Errol! By Zanni Louise and Philip Bunting, Scholastic Press, 2018. ‘Errol refuses to follow his mum. Even when she counts to three.’ Firstly, what a great name for a penguin! Errol! is a very stubborn little Antarctic penguin, and his disobedience frustrates his mother no end. Errol refuses to follow his mum when she calls him, even when she counts to three! One…Two…Three! And still, Errol does not follow his mother. I think every mother and every child can relate to this story, no matter how old they are. Even as adults we would all remember our own mother counting to three and then either walking away without us, or losing it in some other way that isn’t PC to mention these days! Why is Errol not following his mum? Because he has some adventurous ideas of his own! When Errol’s mother thinks she’s lost him under the snow, she cries, but we soon discover that Errol has embarked on his own adventures beneath the surface. Errol soon pops his head back up out of the snow and calls to his mother, then calls again. When she doesn’t respond he tells her he’s going to count to three. Well, this…

I Just Ate My Friend By Heidi McKinnon, Allen & Unwin, 2017. ‘I just ate my friend. He was a good friend. But now he is gone. Would you be my friend?’ I think your child will love I Just Ate My Friend! This hilarious and quirky little book will delight readers of all ages. Even the grown-ups will have a giggle! The main character ate his friend and is searching for a new friend, but what will happen when he does find a new friend? I have it on good authority that the author has never actually eaten any of her friends, nor does she recommend it. Awards Shortlisted for The Crichton Award, 2018. Longlisted for Children’s Picture Book of the Year 2018. Longlisted for Australian Book Industry Awards, 2018. Longlisted for Indie Book Awards – Children’s Fiction, 2018.

Why Do Families Change? By Dr Jillian Roberts and Cindy Revell, Orca Book Publishers, 2017. ‘A reassuring and straightforward explanation of separation and divorce.’ Are you and your family experience separation or divorce and don’t know how to talk to your children about it? Why Do Families Change? opens with ‘Many animals in nature choose lifelong mates’. On the opening double page spread, we see three sets of paired birds and three sets of paired couples, including one same-sex couple. The following page continues in this light with more couples from different cultures getting married, as well as another same-sex couple. It stresses that some couples choose to have a common-law relationship where they live together but don’t actually get married. Why Do Families Change? presents a very open-minded view of the different types of relationships that are possible. It gently introduces children to the fact that some people stay married for their whole lives, while others separate or divorce. The story goes on to explain what separation is, and what divorce is, and why these changes can happen. Why Do Families Change? addresses the all-important issue that many children face, ‘Is it my fault?’. No matter how old your children are, there…

A Walk In The Bush By Gwyn Perkins, Affirm Press, 2017. A Walk In The Bush will take you and your child on a journey through the Australian bush. Grandad can’t find Iggy. He looks everywhere for him. When he finally finds him, he takes him on a journey into the Australian bush looking for wildlife. Together we meet many different native birds and learn their bird calls, and bump into the odd wallaby. There are also caterpillar messages on trees! This whole book is truly like the experience of walking through the Australian bush. Awards Winner: The Picture Book of the Year, Children’s Book Council of Australia, 2018.

Mopoke. By Philip Bunting, Scholastic, 2017. ‘This is a Mopoke. Mopoke loves peace and quiet. He is about to find out that you can’t always get what you want.’ Mopokes love the peace and quiet, but this little mopoke doesn’t really get much of that! Mopoke. is such a funny little story that even adults will enjoy it. Philip Bunting tells a tale with pictures and minimal text, but this book is definitely visually quirky with a hysterical tale to tell. Using as few words as possible, this author-illustrator has enjoyed a play on the word mopoke, and poked all manner of things! This book should become a classic. NB: A mopoke is a southern Australian boobook owl. It is Australia’s smallest and most common owl species. Awards Honours for The Picture Book of the Year 2018 by Children’s Book Council of Australia. Shortlisted for: Crichton Award for New Illustrators 2018 by Children’s Book Council of Australia. Longlisted for: Kate Greenaway Medal 2018. Indie Book Awards. Best Designed Children’s Illustrated Book 2018 by Australian Book Design Awards. Picture Book of the Year 2018 by Australian Book Industry Awards. Finalist for: Best Children’s Books 2017 by The Guardian. 

