Using the classic Christmas carol, Twelve Days of Christmas as its template, this fun book counts from the first to the twelfth day on each double page. Each of the twelve days has a different Australian animal as its focus, and each page adds all the animals to its illustration.
Children will love seeing the lone koala in a gum tree on the first page and equally, seeing the twelve squawking cockies.
On each page between are quokkas, frogs, dolphins, magpies, turtles, galahs, rosellas, goannas, wombats and kangaroos. These animals keep coming as each page is turned building up the number on each page, just right for inquisitive minds to find them all.
Children will love listening to the carol being sung, and join in themselves with the Aussie version. Bright illustrations cover each page, as the scene is the same, just adding more animals as the book proceeds. Looking at the detail, counting the number of animals and predicting what animal may come next will engross younger readers as they read this book. And it doesn’t take much persuasion to read another Christmas book.
And they may even ponder what the recipient of all these gifts will do with them.
Themes Christmas, Christmas carol, Australian animals, Humour.
Fran Knight
Runt and the diabolical dognapping by Craig Silvey
Allen & Unwin, 2025. ISBN: 9781761181597. (Age:8-12) Highly recommended.
Clear everything off your bookshelf and keep two books - Runt and Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping. Hardback and weighing in at 600g each, put one under each arm and escape. If you're a lucky child you can. I have seen lucky children escaping just like this from a Craig Silvey book launch! Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping is the sequel to Runt but it is a story that can stand on its own. The same central and peripheral characters are present together with some new ones. However in Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping Runt is a great hole. Runt is conspicuous by his absence. Although Annie Shearer is still a major character (now totally distressed by the loss of Runt) other characters particularly her brother Max step into the spotlight in this sequel.
The setting is still the town of Upson Downs which has been rejuvenated after Annie and Runt's championship win at the Krumpets Dog show (six weeks ago) and Max's subsequent viral video. The residents of the town, spot on in their relatability to characters in every country town, gather in the town hall to listen to Mayor Barry Casserole announce a Tournament of Champions to piggy back on the former event in a bid to attract international talent and place Upson Downs on the map. The event is to be held in the mansion outside of town belonging to a missing (presumed dead) owner called Earl Robert-Barren. A new-comer to town introduces himself at the meeting as Rupert Broadsheet - newly appointed Editor-in-chief of the Upson Downs Speculator. Suddenly Runt goes missing, a ransom note is found and suspicious clues are found near his doghouse. Annie is warned in the ransom note that if she is ever to see her dog again she must win the competition. What follows is a wonderful story that is full of hi-jinx, mayhem, heart-break, devilry, courage, love, determination and ingenuity. Silvey sets an action-packed tempo and readers must apply logical and lateral thinking and remain alert to the clues (the breadcrumbs and the literal red herrings) to try to work out what has happened to Runt.
Silvey does not treat his young readers as fools - they must stretch and be challenged. He plays with an extensive vocabulary peppered with much innuendo and phrases with double meanings. Just the naming of people and places is enough of a clue to the fun that he has with this multi-layered romp of a story.
The characters are richly drawn. The central family is loving and supportive. The parents (somewhat hapless and bewildered having two such energetic children as Max and Annie) nevertheless provide great advice and rise like lions to support their children when they are in need. They allow their children freedom and when that entails danger they go along just in case ...with hilarious results. Silvey includes the outsider in the story; the fallen characters are redeemed, lost characters (human) are found and a place is found for all of them within the community. The baddies are dealt with in appropriate fashion. The story can be seen at one of its multiple layers to be a story of the healing of broken communities and relationships. It is also a story of the importance of family and the importance of the building of courage and resilience and of not giving up. The inherent values springing from the story are those that are important for the building of character. The heart strings are wrung, the heart beats, tears form but at the close of the story there is a warm smile which recurs every time incidents from the story are recalled.
Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping would be well- placed on every Primary Years teacher's desk to be read in serial form and in home and school libraries. It is one of those books that has what children want - mystery, adventure, animals, family, friends, ordinary kids who are heroes and villains. The humour is the icing on the cake. Silvey is an Australian author based in Western Australia. Runt and Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping could well become Australian classics.
Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping is an utterly delightful and clever book!
Butterfly House is written and illustrated by Waterstones Prize-winning author, Harry Woodgate. It tells the story of a young girl, Holly, who is fascinated by an old overgrown house at the end of her street. In her words… “It was wild and green, and mist curled around it like the fingers of a ghost.” She goes there one day as she thought the house looked empty but she discovers that someone does indeed live there - Miss Brown who may look frightening but has her own story. Holly is told not to go back and bother her, but she cannot stop thinking about Miss Brown and sends her the most delightful letter.
Miss Brown responds to Holly’s letter and shares with her about how her brain has been ill and the garden has become too much for her. Holly then decides to find out about making a butterfly garden and spends time over the next few weeks researching and learning about these gardens and working on the school allotment. She shares what she has learnt with Miss Brown through letters until finally Holly asks if she and her brother Arlo could help to bring butterflies back to Miss Brown’s garden. It seems like a huge task for two young children and after trying their best, Holly decides to reach out to her street community. On the Saturday it seems the whole street has turned up to help bring the garden back to life and eventually provide Miss Brown with a safe place for her head and her heart.
This beautiful book is a joy to read. It shows how a small act of kindness can grow and change someone’s life. The striking crayon/pencil illustrations that provide so much depth to the narrative are a visual treat as are the glossy images on the front cover and the clever endpapers. Highly recommended for all libraries.
The glorious peach cover of The Peach King will entice readers to engage with this contemporary fable written as a picture book. It is a striking narrative that will resonate with readers both young and old, and tells the story of the Araluen Peach King, standing tall, proud and gnarled overlooking and protecting the orchard of mature trees and young saplings. This story is based on a true happening during the Black Summer Bushfires of 2019-2020 experienced by author Inga Simpson.
As the Little Peach Tree grows they notice the changes in the seasons. The hot dry winds, the grasshoppers, the rain, the blossoms budding on their branches, the fruit so red and fuzzy, the autumn leaves, the bare branches feeling the cold until spring arrives again. The young sapling growing taller and stronger notices how the rain is less, the air is hotter, the ground is drier. When fire comes, who will survive, the mighty Peach King or the Little Peach Tree?
The illustrations in this book are a visual delight from start to finish and leave the reader with incredible images of the trees before and after the devastating fire. Of the community picking each peach before the trees were overcome. Of the birds and animals fleeing, and the Peach King trying to still the wind. All was seemingly lost until the Little Peach Tree encouraged the other peach trees to find their voices and sing the wind around. While The Peach King did not survive, the Little Peach Tree did and the cycle of new growth will begin again.
This is a powerful story that provides hope that not all is lost when fire ravages the land. That the flora and fauna will live on. A special book for all school and public libraries. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Peach Trees, Fire, Black Summer Bushfires, Australian Bush, Seasons, Cycles in Nature, Fables.
Kathryn Beilby
The Warrumbar by William J. Byrne
UWA Publishing, 2025. ISBN: 9781760803117. (Age:14+) Highly recommended.
At the heart of Byrne’s novel is a moral dilemma. If you are witness to something really bad, something wrong, what do you do if you know that the consequences of reporting it will have serious repercussions for yourself and your family? Robbie Brennan is a ‘black kid’, he’s experienced the harshness of a boys’ home, and he knows that if he tells what he saw, he’s not likely to be believed. He’ll probably be sent away again, and his mother would lose her job, because the person he accuses carries all the power and credibility in the community. His rational mind tells him to stay silent, stay safe, but his conscience torments him with recurring nightmares. He wants to do the right thing.
The setting is a country town in the 1960s, the Warrumbar is the river where the tragic incident occurs. Robbie’s family are poor, his Aboriginal mother grew up on a Mission, his father is a heavy drinker with unpredictable moods and discipline is heavy-handed when he is angry. Despite this Robbie loves his father and seeks to earn his affection and respect.
