My Brother By Dee Huxley, Oliver Huxley and Tiffany Huxley, Working Title Press, 2016. ‘When a gentle creature sets out to search for a lost brother, we are taken on an ethereal journey across land and sea to strange, beautiful and faraway places.’ The black and white illustrations are reminiscent of the artist, Escher. They are soft and sensitive, and on the last page, we end with a full-colour illustration of the gentle cr...
Out By Angela May George and Owen Swan, Scholastic Press, 2016. I’m called an asylum seeker, but that’s not my name. Out is the moving story of a little girl and her mother who have fled from danger in their homeland. They travel by boat on a long and perilous journey to seek asylum in a new and safe land. This story is timely and celebrates how the human spirit can triumph even through the darkest times. The little girl and her mo...
Mad Magpie By Gregg Dreise, Magabala Books, 2016. ‘Stay calm like the surface of the water, yet strong like its current.’ This beautiful masterpiece is both written and illustrated by a descendant of the Kamilaroi and Yuwalayaay people of the north-west New South Wales and the south-west Queensland areas, and published by Magabala, the oldest independent Indigenous publishing house in Australia. Mad Magpie is a richly illust...
There’s a Magpie in my Soup By Sean Farrar and Pat Kan, Big Spy Publishing, 2016. There’s a Magpie in my Soup takes a very different look at Australian animals. Some little creatures great and small, all over your house they will crawl! Into your soup, into your cake, even into your loo! There are animals everywhere, what do we do? I loved the cover and title of this book, but I felt that the text and subsequent illustratio...
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 wil...
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....
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 illustra...
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...
The Toast Tree By Corina Martin and Fren Martins, Magabala Books, 2015. Ella and Mia live in a small dusty town surrounded by the sea. When their grandfather brings home squares of delicious toast picked from a magical tree growing int he sand dunes, they set off to look for the very special tree. Grandpa has access to a magic toast tree and he surprises Ella and Mia with delicious honey toast when he returns from work every afternoon. ...
The Underwater Fancy-Dress Parade By Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys, Scribe Publications, 2015. Sometimes it’s hard to be brave. Sometimes you get that feeling. Sometimes you’re just not ready… until, one day, you are. What do you do when you don’t want to do something? On the first page, we meet Alfie. Alfie looks sad and down, and his head and shoulders are slumped. His toy rabbit is slumped on the shelf. Ev...
