Books for mother-and-child read-alouds
Sharing a book together can be a wonderful thing to do for parents and children (or for the significant adults and kids in their lives). Here are some of our best recommendations across different age groups.
Recommended books to share with children ages 4–7
* For a playful interactive read, you can’t go past Beck and Matt Stanton’s anarchic (and accurately titled) picture book,
.
* The joys of family baking are lauded in children’s literature legend Margaret Mahy’s
when a sneaky witch tries to steal cupcakes from David and his mum.
* Flap along with our favourite feathery crimefighters in the latest instalment in the illustrated Real Pigeons series,
, which sees birdnappings, lost children and theft cases get solved.
* Pore over the illustrated anthology
This is Home: Essential Australian Poems for Children
to find new and old favourite poems by Alison Lester, Henry Lawson, Shaun Tan, Oodgeroo Noonuccal and more.
Recommended books to share with children ages 8–12
* Visit the misty and monstery seaside town of Eerie-On-Sea in
as Herbert and Viola try to solve one mystery and instead find another.
* The discovery of a rare ‘dragon’ dinosaur sees best friends (and amateur detectives) Kat and Harper embroiled in a suspicious death in
, which is perfect for mystery buffs and animal lovers.
* Siblings Emery and Ella travel across the country with their dogs in
, a thoughtful near-future adventure in an Australia changed by environmental devastation.
* Laugh and commiserate with the effervescent Layla in Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s
– when Layla’s first weeks at her new school
really
don’t go to plan, she has to dig deep to overcome prejudice and prove she deserves her scholarship.
Recommended books to share with teenagers
* New Ellingham Academy student Stevie is determined to solve a fifty-year-old cold kidnapping case in
, but instead finds herself at the centre of the much fresher murder of her classmate.
* Teenager Rudra visits Bengal for the first time in
, a gentle coming-of-age story that explores family history and cultural identity.
* First, explain
Buffy
to your teen (if they don’t already know), then pick up
, which follows Nina, the newest and last ever Slayer.
* Ghost story, police procedural, poetry and prose combine in the award-winning novel
which tracks the affecting and interwoven stories of two young Aboriginal women and a mysterious fire in a small town.