Byrne presents the wide disparity between the white townspeople and the Aboriginal people living on the fringe. Racist attitudes are entrenched. Life is a struggle for Robbie’s family, with lots of physical hard work, but it is a loving family and the bonds are strong. Robbie’s childhood is free and happy, hanging out with his mate Leon, rabbiting and catching yabbies. He meets the elderly Moses, a returned Aboriginal soldier, accepted in his regiment but rejected on his return home. Robbie loves to hear his stories and learns from him the importance of making peace with your past and maintaining personal integrity.
Byrne has created a quiet and thoughtful novel, exploring the tentativeness of the relationship between the boy and his father, and between the boy and the elderly relative. In its expose of racism the tone is not one of anger and blame, but of working towards better understanding. The moral dilemma is a powerful one and is worked through in a way that has some surprises, with an unpredictable but probably very realistic conclusion. This is a debut novel from William J Byrne; here’s hoping there will be more.
Themes Guilt, Conscience, Trauma, Truth-telling, Racism, Aboriginal history.
Pandora is the ‘beautiful evil’ sent by the gods to unleash misery on mankind. Most would know the story of Pandora, the foolish woman overcome by curiosity to open the forbidden box, and who releases all the evils to befall the world, with only ‘hope’ the last good thing that might offer some relief. Bea Fitzgerald takes this tale and turns it on its head. What if this is just the story that has been passed down the generations, always blaming the woman? Perhaps there is another side to it. Just as she wrote in The end crowns all, history is the story of the victors; there may be a different story that has been conveniently dropped from memory. Pandora may be a scapegoat for the gods’ malevolence and man’s weakness.
In Fitzgerald’s story, Pandora has the intelligence to question her purpose and fight her destiny. She understands that she has been created as the first human woman, to be beautiful and desired by Epimatheos, but the curiosity she has been endowed with leads her to ponder why Zeus has ordered her creation, and why he wants her to captivate the brother of Prometheus, the man he perpetually tortures. She continually questions the reasons she is both ‘all-gifted’ and ‘all giving’, and turns over every impulse in her mind. How much of her nature is preordained, and how much is something of ‘herself’, if there is such a thing.
In Fitzgerald’s story curiosity is not a bad thing, it’s a kind of intelligence, that continually explores the meaning of things, and how everything works. Pandora endeavours to understand herself and outwit the gods. It’s an intelligence that wins the respect and adoration of her husband Epimatheos, just as much as her shapely beauty.
For romance lovers, this novel has it all, the barbed wit of their prickly conversations, to the passion of their all-consuming physical attraction. It is a positive that Epimatheos loves Pandora for all her qualities, despite their bickering quarrels, and comes to appreciate and trust her intelligence above all. And for readers of Greek mythology, Bea Fitzgerald offers a very different and truly fascinating interpretation of an old story, one that even includes an authentic depiction of neurodivergence as well as non-binary gender.
“Four girls share a cabin on their school retreat – in an abandoned town where the ghost of Smiling Jack is known to haunt the isolated campers.”
Set in the 1990s, the story features 3 characters, Mack, Raffi, and Priya who head off to the Year 11 school camp, looking forward to a taste of freedom, time with friends, boys, and time away from families. The inclusion of Shelley, the odd new girl, to their cabin doesn’t fill them with excitement though, especially when she has immediately become the target of some of the boys.
When Raffi insists they all take part in a séance, things begin to get out of hand and the story quickly develops a sense of tension and eeriness. Assumptions are made by the characters about the issues that arise, and the reader is swept along as events unfold, the ghost story becoming intertwined with current day experiences.
Although I love mysteries and thrillers, I’ve never personally been a great fan of horror films or novels. Because I have frequently had middle school students (mainly female) begging me to purchase more of this genre, I was keen to read this. After reading the first couple of chapters, this story had me on the edge of my seat, completely engaged. I powered through the pages, trying to work out how the book would be resolved.
