Marngrook The long-ago story of Aussie Rules By Titta Secombe and Grace Fielding, Magabala Books, 2012. ‘A wonderful kids’ story that shares the origins of our national game.’ The beginnings of how Aussie Rules football was invented is sometimes a controversial topic. Marngrook is a ball game that was played by first Australians in north-west Victoria over 150 years ago. This kids picture book is set in the traditional...
All Through the Year By Jane Godwin and Anna Walker, Penguin Viking, 2010. ‘Open this book and travel your way all through the year and treasure each day.’ From this well-known author/illustrator duo comes All Through the Year. Reading like a collection of Shakespearean sonnets, All Through the Year invites the reader to share in this rhyming journey through the seasons and activities of a year in the life of an everyday Au...
Magpie By Luke Davies and Inari Kiuru, ABC Books, 2010. A father and son embark on an epic journey, an intrepid adventure. Magpie attacks are a strong reality in Australia during the springtime. This story is based on a mostly true story of the author’s experience of being swooped by a magpie as a youth. Yes, another story about swooping magpies! In this adaptation, we follow the main character and his father (both dogs) down R...
Mum and Dad Glue By Kes Gray and Lee Wildish, Hodder Children’s Books, 2000. ‘A little boy searches for a pot of parent glue to stick his mum and dad’s marriage back together. But he soon realises that even though his parents may be broken, their love for him is not.’ Mum and Dad Glue is a clever rhyming story of the little boy’s journey to the realisation that, while he can’t put his parents back tog...
Hello Baby By Jenni Overend and Julie Vivas, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2008. ‘Hello baby,’ I say quietly. ‘Hello’ Delightfully drawn in a soft and scribbly fashion, Hello Baby takes us on the journey of a family and a home birth. My sister read this book to my niece for years when she was younger, and she still loves it now. She was so excited to see a copy of it on my desk, so we went and snuggled ...
Magpie’s Gift By Rebecca Johnson and Steve Parish, Pascal Press, 2006. Mr Magpie searches high and low for items that he can give to Mrs Magpie to help build a nest. Magpie’s Gift brings us a lovely magpie story. I really quite enjoyed this story, even though it is a bit twee, but it also quite sweet. Mr Magpie finds a piece of blue wool that he wants to give to Mrs Magpie as a gift for her nest, but a bowerbird gets to it...
Australian Babies By Magabala Books, 2005. ‘Rich with the colours of the Kimberley landscape in Western Australia, the vibrant photographic images reflect Australia’s multicultural community.’ Australian Babies is a lovely little board book for babies and toddlers. It has ten pages with photographs of babies from diverse backgrounds who make up some of the heritage of babies in Australia today. There are things to look for...
The Outback By Annaliese Porter and Bronwyn Bancroft, Magabala Books, 2005. Dark, red earth surrounding flat, stony plains — gibbers lay on scorching sand, where seldom it rains. What a lovely little book, richly illustrated in the style of traditional Australian Aboriginal paintings. The illustrations depict recognisable Australian animals, like goannas, snakes, wallabies and cockatoos, and landscapes such as the desert plains ...
The Red Tree By Shaun Tan, Hachette Australia, 2001. ‘sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to’ The Red Tree is a beautifully illustrated story about depression. The story opens with a little girl sitting up in bed. She is sad and brown leaves fall in her room, and then so many dead leaves fill her room so that you can’t see her bed anymore. There is one bright red leaf in each picture though. A leaf o...
Memorial By Gary Crew and Shaun Tan, Lothian Books, 1999. A story to help us remember…a message we should never forget. On a backdrop of old photographs, scraps of torn fabric and exquisitely textured paintings, we hear the story of Old Pa’s first world war memories. Journey down memory lane with Old Pa as he reminisces about his wife who was a nurse during the war, the Memorial tree they planted in town, and We then hear ...
