Megan Daley, Author at Children's Books Daily...

Since Dan’s death, the girls and I have been a team of three. A team of three surrounded by family and a village of people who have supported us online and offline in ways that continue to astound me – we have truly experienced the best of people. And now the strangest thing has happened.…

There are some moments in life which are calling out for a personalised book experience – even though I could count on one hand the number of such books I’ve ‘approved of’ over the years! I recently came across the My Big Moments personalised books and they blow all stereotypes of personalised books out of…

The lovely bits and pieces in this post are gift ideas for colleagues, friends, family and teachers – a bit of a mash up of all the things I love and I think you will also love. They are not sponsored ideas, though some links are affiliate links (which cost the buyer nothing) and which…

It is hard to imagine a time when ‘Grug’ did not exist. I feel like I grew up reading about the funny little character who began his life as the top of a Burrawang tree books and the first was written in 1979 so they are absolutely my vintage! It is testament to the writing…

We often read stories about well-loved teddy bears or dolls and the imagined adventures they have had over their lifespan. It’s somehow comforting to see an old toy loved again – the ones who have been repaired and patched and given new life. But have you ever thought about well-loved children’s books and the stories…

Kate Gordon’s writing in ‘Aster’s Good, Right Things’ is at times so authentic that it makes you wince with the pain and anguish of it all but ultimately wraps you up in immense beauty and goodness. This is one of my favourite middle grade reads in a long time and I’m recommending it to all…

When I first read ‘Love Your Body’ by Jessica Saunders, I felt so very grateful to be living in an age where my girls had access to a book like this. This week I have read her latest book ‘Be Your Own Man’ and this time I thought ‘my glory how far we have come…

When you employ someone do you go by their resume or by the feel of the interview and referee comments? I’m definitely on the ‘gut feeling’ side of things and when Lana came on board to replace Justine (on maternity leave) as my VA, she came highly recommended by someone I greatly respect and when…

Hi! This is ChickPea here. Taking over from mummy on this Book People interview because … well … I love the Sherlock Bones books and I knew I would do a better job of asking Renee Treml the questions. If you like graphic novels, laughing and taxidermy … you should really read Sherlock Bones. They…

This year has been the pits hasn’t it? I’ve felt like I’ve been sinking all year and my head is only just above water (and sometimes not even above to be honest!). I’ve absolutely lost my reading mojo and at times have been reduced to my ultimate comfort read – cook books heavy on story.…

Children’s book publisher Puffin is having a BIG birthday and YKNR members have the chance to win ALL the presents! From the publisher: This September, iconic children’s book publisher Puffin commemorates its milestone 80th anniversary. To celebrate, we’re offering a blockbuster giveaway including 17 books, from old favourites to new classics, as well as an exclusive…

Coles has this Treehouse book offer on just at the moment and usually I would not buy into large chain supermarket offerings but #books. If they really *must* offer something then I am super glad it is books! Clearly I am not being sponsored to say this as I’m not even being particularly warm about…

The latest book by Dannika Patterson and Megan Forward, ‘Scribbly Gum Secrets’ could not have come at a better time for my family and I as 2020 has seen us do a lot more bushwalking in our local area and this is one of the very few things I will take away as a positive…

Guest Article by Tracey Hand of Optimise Learning. Co-founder of Optimise Learning, Tracey Hand, is a former teaching colleague and she is one of the most outstanding teachers I have ever seen in a classroom. In fact I respect her wisdom on all things reading so very much that I asked her to write part…

Recently I was asked to be a part of The Groundswell Project Dying to Know Day 2020 campaign. Dying To Know Day (August 8th) is an annual day of action dedicated to activating conversations and community actions around death, dying and bereavement. The webinar Young people and Grief | Activating conversations around loss, grief and…

ChickPea is NINE! It seems like just yesterday we were having her first birthday party, a ‘Bad Tempered Ladybird Party’ because she screamed with reflux pain for the first year of her life! Then she had a Wild Things Party at two and a Stomping Dinosaur Party at three … see the theme emerging? She’s…

You’ll know, if you’ve been reading my musings for a while now, that I often talk about the wonders of audio books and podcasts – especially for car rides. For more on the power of audio books see Chapter 9 of my book ‘Raising Readers’. As an educator, I’m going to tell you that words…

A few short weeks ago, author Allison Rushby, a member of the Your Kid’s Next Read admin team, mentioned she was about to start reading Thomas Taylor’s ‘Gargantis’. Well. What a flurry of excitement there was! There were definitely a lot of people in the YKNR community who’d adored ‘Malamander’ as much as Allison had…

The LGBTQI+ community across the world celebrate Pride month (June each year) in all manner of different ways. I celebrate most occasions with books (and cake), so I’m celebrating with 50+ books which I believe are important additions to your home and school libraries. Diverse texts play a crucial role in allowing readers to see…

Books are one of the best ways I know for children to learn about nature, issues of the environment, and sustainability in general. While there is much to be said about learning and exploring in nature, there is also much to be gained from exploring words, images and ideas in worthy non-fiction and fiction texts. The Environment Award…