Lower Primary
Over the year that was 2022, we have featured MANY a book on the Your Kids Next Read podcast. So the obvious end of year activity was getting the Teen-Elf (aka Pudstar)…
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Guest post. Standing in front of the mirror, head tilted. She squints, focuses, dwells. She hones in on all the ‘flaws’ – and the tween girl looking back at her agrees with…
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Guest post. I don’t know about you, but I really haven’t the faintest idea of what happens in the six hours my kids are at school – five days a week. I…
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Story has the power to educate and to heal and below you will find some of my absolute favourite texts by First Nations authors and illustrators in approximate age group order. Use…
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Guest post. When I envision the future, my sons all grown up and my face more lined than I’d like, I hope they have become men who are kind, gentle, respectful of…
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When my boys were around the ages of three to five they became obsessed, and I mean OBSESSED, with dinosaurs. So much so that it felt like we had a pet dino…
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The other day in an attempt to coax my kids out of Kmart’s toy aisle, I offered them a bribe. I told them they could each pick something SMALL but then we…
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For some years now, the girls and I have taken part in WWF’s Earth Hour. Earth Hour began in 2007 in Sydney and has become a global movement to protect our planet.…
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School playgrounds across the nation will soon turn orange, as little ones celebrate what it means to be inclusive with Harmony Week. In 2023 Harmony Week runs from March 20 – 26…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Bedtime reading is something I feel incredibly passionate about, in fact I have pretty much a whole chapter in my book devoted to it and I still read to my 10 and…
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When the world feels like the grown ups aren’t in charge (on a global scale!) and everything feels a bit scary – sometimes comfort foods and comfort reads are what is called…
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Zanni and I met at Children’s Book Council of Australia conference, where we walked around the garden of Jackie French together, and let me tell you, that is a wonderful place to…
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Belinda Murrell is one of my favourites in the kidlit world. Am I even allowed to have favourites?! She is a completely wonderful person and a damn great writer to boot. One…
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Narrative non-fiction titles are one of the best ways I know to introduce young children to the joys of information books – they are a fabulous ‘smash up’ of story with true…
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Each year I look forward to the borrowing stats and borrower stats at the conclusion of the school year. Possibly this is a librarian thing, but I find it fascinating and of…
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A book for one? A book for two? A book for different points of view. Recently I had the privilege of meeting a newcomer to the kidlit world, author/illustrator/designer Robert Henderson. Robert…
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The term ‘lyrical’ is not often used to describe books on the ever-popular topic of ‘rocks, gems and minerals’ and yet this is what I would say about ‘The Book of Stone’…
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