Picture Books

Orange Pear Apple Bear
Emily Gravett

Now in board book format, perfect for young readers, with beautiful, witty illustrations that skilfully weave colour, objects and humour into the story of a bear eating some fruit. - Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne.

Wow said the Owl
Tim Hopgood

A young owl decides to stay awake all day and see the world. A stunningly illustrated introduction to the colours of the natural world. - Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne.

Mr Chicken Goes to Paris
Leigh Hobbs

Mr Chicken does indeed go to Paris – where he learns some new French words, sees the sights, and becomes a spectacle himself. - Holly Harper, Readings Malvern

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed
Mo Williems

My favourite picture book of the year. It is absurd, wonderful and the best answer to that tricky question ‘why not?’ - Callie Martin, Readings St Kilda

Mimi and Moochie Go Shopping
Margaret Chamberlain

This cute-as-pie slice of girliness encourages the spirit of giving as much as the joy of consuming. - Callie Martin, Readings St Kilda

Mannie and the Long Brave Day
Martine Murray & Sally Rippin

This book about a small girl’s exciting day’s play is by turns whimsical and familiar. - Kathy Kozlowski, Readings Carlton

Isabella’s Garden Glenda Millard & Rebecca Cool

Celebrates the exuberance of children and gardens in strong clear colours and rhythmical text. - Kathy Kozlowski, Readings Carlton

The Princess Who Had No Kingdom
Ursula Jones & Sarah Gibb

A longer picture book about a princess who discovers the best sort of kingdom, this is beautifully illustrated in colour and silhouettes and is a real charmer. - Kathy Kozlowski, Readings Carlton

Running with the Horses
Alison Lester

This book is breathtaking and moodily illustrated. A very sensitive portrayal of the child as the magic of the world begins to be tempered by a sense of reality and danger. Excellent for older children and good readers. - Callie Martin, Readings St Kilda

The Incredible Book Eating Boy Pop-Up
Oliver Jeffers

Ingenious paper engineering adds an exciting new element to the tale of a young boy’s insatiable appetite for books. - Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne.

Where is the Green Sheep? (Box Set)
Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

Can’t resist the combination of my favourite picture book for the very young and a soft, bright green, woolly sheep. - Kathy Kozlowski, Readings Carlton

Non-Fiction Books

Roald Dahl's Completely Revolting Recipes
Roald Dahl

All the recipes from Dahl's books that you never really wanted to know! My favourite recipe is Mosquito Toe's and Wampfish Roes Delicately Fried. Sounds both delicious and slightly frightening. - Callie Martin, Readings St Kilda

Build Your Own Paper Robots

Nothing is cooler than creating your own personal army of paper robots. - Holly Harper, Readings Malvern

The Usbourne Science Encyclopedia

An enormous book for the mad scientist in your life! Complex enough to be interesting but simple enough for even us literary adults to understand. 10+ - Callie Martin, Readings St Kilda

Riding the Black Cockatoo
John Danalis

John Danalis grew up with an Aboriginal skull on his family mantlepiece. The story of his research to find its rightful resting place and of his personal journey is deeply moving. - Kathy Kozlowski, Readings Carlton

Classics

Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson & John Lawrence

Let these evocative new illustrations that feel carved from a past of wood, tar and lantern light bring to life young Jim Hawkins’ adventure of a lifetime. - Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne.

Pippi Longstocking
Astrid Lindgren and Lauren Child

Cannot be beaten for fun and irreverence, what a girl! - Alexa Dretzke, Readings Hawthorn



Tom's Midnight Garden: Anniversary Edition
Philippa Pearce

As charming and magical today as it was 45 years ago. - Alexa Dretzke, Readings Hawthorn





Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Emma Chichester-Clark

I reckon God dreamed up Emma Chichester-Clark specially to illustrate Goldilocks. It is such a wise and homely story and everything about her illustrations – the heroine, the bears, the garden, the furniture – is just right! - Kathy Kozlowski, Readings Carlton

Junior Fiction

An Amelia Bedelia Celebration: Four Stories Tall
Peggy Parish

Four stories about Amelia Bedelia, the lovable maid who sometimes takes instructions rather too literally (a ‘dressed chicken’ wears trousers for example) published in nice big print, with a CD. The perfect gift for an early reader who enjoys a good laugh. - Kathy Kozlowski, Readings Carlton

Audrey’s Big Secret: Audrey Book 3
Christine Harris

Another fantastic tale of Audrey – a mischievous little girl in 1930s outback Australia. In this third book in the series, Audrey meets a little girl whose big secret brings to light the stolen generation from a child’s perspective. - Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne.

