn black cockatoo, and Mia defiantly gathers it up and wrapping
it in her arms carries it inside to her bedroom... more
Sep 19 2018
Blakwork by Alison Whittaker
Magabala Books, 2018. ISBN 9781925360851
(Age: Senior secondary - Adult) Recommended. Poetry. White linen
washed by black hands, hangnails on worn hands . . . Whittaker
succinctly conjures images of colonisation, oppression and
segregation. She tells the story of abattoir life, the jobs... more
Sep 19 2018
More and more and more by Ian Mutch
Fremantle Press, 2018, ISBN 9781925591545
(Ages: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Recycling, Waste, Collecting. Henry
Harper loves collecting, so when he collects Kate he asks her to
stay with him on his planet. She agrees saying that she just loves
collecting and together the two passionate... more
Sep 19 2018
Digby and Claude by Emma Allen
Ill. by Hannah Sommevillee. National Library of Australia, 2018.
ISBN 9780642279279
(Age: 7) Recommended. Themes: Australian History, Development,
Heritage, Architecture, Housing. The change that came across
Australian suburbs in the 1030's with clearing away of slums and
abandoned... more
Sep 19 2018
Dino diggers: Dumper truck danger by Rose Impey
Ill. by Chris Chatterton. Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408872482
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Dinosaurs, Technology, Accidents. In
Dino-Town, the Dino Diggers are all ready for action. Dressed in
their hard hats and fluoro jackets, they can take on any problem
which comes long, so when... more
Sep 19 2018
Mummy Fairy and me : Fairy in waiting by Sophie Kinsella
Penguin, 2018. ISBN 9780141377896
(Ages: 5 - 7) Recommended. Themes: Fairies. Humour. "Ella's
family has a big secret - her Mummy is a fairy. She can do amazing
spells with her computawand. Only, sometimes the spells go a bit
wrong, and that's when Ella steps in to the rescue.
In... more
Sep 19 2018
Melowy : The ice enchantment by Danielle Star
Ill. by Danielle Stern. Melowy series book 4. Scholastic,
2018, ISBN 9781338151800
(Age: 6-8) Themes: Unicorns, Fantasy, Friendship, Courage. In the
Castle of Destiny hidden by a sea of clouds, Melowies, winged horses
with gorgeous colourings, gather to be schooled in magic.... more
Sep 18 2018
Meet me at the intersection: Short stories edited by Rebecca Lim and Ambelin Kwaymullina
Fremantle Press, 2018. ISBN 9781925591705
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Themes: LGBTIQA+. Disabilities. Indigenous
Australians. Cultures. Short stories. Meet me at the intersection
is an collection of short stories by authors who write from the
heart about issues that have personal... more
Sep 18 2018
Kissed by the moon by Alison Lester
Penguin, 2013. ISBN 9780670076758
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Picture book. Themes: Influences.
Growing up. This beautiful book has been reissued as a board book,
and will win hearts all over again with its wishes for the future of
a new born child. Alison Lester, one of... more
Sep 18 2018
The honey factory by Jurgen Tautz and Diedrich Steen
Black Inc Books, 2018. ISBN 9781760640408
(Age: Senior secondary - Adult) Recommended. Non-fiction. The
subtitle 'Inside the ingenious world of bees' describes exactly what
this book is about - not so much a guide to beekeeping but a
detailed exploration of what bees do and how their... more
Sep 18 2018
Ruby's worry by Tom Percival
Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408892152
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Themes: Anxiety. Depression. Sharing.
Friendship. Ruby's life is carefree and happy, but one day a worry
finds her. At first it is a very small worry and can be hidden
behind her, or even ignored. But as time goes on the worry... more
Sep 18 2018
Uncle Shawn and Bill and the pajimminy-crimminy unusual adventure by A.L. Kennedy
Ill. by Gemma Correll. Walker Books Ltd, 2018. ISBN 9781406360509
(Ages: 6-9) Recommended. Themes: Friendship. Humour. Bonkers
story of friendship, llamas and total evil.
