Print Books
Title: ‘Miss Penny Dreadful and the Midnight Kittens’Author: Allison RushbyIllustrator: Bronte Rose MarandoPublisher: Walker Books AustraliaAge Range: lower primary (read aloud), middle primaryThemes: mystery, boarding school, historical fiction, paranormal. An enquiring mind…
READ MORETitle: ‘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…
READ MORETitle: ‘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…
READ MORETitle: ‘The Surprising Power Of A Good Dumpling’Author: Wai ChimPublisher: Allen & Unwin (2019)Awards: Shortlisted Best Young Adult Literature, Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2020 AU; Shortlisted Readings Young Adult Book Prize 2020…
READ MOREAuthor and illustrator: Kylie HowarthPublisher: Walker BooksAge Range: Lower Primary, Middle PrimaryThemes: Ocean, climate change, Marine biology This week I am introducing ‘ChickPea Reviews’! Is it any surprise that the daughter of a teacher librarian is…
READ MORETitle: Earth Matters: Loving our Planet.Author: Carole WilkinsonIllustrator: Hilary Cresp Publisher: Wild Dog Books Age Range: lower primary, middle primary, upper primary Themes: climate change, global warming, earth, sustainability, environmental activism, nature,…
READ MORESeries Title: School of Monsters Author: Sally RippinIllustrator: Chris Kennett Publisher: Hardie Grant Age Range: beginner reader, early childhood. Themes: monsters, friendships, school, spooky, starting reading. Sally Rippin has been writing books…
READ MOREAnother fab review from Jazzy! Jazzy is one of the most sophisticated young readers I know and I really value her insights on the latest book she’s been reading. Today she’s reviewing…
READ MORETitle: Looking for AlibrandiAuthor: Melina MarchettaPublisher: Penguin Australia (published 1992)Age Range: Young adult, AdultsThemes: Feeling Like an Outsider, Pressure, Immigration, Family Ties, Community and Tradition, Cultural Differences and Racism, Self-discovery Sophie Fu…
READ MORETitle: 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.…
READ MORETitle: ‘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…
READ MORETitle: ‘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,…
READ MORETitle: ‘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…
READ MORETitle: ‘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,…
READ MOREThis bestselling novel by John Green was published in 2012 and has since been made into successful movie. There is something truly remarkable about the pull of ‘The Fault in our Stars’,…
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