New Frontier, 2025. ISBN: 9781922326997. (Age:5+) Recommended.
After a great storm a family is stranded on the roof of their apartment block as their town is engulfed in water. Their rooftop garden becomes an island and the frail grandma, two children and their rabbit must survive on what they can salvage or grow. As time goes by and there is no rescue they make a home of their island, planting, weeding, harvesting and preserving, learning from grandma what is essential for survival and that life can be meaningful in the darkest of days. Along with survival, the children learn to explore and appreciate the changes in their world, the underwater environment which has replaced their town and the turning of the seasons as time goes by. But the water is getting higher, threatening their island and grandma is getting frailer so they must make some hard decisions.
This beautifully produced book, made to look like an art journal with a collaged cover is a treat to hold. The delicate watercolour and graphite illustrations lovingly document the passing of time and the lessons grandma passes on to the children. The spare text is sophisticated in mood and tone with messages of hope, resilience, courage and independence. This part picture book, part graphic novel, part journal is hard to assign to a single reader; it would make a lovely gift book to read together with younger readers and older children can find practical things to make and do including how to catch and use a fish and how to make the most of vegetables like lettuce and spring onions by regrowing from the roots. It would be a great addition to classroom discussions on sustainability, climate change, displacement and loss, including how keeping a journal can help process strong feelings. Teachers notes and activities can be downloaded from the website.
This sequel to How to solve your own murder assumes knowledge of the first book, with references to some previous characters that are completely unexplained. However if the enthusiastic reader is prepared to skip over these bits, it is possible to enjoy the novel as a stand-alone. It repeats the structure of the first book with two intertwining timelines, one in the present, and one in the late 1960s. Annie is the present day heroine, inheritor of her great-aunt Frances’s mansion and fortune. Excerpts from Frances’s diary add essential information to Annie’s investigation of the murder of fortune-teller Peony Lane, a murder linked to past secrets.
It is a very convoluted plot and no doubt will defy even the most experienced reader of detective mysteries. However, if at the end you can actually work out what really happened, I am sure that a close examination of all the previous chapters would not reveal any flaw in Perrin’s craft. The result is a very meticulously constructed puzzle, with the final jigsaw pieces only able to be put in place by the outstanding sleuth-like skills of the intrepid Annie.
There is a little suggestion of romance that might keep readers wanting more, and no doubt there will be another adventure to follow, for the die is cast as Annie holds in her hands a little piece of paper predicting her own fortune, an opportunity for another twist in the story.
My mum is the best by Nic McPickle and Tommy Doyle
Allen & Unwin, 2025. ISBN: 9781761181160. (Age:3+)
Nic McPickle and Tommy Doyle once again team up to help young readers see their Mums as helpmates and protectors, supporters and encouragers.
Mums are everywhere, and although many look quite different and sometimes make their offspring roll their eyes in exasperation, the Mums are there to support their kids when they say, 'Have you got a jumper? ‘Do you need a snack?’ Or 'If you got it out, then you can put it back.’, and the pages turn as Mums ask them to write a thank you letter, to clean up their rooms, and get the groceries from the car. While some people see this as nagging others see it as love. Because mums also say: ‘You are caring and smart’, ‘You are funny and tough’. ‘You love me so well that I know I'm enough.’ Children love their Mums putting their work on the fridge for all to see, or going out to all their sports’ matches, teaching them to cook or looking after a pet.
Promoting the role of Mums in children’s lives, this book is welcome for Mother's Day, and could be the focus of a display of all the books about Mums in the library, or the basis of a discussion around the book, where Mums are discussed and thanked for all the work they do behind the scenes. Work that often goes unnoticed and needs to be recognised, acknowledged and thanked.
Wonderful illustrations use a variety of animals as the basis of a mum and child. Kids will love seeing the different animals and their offspring. And I particularly liked the meerkats dining about, patient mum sitting on the toilet while her child comes in, and the wonderful giraffes, Mum and child, sitting in the bath. And I loved the endpapers, set up like a fridge or notice board with its notices taped on.
Jamie Johnson’s life is turned upside-down when he is told on his 17th birthday that his father is the king of a European country; the dying wish of his mother was that he should be brought up having a normal life away from the restrictions of royalty. But now, he has the opportunity to visit his father’s palace and step into the role of prince. It’s arranged that he will be tutored in the expectations of his role by a prince from a neighbouring country. Erik, like Jamie, is gay, and their relationship soon changes from friends to budding romance. The stumbling block is that Erik must adhere to his grandmother’s choice of partner, and his relationship with Jamie is supposed to remain strictly platonic.