Uncle Shawn and Bill are back, and so are the llamas. In a book that
could stand alone or work as a sequel, they... more
Sep 18 2018
Funny Kid: Prank wars by Matt Stanton
Harper Collins, 2018. ISBN 9780733335990
(Ages: 8-12) Highly recommended. Themes: Humour. This is the third
book in the Funny Kid book series. Max, otherwise known as
'funny kid' is determined to make his class mates laugh at his
pranks and antics, at any cost. When Max's class... more
Sep 17 2018
Amazing Australian Women by Pamela Freeman and Sophie Beer
Lothian Children's Books, 2018. ISBN 9780734418456
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. Themes: Women - Australia. The authors
have chosen twelve Australian women from different backgrounds and
time periods to feature in this brightly illustrated book. Some of
them will be familiar to all... more
Sep 17 2018
How I didn't straighten my hair (and other life lessons) by Angela May George
Omnibus Books, 2018. ISBN 9781742999555
(Age: Upper primary - lower secondary) Themes: bullying,
friendships, Greek culture, family. Dora is trying to find "her
thing" but, disappointingly for her Greek family, Greek dancing
isn't for her. 17 year old sister Athena, is a born dancer,... more
Sep 17 2018
Princess Swashbuckle by Hollie Hughes
Ill. by Deborah Allwright. Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408862803
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Princesses, Stereotypes, Adventure,
Frogs, Family, Verse, Humour. All Princess Swashbuckle wants to do
is be a pirate queen, to sail away on a pirate ship and be the ruler
of the waves. But her... more
Sep 17 2018
Norman the Knight gets a fright! by Mark Sperring
Ill. by Ed Eaves. Bloomsbury, 2108. ISBN 9781408873991
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Knights, Dragons, Employment. When
the four children and their cat apply for the job of helping Norman
the Brave, a knight of renown, they are surprised at what he expects
them to do. Their work... more
Sep 17 2018
The afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
Harper Collins Publishers, 2017. ISBN 9781460754283
(Ages: 12+) Highly recommended. A heart-warming and emotional tale
of the importance of generosity, family, love and compassion. When
Holly Chase is visited on Christmas Eve by three spirits warning her
of the imminent consequences of... more
Sep 14 2018
Finch by Penny Matthews
Walker Books, 2018, ISBN 9781760650759
(Ages: 9+) Highly recommended. Themes: Country towns, Family,
Vineyards. When Audrey and her family move to a small wine growing
community after dad lost his job in the city, everyone is put out.
Audrey and her sister miss their friends and school... more
Sep 14 2018
Backyard by Amanda Braxton-Smith
Ill. by Lizzy Newcomb. Black Dog Books, 2018. ISBN 9781925381177
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Themes: Backyards, Insects, Animals,
STEM, Discovery. What a feast can be found in one's own backyard,
simply using the skill of observation. This wonderful book impels
younger readers to do... more
Sep 14 2018
The Funny Life of Pets by James Campbell
Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408889947
(Age: 8+) Recommended. A dog's nose is more than 1 000 times more
sensitive than our nose. That's why if you do a bottom burp in a
dog's face it will go cross-eyed and fall over. Imagine a sausage
dog's dilemma when it's eating sausages - the... more
Sep 14 2018
Goal Power by Meredith Costain
Ella Diaries series. Scholastic, 2018. ISBN 9781743818060
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. "Goal Power" is another instalment in
the "Ella Diaries" series. It is a standalone read, and new readers
to the series can start with this diary themed novel. Ella tells us
about her daily... more
Sep 14 2018
Changing Gear by Scott Gardner
Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760631468
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Themes: relationships, family,
self-discovery, nature. Year 12 is over and Merrick Hilton has two
weeks to study for his final exams. He tells his amicably separated
parents he is staying at the other's place and takes off... more
Sep 13 2018
Natural born loser by Oliver Phommavanh
Penguin Books, 2018. ISBN 9780143505730
(Age: 10+ ) Highly recommended. Natural born loser is an
inspiring, funny story and promotes being yourself rather than
following the crowd. Raymond is a typical year 6 boy who loves
soccer and being with his best friend but he doesn't see... more
Sep 13 2018
Crossing Ebenezer Creek by Tanya Bolden
Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781681196992
(Age: 13+) Recommended. In the latter months of 1864, during the
U.S. Civil War, General Sherman of the Union led a huge army through
Georgia, freeing slaves, plundering goods and destroying property of
the vanquished. Many ex-slaves chose to... more
Sep 13 2018
Bonkers about beetles by Owen Davey
Flying Eye Books, 2018. ISBN 9781911171485
(Ages: 6-adult) Highly recommended. Themes: Beetles. Non-fiction.
