This month we look at the latest inspiring biography anthology for kids, meet scientists both good and evil, get inside the mind of a young kangaroo. and read a picture book by a Pulitzer-Prize-winning author.

You can find some of our best teen reads of the month here.

Islandborn by Junot Díaz

Lola’s class has been given an assignment – to draw a faraway place, their first country. Because Lola left the Island when she was a baby, she asks her relatives and the people around her what they remember most. Their answers are evocative and surprising; they speak of bats and fruit and hurricanes and music. The Island sounds like paradise, but then Mr Mir tells Lola about the terrible Monster, and the brave people who fought to take the Island back. Islandborn is a beautiful picture book about fortitude, community, longing and sensual pleasures. The vibrant illustrations by Leo Epsinosa are a delight, and Junot Díaz’s (Drown; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) canny eye for the imaginative world of children, makes this picture book truly special.

For ages 5 and up.

Found in Melbourne by Joanne O'Callaghan & Kori Song

Take a counting trip around Melbourne and its surrounds, to visit landmarks like Luna Park, the State Library of Victoria, the Shrine of Remembrance, Puffing Billy and more. With lively rhyming text that uses numbers from 1 all the way to 1,000,000, and lovingly detailed illustrations, this is a great book to pore over, and suitable for visitors, wannabe visitors and residents alike.

This picture book is also available in a simplified Chinese edition.

For ages 2 and up.

Brindabella by Ursula Dubosarsky

A young boy, Pender, rescues a joey from its dead mother’s pouch, raises the young kangaroo by hand and calls her Brindabella. The two form a close bond, and Brindabella slots into the quiet daily life of Pender, his father, their dog and their chickens. But the call of the bush and the wild animals living there is strong, and Brindabella finds it hard to know where she belongs. This is a gentle and thoughtful story that brings the thoughts and habits of a kangaroo to life for young readers and animal lovers.

For ages 8 and up.

The Extremely Weird Thing that Happened in Huggabie Falls by Adam Cece & Andrew Weldon

Evil scientist Felonius Dark is on a diabolical mission to eradicate weirdness in the weirdest town in the world, Huggabie Falls. Friends Kipp, Tobias and Cymphany must pull out all stops to defend their town and prevent normality from ruling – cue extreme capers, hijinks and adventure. With a witty and knowing narrator, and wonderful illustrations by Andrew Weldon, young readers looking for a good belly laugh won’t be disappointed.

You can read our review here.

For ages 9 and up.

How to Win a Nobel Prize by Barry Marshall

Employing a pleasing mix of time travel, biographical facts, practical experiments and a personal mystery, How to Win a Nobel Prize will make science-mad kids want to read a story, and make story-loving bookworms want to conduct experiments at home. After stumbling into a secret meeting of Nobel-Prize-winning scientists, Mary is taken on a whirlwind historical tour of science discoveries and innovations.

You can read our review here.

For ages 8 and up.

Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different by Ben Brooks

Continuing the renewed interest in brightly illustrated stories about inspiring real life people, Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different contains 100 short and engaging biographies of boys and men who pursue their passions and rights, often against expectations. Our reviewer, children’s and YA specialist Janine, says: ‘Be prepared for all the questions, ideas and rich conversations these snapshots will generate.’

You can read Janine’s full review here.

For sharing with ages 5 and up.

RECENT NEWS & RECOMMENDATIONS

This year’s winners of the Indie Book Awards have been announced, and for the first time ever the children’s book victor, Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, has also won the overall Indie Book of the Year.

Also in prize news, the Children’s Book Council of Australia have revealed the 2018 Book of the Year shortlists, covering books for early childhood through to young adults, and over in the UK, the shortlists for the 2018 prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals were recently released.

Do you love reading bedtime stories with the children in your life? We’ve put together a gorgeous list of the best treasures and anthologies to lull little ones to sleep. Self acceptance is a common (and important) theme in many children’s books, so this month we’ve recommended our favourite stories about being your self, for kids of all ages. And for picture book fans, one of our booksellers has compiled a list of the best new titles from the first three months of 2018.

EVENTS FOR THE KIDS

Join us this month for two special story times at our Readings Kids shop. Joanne Crawford will read from her poignant tale of memory, I Remember, on Saturday 7 April at 10.30am, and Joanne O’Callaghan will read from her bilingual new picture book, Found in Melbourne, on Saturday 14 April at 10.30am. O’Callaghan will be joined by Chinese Language Teacher Kevin Yang and some of his Mandarin students who will read in Mandarin.

There’s no need to book for either story time.

We’re also hosting some school holiday fun with Kim Kane, author of the Ginger Green series, on Friday 13 April at 11.30am in Readings Hawthorn. Entry is $10 per child and includes a SLIME WORKSHOP, along with a copy of one of Kane’s book. This event is suitable for Prep through to Grade 3.

Limited places are available to this event so bookings are essential. Please book here.

And, plan ahead for one of the kids book events of the year! On Tuesday 10th July we will host the utterly madcap launch of The 104-Storey Treehouse with Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton. Andy and Terry promise to deliver one hour of complete and total madness at this book’s launch.

Entry is $28 per person. Each ticket includes the event and a signed first edition of The 104-Storey Treehouse, which will be given out at the event. Find out more here.

Leanne Hall is a children’s and YA specialist at Readings Kids. She also writes books for children and young adults.