Family
Congratulations! You’ve made it through Christmas and New Year celebrations and now we’re heading right on into ‘Back to School Season’. Do your family decorate and cover the school books? I’m still…
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Title: ‘Big Love’Author: Megan JacobsonIllustrator: Beck FeinerPublisher: Walker Studio an Imprint of Walker Books AustraliaAge Range: babies, early childhood, lower primary.Themes: family, love, diversity. ‘Big Love’ is a soothing lullaby packaged and…
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Title: ‘Enough Love?’ Author: Maggie HutchingsIllustrator: Evie Barrow Publisher: Affirm Press Age Range: lower primary, middle primary. Themes: family, family changes, family love, blended families, relationships, identity, step parenting, same sex relationships,…
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Title: ‘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…
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Title: 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…
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Title: Untwisted: the story of my lifeAuthor + Illustrator: Paul Jennings Publisher: Allen and Unwin Age Range: YA – Adult Themes: Themes: autobiography, memoir, non fiction, writing, children’s writer, teaching, speech pathology,…
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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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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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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…
READ MOREEncouraging young people to read widely and enjoy a balanced literary diet is something that can add immeasurably to their reading and writing journey. For many of us, poetry and verse novels…
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Jazzy is one of the most sophisticated young readers I know and she always stretches herself to read outside of her comfort zone. Her latest book has been, in her own words,…
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‘Dream Riders’ is a new middle grade series about the lives of the ‘dream riders’ as they enter the world of the ‘Pocket of Dreams’. Located in Mullumbimby, this idyllic property is…
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For the quiet ones and for the noisy ones (to teach us how to listen)…‘A Quiet Girl’ by Peter Carnavas will gently (and quietly) settle in your soul. Title: ‘A Quiet Girl’…
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At talks to parents and educators, I always say that books allow young people to walk in the shoes of others. Never was this saying more relevant than with the latest book…
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Twice a year I try to post a list of the adult books I am reading and enjoying. To be perfectly honest I do not read a huge number of adult books,…
READ MOREThere are some young adult (YA) novels that seem to take the world by storm, and ‘Dry’ is one of them and it is currently being adapted for film. Neil Shusterman is…
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Babies will start to show interest in books earlier than you may think. They will reach for and explore board books and bath books as soon as they can reach for a…
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Title: ‘The Bogan Mondrian’ Author: Steven Herrick Publisher: UQP. Teachers’ Notes are here. Themes: grief, fathers, domestic violence, gambling, family, friendship, hope, trust, prejudice. Click on title links or cover images to purchase. I…
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