The nice thing about this story is that being gay is out in the open, and everybody is accepting of that, with the only exception being the nasty homophobic prime minister, and he is not a very significant character. This is pure fantasy romance, the relationship between the two young men is warm and caring. There is no ‘failed communication’ trope; they discuss their problems together and reach mutual understanding. It really is a ‘how to’ guide to a good relationship.
Dietrich portrays the cautiousness and uncertainty of young people working out whether feelings are reciprocated, along with the gradual building of trust and confidence. There are no shocks along the way. The fantasy royal setting just adds a little bit of glamour. This is a pleasantly reassuring portrayal of young love which is easy to read and enjoy.
Dietrich’s previous book was a collaboration with Sophie Gonzales If this gets out (2021) with similar themes, though perhaps more fully fleshed out. Readers who enjoy The rules of royalty might like to seek that one out as well.
Themes LGBQTI+, Romance, Fantasy.
Helen Eddy
Brock the croc: Make it snappy! by Adrian Beck and Dean Rankine
Brock the croc and his friends live happily in Saltbush swamp having managed to save it from destruction in the first story in this series called Bite Me! Brock loves to party, ride his motorbike and be the centre of attention, but he is finding that being a leader can be hard when the rest of his swamp buddies don’t always listen to him. Mayor Grunter is more determined than ever to destroy the swamp to build on it and has come up with an evil scheme to do it using robots. But when her small robots arrive at the swamp its inhabitants are thrilled to have these helpful, friendly bots to do their bidding. Brock is not so sure they are what they seem and when they join to form a monster robot called Gruntzilla he must do his best to figure out a way to overcome the furious giant and save their home once again.
These books are a graphic novel style with large black and white illustrations, bold highlighted words, speech bubbles and a fast-paced storyline. It contains some toilet humour that will make readers laugh out loud but has an underlying theme of protecting the environment and preventing unnecessary development which destroys habitats of native animals. It will appeal to reluctant readers and those trying their first chapter books.
When hairy monster Redley wakes up, somewhere in the outback, it takes a while to find his brother Begley who, in his new clothing brand ‘Beg Hole', is addressing his social media followers on a computer. Red refuses to wear the T-shirt but tries the herbal tea Beg is promoting, which has a stinkbomb in the bottom and an itchy grub aftertaste. Unbeknown to the brothers, they are being tracked by Ned on his computer, who tells his mum he is too busy to turn out his laundry as he is chasing monsters. Things get serious when Major Bartholomew Tuxedo knocks on the door wanting to talk to Ned about a new 'friend' he has made online. After a lot of bum jokes and improbable asides we learn that Ned believes he saw the hairy monsters in the outback when he was a kid and now wants to find them to prove to his mum he is not a loser. Major Bart Tux wants to find them as they are a threat to national security so they set out to the outback to find the monsters.
This is the second book in the Hairy Holes series and I would recommend starting with book 1 as it took a while to get into, but once the reader gives in to the zany humour and energetic visuals the lack of logic doesn’t seem to matter. From the author of the very successful Ubby’s Underdogs series this too combines supernatural outback adventure but with unexpected twists like online influencers and a bizarre bingo hall. The inclusion of bad jokes and plenty of toilet humour will make this a winner with any junior reader and could be particularly engaging to reluctant readers.
Themes Cartoon humour, Supernatural creatures, Social media, Outback adventure.
Sue Speck
Saturation by William Lane
Transit Lounge, 2025. ISBN: 9781923023352. (Age:adult, young adult)
Ambrose and Ursula live in a future world where they struggle to keep their home from rising damp and where flooding is a frequent occurrence with bones making their way to the surface everywhere. They are both librarians, but the books they look after are at risk from an increasingly controlling government suspicious of radical ideas that may be in the books (like Fahrenheit 451). The mass data deletions of the past mean that technology has declined, hence the importance of libraries for passing on knowledge. It is a world where children are a rare sight, requiring guards to ensure their safety. Ursula would dearly love to have a child and strives to earn points with the ever vigilant, all seeing “Yoremind” (like Big Brother in 1984), for the right to reproduce. One of the ways to earn points is to attend public sports games but the ageing sportsmen are less entertaining than the half time gladiators who fight to the death as in Roman times. There are also points, bizarrely, for playing children’s games. Ursula insists that Ambrose partakes of the points earning activities for fear that he will attract negative attention from the government even though they seem to coincide with outbreaks of illness and violence. When Ursula finds she is pregnant and Ambrose suddenly finds he has lots of points, they use them to take a holiday at a beach where they meet some old flames and visit an orchard with an alternative community.