The chapters alternate between the perspectives of the four different characters, gradually revealing the secret thoughts, fears, and prior experiences of each. Despite their differences, a bond is formed, supporting one another becomes paramount and “the sisterhood” reigns supreme.
I’d certainly recommend this title to teenage readers who love the horror genre, but would point out that both violence and sexual assault are part of the story.
Themes Teen Relationships, Violence, Sexual Assault, Feminism.
Jo Schenkel
Boy vs Beast: Lava Beast by Mac Park
Larrikin House, 2025. ISBN: 9781922804969. (Age:5+) Recommended for emergent readers.
“Kai Masters is a Border Guard. He must battle beasts to keep Earth safe. Things have changed in Beastium. There are new beasts. Combo beasts. Will Kai and his Jet-Drill be able to stop the lava beast?”
Behaving like an ordinary kid, Kai plays soccer and joins the team for a BBQ party after the game. He has a far more important role, however. His dog, BC3, has a laser light tail, supersonic hearing, retractable fur, and a human chat button. They live in an old lighthouse with hidden rooms and labs with incredible computers. Together, in their new adventure, the two discover that the earth is under attack by a lava beast. Immediately, they don new fighting apparel, collect upgrades to weapons and a vehicle, and head off to fight the beast. Along the way, they meet different foes, battling them with their chosen tools. Will they manage to defeat the beast and get home safely?
Writing under several different pen names, Louise Park has written multiple series which appeal particularly to emergent readers. Each title in the Boy vs Beast series is action packed, written in a large font, interspersed with numerous illustrations and diagrams. In Lava Beast, several pages use the graphic novel format. Lovers of computer games will see connections between this story and screen games with strength, attack power and speed listed on cards as the story progresses.
The action is easy to read and comprehend, particularly with the assistance of the accompanying illustrations. A bite sized, action packed adventure, this title and series hold immense appeal to emergent readers.
Themes Adventure, Action.
Jo Schenkel
Pablo and Splash: Roman holiday by Sheena Dempsey
Bloomsbury, 2025. ISBN: 9781526662859. (Age:5+)
At home in Antarctica, penguins Pablo and Splash are learning about ancient Rome from their teacher, Mr. Beluga. Splash has not really been concentrating and during an oxygen break on the surface she persuades her more sensible friend Pablo that the way to really learn would be to use Professor O’Brain’s TimeBender machine to visit ancient Rome. Splash should have listened closer to the lessons because she thinks she will be visiting the scene of the 1950’s classic movie "Roman Holiday" and instead of sunglasses and gelato she finds togas and enslavement. It seems the Emperor’s wife collects rare birds and they find themselves captured, awaiting their turn as entertainment in the Colosseum, fighting two experienced gladiators as part of a public spectacle.
This is the third graphic novel adventure for the time travelling penguins, this time combining real information about ancient Rome, like gladiators fighting in the Colosseum (and the use of a sponge on a stick for wiping bums in the public toilets) and cute penguins having exciting adventures. There are lots of puns and catchphrases and a side-trip to New Zealand, keeping the pace fast and engaging. I wasn’t really keen on the friends’ stereotypical relationship, with the fun, naughty impulsive one controlling the adventure while the sensible, more careful one solves the resulting problems, but it is a fast, fun read with colourful characters which will appeal to young readers. At the end of the book is information on the Colosseum, volcanoes and other ‘fact or fiction’ questions as well as how to draw a gladiator. It will appeal to readers of Patrick Green's Investigators series.
Themes Graphic novel, Ancient Rome, Friends, Time travelling.
Sue Speck
The drought kangaroo by Jackie French. Illus. by Danny Snell
The third in the series about animals coping through extreme weather events, this book bristles with endeavour as the kangaroo can smell water far away and knows he must find it to survive.