Pilot and Huxley
Dan McGuiness

Funny, quirky and slightly creepy, Pilot and Huxley must travel through dimensions to return an overdue video game. - Holly Harper, Readings Malvern

Edie Amelia and The Monkey Shoe Mystery
Sophie Lee

Fun and quirky. - Alexa Dretzke, Readings Hawthorn

Middle Fiction

Pig City
Louis Sachar

The shift from being clever and a leader to being too clever and becoming a bully is subtly and humorously told as Laura starts a secret club, Pig City, that eventually leads to all out playground war with the rival gang Monkey Town. A clever story about power, responsibility and friendship. - Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne.

Mysterious Benedict Society
Trenton Lee Stewart

A fantastic adventure story starring a group of gifted orphans unravelling mind-bending puzzles and fighting the forces of evil. - Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne.

Nanny Piggins
R.A. Spratt

Stars a deliciously non-PC nanny who knows little about nannying and everything about giving children a riotously happy life. Eight to eleven year olds could read it to themselves of course, but why not all enjoy it? - Kathy Kozlowski, Readings Carlton

Cicada Summer
Kate Constable

Magical. - Alexa Dretzke, Readings Hawthorn

The Billionaire's Curse
Richard Newsome

The best adventure, heist, action extravaganza of the year! Careful though – sleep patterns may be disrupted. - Callie Martin, Readings St Kilda

Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Storms
Marion Roberts

I loved this sequel to Sunny Side Up, with its family sagas and doggy shenanigans. Perfect for girls right on the cusp of growing up. - Callie Martin, Readings St Kilda

Young Adult Fiction

Raw Blue
Kirsty Eagar

An intensely physical and emotional examination of a young woman searching for control of her body and succour in the surf. A fierce yet lyrical book about surfing and surf culture from a young woman's perspective. - Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne.

Catching Fire: The Hunger Games Book Two
Suzanne Collins

An exciting sequel to the breathless thrill-ride that was The Hunger Games, Catching Fire opens up Katniss and the reader to the greater implications of her rebellion in the arena and adds depth and consequence to a great survival story. - Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne.

The Phoenix Files: Arrival
Chris Morphew

A conspiracy is afoot in the town of Phoenix and it's up to Luke to get to the bottom of it. Fast-paced, exciting read. - Holly Harper, Readings Malvern

The Enemy
Charlie Higson

Think Lord of the Flies – with zombies! When everyone over the age of 14 turns into a zombie-like creature, the kids must work together to survive. - Holly Harper, Readings Malvern

Leviathan
Scott Westerfeld

This book made me fall in love with Scott Westerfeld. It's smart, funny and ambitious, full of action, adventure and cerebral steam-punk illustrations. - Callie Martin, Readings St Kilda

The Wrong Grave
Kelly Link

A delicious collection of short stories with illustrations by Shaun Tan. Possibly the most perfect short stories I have ever read, this book scared me silly – and I loved every minute of it! - Callie Martin, Readings St Kilda

City of Glass
Cassandra Clare

The third book in Cassandra Clare's addictive Mortal Instruments trilogy. This trilogy has it all: forbidden love, gay warlocks, epic battle scenes, seriously evil fathers ... If you like witty Buffyesque fantasy, then you will love this book. - Leanne Hall, Readings Carlton

The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman

The inimitable Neil Gaiman at his best. The Graveyard Book is a tightly written, funny and creepy story of a young boy raised in a graveyard by ghosts. - Leanne Hall, Readings Carlton