Readings.com.au: Hawthorn Recommends: Kids' Books

Little White Rabbit

Little White Rabbit wonders about everything. What would it be like to be green, like the grass? Or tall like the fir trees? Or to flutter through the air like butterflies? The world is full of amazing things, and there is a lot to wonder about. But the one thing Little White Rabbit knows for sure is that his mother will always be waiting for him at home. Little White Rabbita??s eager curiosity and the beauty of the world around him are illustrated with incredible understanding and sensitivity, in all the colors of Easter and spring. Another masterpiece from Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes! Ages 2-7

Foxlys Feast

Foxly's tummy is rumbling. He needs to find something tasty to eat. Maybe he'll find it in the farmyard or on the duck pond or in the duck pond. Foxly is on the hunt for things to include in his feast. He visits the farmyard, the fish pond and the rabbit's burrow. It looks like the animals might be in danger, but actually Foxly is collecting fruit and vegetables for them all to share - he's a vegetarian fox!

Im Not

"Evelyn is lots of things. Circus performer. Antarctic explorer. I'm not." Here is an ideal book for children who feel like their outgoing friend is oh-so-talented . . . and they're not. This sweet depiction of friendship shows--in a completely fresh, original way--that everyone is special. Illustrations.

Moon Over Manifest

Winner of the 2011 Newbery Medal for best US children's book.

Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.

Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”

Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest’s history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifest’s secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town.

Powerful in its simplicity and rich in historical detail, Clare Vanderpool’s debut is a gripping story of loss and redemption.

Dash And Lily's Book Of Dares

It's Christmas-time in New York, and world-weary Dash has managed to persuade each of his parents that he is staying with the other, thus sending them both off with their new 'paramours' and leaving him happily shuffling back and forth between their empty apartments. Meanwhile, Christmas-loving Lily is bereft at the thought of spending Christmas without her full complement of family, and has been consoling herself with cookie-baking and carols-singing. When Lily's brother plants a red moleskin notebook in Dash's favourite store, leaving instructions that lead him not only around the bookstore but eventually out into the Christmas-sozzled city, the scene is set for a back-and-forth series of clues, coincidences and missed rendezvous.Will sarcastic, intriguing Dash finally meet up with nerdy but loveable Lily? Only time will tell as the two teenagers try to outwit each other for as long as possible in this charming twist on the classic game of cat and mouse.

Our Australian Girl Meet Grace

It's 1808 . . . and Grace is living with her uncle in London. They have no money, and Grace is always lonely and often hungry. The best part of her day is going to Fleet Street to talk to the horses that she loves so much. One afternoon Grace can't resist taking a shiny red apple from a grocer's cart - and then another... Before she knows it, Grace is being chased through the streets! Will she be caught and sent to prison - or worse?

Meet Grace and join her adventure in the first of four exciting stories about a convict girl who is given a second chance.

Our Australian Girl: Meet Poppy

It's 1864 . . .
and Poppy lives at bird Creek Mission near Echuca. Poppy hates the Mission, especially now that her brother, Gus, has run away to pan for gold. What is Poppy escaped, too? Would she survive alone in the bush? And would she ever find Gus, whom she loves more than anything in the world?

Meet Poppy and join her adventure in the first of four stories about a Gold Rush girl who dream of a better life.

Our Australian Girl Meet Letty

It's 1841 . . .
and Letty is on the docks in England, farewelling her bossy older sister who is about to take a long sea voyage to Australia. But then there is a mix-up,and before she knows it Letty finds herself on the ship too, travelling to New South Wales! How will Letty manage when her sister doesn't even want her on the ship? And what will it be like on the other side of the world?

Meet Letty and join her adventure in the first of four exciting stories about a free settler girl and her new life in a far-off land.

Our Australian Girl Meet Rose

It's 1900 . . .
and Rose lives with her family in a big house in Melbourne. She wants to play cricket, climb trees and be an adventurer! But Rose's mother has other ideas. Then Rose's favourite young aunt comes to town, and everything changes. Will Rose's mother let Aunt Alice stay? And will Rose ever get to do the things she loves?

Meet Rose and join her adventure in the first of four stories about a Federation girl who's determined to do things her way!