What a wonderful encyclopaedic book about beetles, I read it from
cover to cover, loving every piece of information given, observing
the pictures with glee, scanning the layout... more
Sep 13 2018
Angry Cookie by Maria Karipidou
Walker Books, 2018. ISBN 9781406383089
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Anger. Friendship. Confronted by an
angry Cookie from the start, the reader will be in no doubt about the
theme of this book. We are told in no uncertain terms, not to open
the book, not to turn the page, and not to... more
Sep 13 2018
Melowy: The night of courage by Danielle Star
Scholastic, 2018. ISBN 9781338151787
(Age 7+) Recommended. The night of courage is book 3 in the
Melowy series and will be enjoyed by any pony lover aged 5+. In
this book, readers meet the Melowies, magical ponies who are
at school together. They come from a variety of... more
Sep 13 2018
I had such friends by Meg Gatland-Veness
Pantera Press 2018. ISBN 9781925700015
(Age: Teens) Themes: Death. Grief. Suicide. Bullying. Depression.
Prejudice. Love. Loneliness and coming of age issues. Homophobia.
Sexuality. Sexual identity. Abuse. Neglect. Alcoholism. Domestic
violence. Child sexual abuse. Self-confessed loser... more
Sep 11 2018
The story of Eva Carmichael by Gary Crew
Ill. by Paul O'Sullivan. Harbour Publishing, 2018. ISBN
9781922134103
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. Themes: Shipwrecks. Loch Aird.
Migration. Victoria. Subtitled, "The wreck of the Loch Aird", this
informative, sumptuously illustrated picture book will have readers
delving into the... more
Sep 11 2018
The survival game by Nicky Singer
Hodder Children's Books, 2018, ISBN 9781444944525
(Ages: 12+) Mhairi is a child displaced and desperate to return
home. The world is changing around her and she is caught in an
exodus as the people of Africa flee north, praying for a chance at
survival now Global Warming is taking its... more
Sep 11 2018
The heart of a whale by Anna Pignataro
Scholastic, 2018. ISBN 9781743817629
(Ages: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Whales. Loneliness. Melbourne author
and illustrator, Pignataro has drawn and painted since a young
child, culminating in a career of over 40 books, often nominated in
prestigious Australian book awards. Her Agatha... more
Sep 11 2018
How to Ninja: Activity book by Marcus Emerson
Diary of a 6th grade Ninja series. Allen and Unwin, 2018.
ISBN 9781760523824
(Ages: 7+) Recommended. Themes: Ninja. Adventure. Humour. For those
who have loved every edition of the funny series, Diary of a 6th
grade Ninja, then this book is sure to add to their pleasure.... more
Sep 11 2018
Dinosaur day out by Sarah Acton
Walker Books 2018. ISBN 9781760650049
(Age:4+) When the children go off to the museum with Dad for the
day, they are hoping to go to the dinosaur exhibition, but today
that gallery is closed. So Dad buys a book about dinosaurs from the
museum shop and they head off to the park instead.... more
Sep 11 2018
The Scoop by Terrence J Quinn
Simon and Schuster, 2018. ISBN 9781925640045
(Age: Senior school - Adult) Jonno Bligh, an award winning
journalist seems to have it made. However there is a problem. Jonno
has developed a habit for cocaine, which has turned a shy, socially
timid guy into a party machine.
After... more