Wolf Espionage By Elanor Parkinson and Dave Atze, Redgum Book Club, 2015. ‘Wold Espionage is a rollicking story of an undercover wolf named Wiliam whose ill-fated approach to espionage leads him to vegetarianism.’ Reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote, Wolf Espionage tells the tale of a wolf called William that lived on Wellwood Farm. William was so hungry that he decided to go undercover and try and find some tucker! He dresses up as different animals he finds on the farm and tries to befriend them, but they all whack him and poke him, because they know he isn’t really one of them. Wolf Espionage follows a days-of-the-week format where William the Wolf approaches different animals on different days of the week. William discovers that if he disguises himself as an apple or a peapod, then he doesn’t get whacked or poked, and he discovers that it is easier to become vegetarian than try to eat the animals. Wolf Espionage is quite a delightful little story, and it was written by a young 12-year-old girl! Awards Winner: 2016 Young Writers’ Award Picture Book category The Young Writers Award is open to young authors aged between 9 and 13 years. Young writers have…

Chip By Kylie Howarth, Five Mile Press, 2016. Chip would do anything for fish and chips, but has he gone too far with his newly hatched plan? With a secret plan up his sleeve, Chip gathers his friends and they begin to practice and perfect their moves. The book has some interesting approaches in that there is one fold-out page, and one page that converts from landscape to portrait. Any child who has eaten fish and chips on the beach will relate to this story. The author/illustrator has also created teacher’s notes and a colouring sheet. Awards Shortlisted for The Picture Book of the Year 2017 by Children’s Book Council of Australia.  

Hattie Helps Out By Jane Godwin, Davina Bell and Freya Blackwood, Allen and Unwin, 2016. ‘It’s a busy day at Hattie’s house. There’s a lot to do before Dad’s birthday party. Hattie is being very helpful, until it’s time for her afternoon nap. Hattie’s not even sleepy! But Mama looks tired. Very tired…’ Hattie has some very big ideas about helping Mama out with the party preparations. One day Hattie Helps Out at home. She is a great helper around the house until it is time for a nap. Hattie says she is too old to sleep in the daytime, but Mama insists. Who falls asleep, do you think? Mama falls asleep, and Hattie watches her for a while before deciding that she will help out greatly by ticking off the list of things Mama had said she needed to do before the party. Meanwhile, baby Lottie, Hattie’s younger sibling, has been sleeping in the washing basket while Hattie and Mama were having their rest in bed. Hattie slips seamlessly into the roleplay of mother of the house as she tidies and arranges, and even complains of not having ‘time for a crying baby today’. The authors have perfectly captured…

T-Veg The story of a carrot-crunching dinosaur By Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Katherina Manolessou, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2015. A laugh-out-loud tale of a dinosaur who dares to be different. When I first picked this book up off the shelf I wasn’t too sure what I was going to find in the pages; however, I was very smartly entertained by what I found! I absolutely LOVE this book! The rhyme is effortless, the illustrations are childlike and fun, and the story is action-packed and entertaining. T-Veg takes you on a journey through the life of Reginald, a young Tyrannosaurus Rex, who unlike the rest of his T-Rex dinosaur family and friends who are known carnivores, is vegetarian. Reginald ate BROCCOLI, Reginald at BEANS. Reginald ate bowls and bowls of GARLIC, GRAPES and GREENS. Reg grows tired of the other T-Rexes making fun of him, so he packs his dino-sack and leaves home in search of some herbivorous dinosaurs who he believes will make better friends. However, when he finds the ‘herbies’ he runs excitedly towards them, which scares them all off and they run away from him. His family and friends were missing him, so they went in search of Reg….

The Wonderful Things You Will Be By Emily Winfield Martin, Random House New York, 2015. ‘This is the first time There’s ever been you, So I wonder what wonderful things You will do…’ The Wonderful Things You Will Be is a New York Times #1 Best Seller and is the sort of message every parent would want to give their child! This delightful book is full of hope and wonder at the thought of who your child will grow up to be. There is a great mystery in the very question of the future and how it will unfold in anyone’s life, but especially in the future of one so young and unmolded. The illustrations in The Wonderful Things You Will Be are beautifully painted using soft colours, with an almost antique feel to them. The endpapers are really cute, showing lots of different looking babies, while in the pages of the book itself, those babies can be recognised as older versions of themselves doing wonderful things. There is a big double-page spread offering many different types of whimsical and magical things that your child could grow up to be. This book can help generate conversations about what your child…