The strong young kangaroo, Joseph knows his mob is in danger. They are all listless, nibbling at ever shrinking grass, no joeys being born. But Big Roo the leader of the mob is just as listless, and Joseph knows he must search for better feed and water. No one takes any notice as he leaves. He travels at nights, resting during the heat of the day. He sees other distressed animals , parched of water.
One night, he comes across two lights and tries to jump between them, falling to the ground, bouncing off the car. But he keeps going, he can smell the water close by.
When he finds it he munches the grass and drinks large amounts of water, when he notices a mob watching him. The leader of the mob comes over and after a few sorties, leaves him to drink. A grey kangaroo joins him, and later, when it rains he takes over as the leader, and he joins the mob, contented.
Snell’s wonderful images show the kangaroos and their body shapes throughout the story. Decidedly skinny and undernourished, Joseph must leave his mob to look for food. The readers will recognise the flora and fauna seen along his journey, and be concerned for him when confronted by the leader of the new mob. The Australian bush is shown in its changeability, from parched desert to flooding rain. The powerful image of the car which Joseph tries to leap over, becomes clear to the readers when they read Jackie French’s notes at the end, while the illustration recalls all those animals seen as road kill. I loved Snell’s images of Joseph across the top of several pages, giving movement and a sense of purpose to the journey. And the episode with the car in the half light at night is full of anticipation for the readers wondering whether Joseph will be able to avoid the car and survive.
Based on a true story of a lone kangaroo which came to Jackie’s property, the story of survival in our desperate times of drought is uplifting. A teacher's guide is available.
Themes Drought, Kangaroos, Survival.
Fran Knight
When the mountain wakes by Matt Shanks
Affirm Press, 2025. ISBN: 9781923419056. (Age:6+)
This large format picture book is deceptively sophisticated in its message. With very few words the graphic novel leans on the images to tell a story from the beginnings of time through to a future of hope. It follows a mountain which slumbers as various forms of life and civilizations come and go in a cycle of creation and destruction until a silence in the world wakes it and loneliness sends the mountain searching “for a song”. The thousands of years the mountain spends searching fruitlessly, shifts our perspective from our own brief timelines to consider more long-term thinking, that just when we think there is no hope, life will surprise us. The lovely illustrations carry the story of the cycle of life, not dwelling unduly on destruction and a young reader will take away positive feelings about the resilience of nature. At a time when anxiety about climate change and destructive events can overwhelm us it is good to see books like this and Tull Suwannakit's Higher Ground expressing hope for the future. Best read by or with an adult to guide and explain the many geological and historical references and to guide a discussion, it can stand alone as a picture book, and the mountain is a very appealing character.
Themes Nature, Environment, Resilience..
Sue Speck
We fell apart by E. Lockhart
Allen & Unwin, 2025. ISBN: 9781761182426. (Age:14+) Highly recommended.
Lockhart’s latest book We fell apart returns to a setting closely related to that of her famous We were liars but with a different cast of characters. Not having read her earlier books, I was completely comfortable with her advice that this is a stand-alone story to be understood on its own. There are some spoilers though for readers of the two Liars novels. Her fans are sure to enjoy her unique writing style that almost twists into poetry in places. And she is master at portraying the inner world of Matilda, the uncertain adventurer caught in this latest mystery.
Matilda is a lonely teenager, abandoned by her single mother ‘following her heart’ with her latest lover, rejected by her boyfriend Luca for being obsessive and needy, and dropped by friends who have decided she is creepy and nerdy. Then out of the blue comes an email from famous artist Kingsley Cello claiming to be her father and inviting her to meet him at his home on Hidden Beach. The strange thing is, he is not there when she turns up, and instead she meets three unusual boys, her ingenuous half-brother Meer, handsome flawed celebrity Brock, and the scowling unfriendly Tatum. Hidden Beach itself is an anomalous world, a superficially free lifestyle confined within rigid constraints that Matilda finds herself constantly challenging. At its heart there is a mystery she is determined to resolve.