I found the worldbuilding off kilter with inconsistencies and thinly described settings that challenged the imagination. It would have helped maybe if we knew more about the backstory where things collapsed, farm animals became extinct and whole towns disappeared underwater. The characters were one dimensional and hard to fathom with short dialogue that wouldn’t be out of place in Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’. Overall, I struggled to remain interested in this dystopia, many of the themes about information control and misinformation were familiar to me and it didn’t seem to have anything new to say.
Themes Dystopia, Misinformation, Government control.
Just one of a clutch of books about the Australian environment: birds, reptiles, mammals and frogs, What’s that? is a welcome addition to books about our landscape and what lives here.
Woodlane Press produces field guides and books for travellers, books about facets of our environment, books for cyclists and family adventures, all produced with stunning photos and illustrations. All of their books encourage families, groups and individuals to explore, understand and value the land on which they travel.
Australian birds is stunningly illustrated, with images almost filling each of the pages, with paragraphs of information arranged around the animal in question.
At the beginning is an explanation of the term bird, then they are divided into three groups, each with its own band of colour. There are native and endemic birds, migratory and vagrant birds, and introduced species.
Page 13 for example introduces the reader to the Australian magpie. A strip of colour on one side of the page shows that this bird belongs to the native and endemic bird group. At the top of the page is a map of Australia showing where this bird can be found, and images of the bird in flight. A fact box tell us that this bird was named Australian Bird of the Year in 2023, and is sometimes aggressive during breeding season. Their beautiful morning call is called caroling, and is sung mainly to mark out its territory, and they walk over lawns and grassy areas in search of worms.
Each other page is similarly presented, giving snippets of facts that kids will find absorbing, and the map and images will make it easier for readers to go out and look for examples of that bird.
There are some lovely pages for kids to explore: bush turkeys, apostle birds, bower birds, zebra finches to name a few.
Themes Australian birds, Birds.
Fran Knight
Warren’s wombat adventure by Liam Kelly. Illus. by Claire Donovan
Liam Kelly, 2025. ISBN: 9781763767102. (Age:3+)
This is an unusual addition to the stories which project animals or the environment, through travel, as Warren the wombat goes to an array of places in South Australia. Unusual in the way it is presented, no publication page or information about the publisher or author, so it is simply up to the book to worm its way into the hands of young readers.
They will love going around the state of South Australia with Warren as their guide, although he is a bit lost and is searching for his home, where he must be home by three for tea.
In four line rhyming stanzas we follow Warren, saying some of the lines with the reader as they are repeated, and we see him at various well known destinations. Starting at the Wellington Ferry, he goes to Chinatown in the centre of the City of Adelaide, then boards the tram for Glenelg, and Mosley Square. We find him then at Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, followed by Port Adelaide, looking at the lighthouse and boats in the harbour. Off to Berri with the Big Orange, then north to dance with the locals, down to Port Lincoln, known for its fishing, and here he is told to go north to Ceduna. Here he finds his home, and all is sweet.
Kids will love getting a map of South Australia on which to trace Warren’s journey, and find out more about the southern hairy nosed wombat, South Australia’s animal representative.
The illustrations by Claire Donovan will intrigue readers, looking at the sights, sounds and colours of South Australia, taking in the range of differences around the state. Animals, environments, and flora can be seen during Warren’s adventure.
Themes South Australia, Adventure, Journeys, Tourism, Flora and fauna of South Australia, Pitjantjatjara.
After a series of brushes with the law, 16-year-old Joel is sent to serve out his time in an isolated cabin in the WA bush. He has 90 days to reflect on his choices and loyalties, while learning to appreciate a solitary life in a not-always welcoming environment.
First published in 2010, and reprinted several times since being named a Notable Book by the Children’s Book Council of Australia, this second edition will continue to resonate with readers, as its themes are universal and still relevant.
Told mainly from Joel’s perspective, we also read letters between him and his two main supporters; his girlfriend Bella and father, as Joel learns to take responsibility for his previous behaviour and decide what sort of future he wants.
