Middle Grade
Dr Sam Lloyd, Children’s Books Daily chief science and nature book reviewer, is on a roll! Another fabulous review on gross, fun and stinky things! Let’s face it – we all love…
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Dr Sam Lloyd, Children’s Books Daily chief science and nature book reviewer, has done it again! Another fabulous review for us all. This time on the wonder of Wasps! Wasps can be…
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Thanks to Dr Sam Lloyd, Children’s Books Daily chief science and nature book reviewer, we have our very first book review of 2023! Thank you Dr Sam! No doubt there’s a beach…
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Title: ‘Welcome to Consent’Author: Yumi Stynes and Dr Melissa Kang Publisher: Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing Age Range: 10+ years old Themes: Personal boundaries, sex, interpreting signals, speaking up and being firm, guarding…
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Title: ‘Elsewhere Girls’Author: Emily Gale & Nova WeetmanPublisher: Text Publishing Age Range: from 10+, upper primary, lower secondary. Themes: friendship, family, courage, pressure, sport, elite sport, academics, timeslip, history, feminism, women, women…
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I have been showcasing some of my new favourite bee books of late, including ‘The Very Clever Bee’ which you can see my review of here and my more extensive list of…
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Title: The Fire StarAuthor + Illustrator: A.L. Tait Publisher: Penguin Age Range: 10+, upper primary, middle grade. Themes: medieval history, mystery, knights, maids, friendship, belonging, education of girls and women, secret societies.…
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Title: ‘Bear in Space’Author: Deborah AbelaIllustrator: Marjorie Crosby-Fairall Publisher: Walker Books AustraliaAge Range: early childhood, lower primary. Themes: friendship, difference, schools, kindergartens, imaginative play, space. I will always shout loudly and lovingly…
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Title: ‘Small Town’Author: Phillip GywnneIllustrator: Tony Flowers Publisher: Penguin BooksAge Range: lower primary, middle primary, upper primary. Themes: rural life, country towns, community, home, refugees, grandparents, school, activism, initiative, inclusivity, visual literacy.…
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Title: ‘The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle’Author: Pamela Rushby Publisher: Walker BooksAge Range: 9+, middle primary, upper primary, lower secondary, middle grade. Themes: Victorian England, Egypt, Egyptology, ancient civilisations, historical fiction, mystery,…
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Title: ‘When Rain Turns to Snow’Author: Jane GodwinPublisher: Lothian, an imprint of Hachette AustraliaAge Range: 12+, middle grade, upper primary, lower secondary.Themes: family, adoption, divorce, step parents, parents, siblings, family secrets, coming…
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Title: ‘The Year The Maps Changed’ Author: Danielle BinksPublisher: Hachette Age Range: middle grade, upper primaryThemes: Australia, modern history, ‘Operation Safe Haven’, Kosovar refugees, asylum, immigration, empathy, kindness, grief, loss, maps, geopgraphy,…
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Book Boy Jr has *almost* inspired me to read a book about running with this review…almost. Actually I am hooked on the idea of this book and think it would be perfect…
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Oh how I love this book and I’m so grateful to Sam for reviewing it for me as her Scientific knowledge is invaluable with CSIRO publications. My parents have always had amazing…
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Title: ‘White Bird’ Author: R. J. Palacio Publisher: Penguin Books Australia Age Range: middle grade*, YA Themes: bravery, kindness, courage, World War II, survival, family, found family, friends. Inspired by her blockbuster phenomenon…
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Title: ‘Monuments’ Author: Will Kostakis Publisher: Hachette Age Range: young adult Themes: fantasy, adventure, Greek mythology, contemporary fiction, sexuality, friendship, family, grief, coming of age Greek Australian, Indigenous, romance, diversity, humour. Teachers’…
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Dr Sam Lloyd has been reviewing Science themed books for Children’s Books Daily for some years now – you can see all her reviews by clicking on the ‘guest blogger’ category or…
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Term Three is such a busy term with sports and other school activities (including Book Week!) and it’s often the time of year when many book club attendees are unable to make…
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In my humble opinion, Jane Godwin is one of the heroes of the kidlit world in Australia. A former publisher (responsible for the wonderful ‘Our Australian Girls’ series no less), Jane has…
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‘Sometimes rain made me want to cry, like there was something deep inside of me – the sadness flower that opened up when rainy days came, and blossomed inside of me until…
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