There are lies, confusions, trauma, decay, and slowly, gradually, romance. The missing father is not going to fill the gap in Matilda’s life; she has to find her own inner strength, and take responsibility in her relationships and her decisions. It is a combination of coming-of-age and mystery novel delivered in the unique style which has made Lockhart a deservedly popular YA author.
Good Morning, little eggs, one, two and three. But wait – four? This doesn’t belong to me! It landed in my nest without a sound. Whose egg could this be, so smooth, white and round?
The beginning of this gorgeous story is set in a striking dawn sky. An Australian magpie has found a surprise smooth, white round egg in their nest and begins a wondrous journey across the rooftops to find out where the egg might belong. First to be visited is the willie wagtail’s nest built in a garden shed with web, but their eggs are smaller with spots. Then onto the ducks but they have not yet laid their eggs. Next are the kookaburras but their eggs have already hatched. The swallows nests are made of mud and sit under the windowsill. But their eggs have spots and freckles. The honeyeaters have a nest on the patio but their eggs have red spots.
All through this perfectly rhyming narrative, a myriad of birds in a variety of different nests are visited by magpie until the very end at dusk when who do they find perched on the gutters? And whose chick is now sharing the neighbourhood nest with three magpie hatchlings?
Neighbourhood Nest is a beautiful picture book to share with children of all ages. The illustrations are simply stunning and perfectly complement the text. From the partly embossed birds on the front cover, the endpapers showing the eggs with other objects from nature, the detailed full page illustrations in vibrant colour and great detail, this will be a book to treasure. There is also an opportunity to spot some items hidden in a nest as well as further accessible information about all of the backyard birds mentioned in the story.
A must-have book for a home, school or public library.
Themes Nature, Birds, Nests, Australian Backyards, Bird Spotting.
Kathryn Beilby
Frog, Log & Dave: A brush with evil by Trent Jamieson & Brent Wilson
Penguin, 2025. ISBN: 9781761347085. (Age:5+)
Following on from Book 1, Frog Log and Dave’s band now have a drummer, Pollutodude, and call themselves the Quad Bikes. Poor sales and reviews of their second album mean they need to keep their day job as delivery drivers in the much-modified Excalivan. Meanwhile Count Evil Von Evil is plotting revenge for having his plan to pollute the city thwarted by Jeremy in book one. Pigeon Jeremy is the band’s most devoted fan but probably loves his job at the Toothbrush Instruction Writing Company more, so Count Evil Von Evil’s first move is to buy the factory and make Jeremy in charge of research and development. When the Count orders a large shark to be delivered to the factory, the Quad Bikes get drawn into his evil plan.
With bold, colourful cartoons and plenty of action there is nothing subtle about the team’s adventures. Quirky humour with running jokes that build on the previous book’s characters and some sound effects that cry out to be read aloud, make this a must for young readers looking for a series. At 160 pages this graphic novel is long enough to engage the reader and fast paced enough to maintain interest. Just for a bit of fun there is a page at the end of this quality, hardback edition on how to draw the Frog character and colourful endpapers packed with jellybabies hiding clues from the story.
Text Publishing, 2022. ISBN: 9781922458926. (Age:12+)
Cursed by Marissa Meyer is a dark romance/thriller fantasy book set in Germany, where a girl, Serilda, is trapped in a large castle betrothed to the evil Alder King, while she is a spirit separated from her pregnant, human body. She, and her secret lover/best friend Gild, who is also separated from his body, try to find their bodies to put themselves back in their human bodies and escape the Alder King. Meanwhile, they try to escape twisted beasts, demons that roam the hallways, and looking after children that Serilda is connected to, and try to stop the Alder King from collecting his monsters to resurrect his huntress wife.
This novel is quite captivating, always keeping you on your toes, trying to guess the mysteries that will keep you up at night. Cursed is impossible to put down, and it is extremely entertaining, and I can guarantee that you will love this book. This book is recommended to those who enjoy mystery, thriller, and dark romance.
Themes: Thriller, mystery, dark romance, fantasy, and myths.