Unfortunately, Joel’s new-found self-confidence and sense of purpose is tested when his friend Craggs, the source of much of his earlier troubles, arrives, fresh out of juvenile detention. Joel struggles to reconcile loyalty to his dare-devil mate with doing what he knows is right and responsible.
Fitzpatrick has written an adventure tale that balances high-stakes confrontations and youthful escapades with more introspective moments, especially when Bella and Joel’s father reflect on their respective relationships and experiences, and show their support for him. Joel’s relationship with both of them changes as he matures, and Joel himself is constantly reflecting on how he responded to peer pressure, whether he can make a fresh start and how others will view him in the future.
Highly recommended for the engaging way in which contemporary issues are presented and resolved, but most suitable for 16 plus, as domestic abuse underlies many of Cragg’s problems, and drug use, swearing and violence are regular features of the boys’ days.
This is the dangerous story of Trilby Moffat, who took on one of the most treacherous jobs of all time. Well . . . outside of time, to be precise.This book is the true and accurate record of how Trilby Moffat became (accidentally) the Time Keeper.
The Dream Sickness is making people bake ancient cakes, speak dead languages and fall into an endless sleep. Trilby and her mother live alone but when her mother starts showing signs of the sickness, she knows she must take the train to the edge of time to find her last remaining relative and ask for help.
Upon her arrival she discovers several problems with asking her aunt for help, not least of which is that her aunt isn’t around to help, then there is the man in the top hat trying to kill her and so much more!
This is the story of an ordinary girl who just wants to save her mum but, in the process, might just save everyone and have an incredible adventure along the way, as long as she survives long enough to discover the cure!!
I absolutely loved this story, Trilby is a quirky character who has a never say die attitude even when there is someone intent on ending her existence.The story is full of time-twisting treasures and adventures and humour that will captivate the reader and leave them wanting more.This book will be a favourite in classrooms as a read aloud with students hanging out for the next chapters.It is also great read alone for students who are looking for a similar read to Nevermoor and Lemony Snicket.It would suit an independent reader who is looking for a challenge.
I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to read the next one in the series.
Themes Fantasy, Adventure, Family.
Mhairi Alcorn
Skuduggery Pleasant: The haunted house on Hollow Hill by Derek Landy
This is a stand-alone story about Valkyrie and Skulduggery as they navigate a who-done-it murder mystery where ghosts and ancient spells are at play in a mansion set on Hollow Hill which is cut off from the rest of world by the traditionally terrible British weather.
When they arrive at the “most haunted house in Britain” to interview the Dark King of television magic they instead discover the body of a murdered man and a killer who is taking out the visitors one by one. The two mysterious Irish Detectives, Skulduggery and Valkyrie, have only hours to figure out who is the killer in a hotel filled with tortured spirits!
The inclusion of the obscure facts that Skulduggery has collected made this fit in with the other books in the series while still sitting outside the typical world of Skulduggery Pleasant.
Although this is a standalone novel, separate to the main series it is also a great introduction to the series for new readers and I think that this novel achieves a lightness that would engage younger readers who enjoy horror, murder mystery and a bit of humour.
This story was unique in that you could read it without knowing the background and get a lot from it while also giving lovers of the series a short side story that allowed the characters to act differently than they do in the main series. A excellent addition or start to the Skulduggery Pleasant universe.
Although initially daunted by the prospect of reading 643 pages, once I started reading, I was drawn into this engrossing, exciting fantasy that cleverly combines a Raven narrator, a lonely scholar, court intrigue, a murder, a thrilling competition and a slow burning romance. Having read a mystery written by Antonia Hodgson, The devil in the Marshalsea, I knew that the writing and plot would be outstanding and I was not disappointed.
It is hard to decide on one aspect of the novel that I most enjoyed; the themes are all so well developed and interesting. The world building was wonderful. The kingdom of Orrun with its king, Bersun the Brusque and the machinations of the court surrounding his successor are brilliantly depicted. Having sacred animals, Raven, Fox, Tiger, Ox, Bear, Monkey and Hound and the Dragon proxy as the inspiration for the contenders for the trials to become leader, is a unique way for the reader to learn about them as they reveal the traits that the sacred animal has given them. The trials involved thinking and problem solving as well as fighting and I held my breath as each contestant fought to win. And of course the characters are wonderful. Neema Kraa the Raven Scholar is lonely, ambitious and very clever. Thrust into the trials as an unwilling contestant she must use all her ingenuity and intelligence to stay alive, at the same time as she has been tasked by King Bersun to find the killer of one of the contestants, a young woman who had once made her life a misery. Fighting for the throne is Cain, once Neema’s best friend but now allied to the Monkey clan, and Neema is unsure whether she can trust him. As she begins to unravel the mystery that surrounds the murder, she uncovers secrets hidden for years that bring her into great danger.
