Our latest reviews
Maria Joao Pires, Schubert
Maria Joao Pires is one of the most internationally renowned pianists working today. With a recording catalogue spanning back more than 20 years, she has a deft touch that makes any work she chooses to record an instant classic. The…
Julia Lezhneva, Alleluia
Lezhneva’s Vivaldi album was a massive hit when it was first released, with her soaring voice capturing all who heard it. Now an exclusive Decca artist, her new recording ‘Alleluia’ is a nod to sacred music of the 18th Century…
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto & Sonata
Shostakovich’s music always sends shivers down my spine. What is immediately apparent is that this Cello Concerto is fraught with unexpressed emotions. This work signalled a return to composition for Shostakovich after a horrible period of creative torpor. What is…
A Flower Between The Cracks by Helen Sage
A Flower Between The Cracks, is a powerful and honest account of hope and love, of the contrast between the struggle with rehabilitation and the optimism of the survivor.
Suffering severe injuries from a car accident, 22 year-old Jayne…
Evan’s Gallipoli by Kerry Greenwood
When 14-year-old Evan and his evangelical pacifist father travel to Gallipoli as volunteers with the army medical corps during the Great War, nothing can prepare them for what is to come. Evan’s dream of adventure is shattered by the horror…
The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren
I read this beautiful, sad adventure story by Astrid Lindgren (of Pippi Longstocking fame) repeatedly as a child and still have my old dog-eared copy.
Young Rusky is very sick and everyone knows he will die. His brave brother Jonathan…
East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Jackie Morris
A beautiful rendition of an ancient Norwegian fairytale. A bear visits the girl and tells her that if she comes with him, her poor family will live well and she will be happy. She goes with the bear to an…
The Great Pet Plan by Rebecca Johnson & Kyla May
Juliet is ten years old, and in her own words, ‘nearly a vet’. She’s watched her mother, an actual vet, at work and, along with her friend Chelsea, thinks it would be great to have a ‘pet sleepover’. They advertise…
I've An Uncle Ivan by Ben Sanders
This gorgeously illustrated picture book from Ballarat author Ben Sanders has a delightfully retro design. From the first line, ‘I’ve an Uncle Ivan who drives a pie van’, we’re off on a rollicking journey with a host of weird and…
Jemmy Button by Alix Barzelay & Jennifer Uman & Valerio Vidali
It is very rare for a picture book to have two illustrators, but this is the case with Jemmy Button. Even more unusual is the fact that the two artists met online and didn’t share a common language, except…
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