Hodson cleverly breathes new life into tropes that are familiar to fantasy readers – a lonely young woman, slow burning romance, fierce competition, unexpected twists – and leaves the reader longing for more. This is outstanding fantasy. Readers ofFourth wing by Rebecca Yarros are likely to enjoy The Raven Scholar. It is highly recommended.
I loved Stiefvater’s standalone novel The Scorpio Races as well as the Raven Boysseries and eagerly picked up The listeners her adult novel, which was so engrossing that I could not put it down, reading it in a couple of sittings.
January 1942. June Hudson is the General Manager of the Avallon Hotel & Spa, owned by the rich Gilfoyles. It has always been the height of luxury for its influential and powerful patrons. Set in the wilds of West Virginia, the sweetwater that runs from the mountains eases away the pain and troubles of its high society clientele. Then June is told that all its guests will have to leave and instead it will host three hundred diplomats and Nazi sympathisers, supervised by the FBI as part of the war effort. Many of June’s staff have friends and relatives already serving in the armed forces and she has the massive job of juggling their feelings while trying to keep her unwelcome guests happy. FBI Agent Tucker Minnick is there to listen to the diplomats’ secrets, but with an Appalachian past, he understands the threat of the sweetwater that flows beneath the hotel.
I loved the magic realism in The listeners. The sweetwater can harm as well as heal and must be kept happy for the guests at the hotel to be content and the sacrifice that June makes to keep everything on an even keel is gripping. Tucker understands the power of water, showing June the flow from his village, and recognises her true nature and what she is undertaking.
In the author’s notes Stiefvater discusses her historical sources relating that luxury hotels were taken over to house diplomats following the attack on Pearl Harbour. The description of the running of the luxurious hotel and the amount of work that is involved in providing for unwanted was fascinating and gave a depth to the novel. However it was the complexity of the characters that stood out for me. I gradually grew to know the inmates of the hotel very well. June is unusual, a woman managing a hotel, still retaining her Appalachian accent and Tucker has secrets from his past and ones from his career as an FBI agent. The heartrending plight of Hannelore, the little girl who does not speak and could face danger if deported to Nazi Germany with her parents is a thread that I followed eagerly, as well as that of Sandy Gilfoyle, also silent in a wheelchair.
There are twists and turns, surprises and romance making this a memorable and unique story. It is highly recommended.
Themes Love, Lies, Secrets, Betrayal, World War 2, Hotels, Magic realism.
Pat Pledger
Celeste Express: The war of the wurms by Alexander Slater
Penguin Random House, 2025. ISBN: 9780241670583. (Age:6+) Highly Recommended.
Wyrm holes, evil Wizard, a tyrannical nine-year-old and stardust bunnies. What more could a young reader ask for?
In the kingdom of Galaxandria, Princess Celeste Starwing is in big, big trouble.
As punishment for her ongoing tyrannical behaviour, she is sent to the dusty intergalactic post office. A place that hasn’t been functional for a very long time as evidenced by the piles of undelivered letters.
It is here that she meets Podge, the only other employee of the post office since the postmaster disappeared and his Nana stopped working there. It is also here that Celeste discovers piles and piles of undelivered mail and as she begins the mammoth task of delivering the letters the consequence of letter delivery shapes the adventure within the story.
In a quest to prove to her father that she deserves to come home she is determined to make the post office popular again, unfortunately she is nine years old, and her actions are not always unselfish or without serious consequences. Along the way she makes a friend or two, saves her kingdom, uncovers mysteries, and delivers a letter or two in her quest to be allowed back into the castle that is her home.
This is a brilliant book that I couldn’t put down. The story is simple yet engaging and the illustrations throughout the story make this a delightful read. I would definitely recommend this book to any child who is looking for a realistic fantasy with adventure and giggles asking the way. This is a great introduction to chapter books as the chapters are short and the illustrations help the story.
A perfect class read aloud although students might not like having to take a break in the middle of the action-packed chapters. I can see this being an extremely popular book in any school library. I was very excited to see that Celeste’s next adventure is coming soon!!
Themes Fantasy, Friendship, Other worlds, Adventure, Good vs. evil.
