Do you have a pint-sized writer, designer, filmmaker, musician, artist or all-round imaginative powerhouse in your life? Here are some great books that celebrate young creatives. And don’t forget to browse our full list of suggested books to inspire young creatives. YOUNG ARTISTS

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

Vashti is disconsolate after an art class, feeling that she can’t draw, but wh…

Read more ›

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced their Book of the Year Awards winners for 2019. These Awards celebrate the best Australian books for readers in early childhood up to young adult readers.

Here are the winners for each category.

Older Readers Between Us by Clare Atkins

Jono is depressed, missing his absent mother and sister, and struggling in his relationship …

Read more ›

Are you a budding sci-fi fan, alien enthusiast or Indiana Jones in the making? Read on for top tips and survival guides for all things Area 51 from one of our newest Teen Advisory Board members, Chenuli Halgamuge.

Area 51 draws the likes of both travellers and locals who enjoy taking a photo behind a sign that explicitly says ‘do not enter, no trespassing beyond this point, photography prohibi…

Read more ›

Inspired by Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of ‘80s and ‘90s Teen Fiction, I’ve been reflecting on my own favourite teen reads. Here’s my best attempt at pairing some of these retro delights with their contemporary YA fiction counterparts. Read the teen classic! (In some cases, find it at the op shop.) Read the new book! Or best of all, read both!

If you loved the Sweet Valley…

Read more ›

We’re proud as punch of our marketing manager, Nina Kenwood, and her brand-new debut Young Adult novel (and winner of the 2018 Text Prize) It Sounded Better in My Head. If you love warm, big-hearted, hilarious and painfully relatable stories about growing up, first loves and that strange period in between school and uni, then It Sounded Better in My Head is the book for you. Readings staff are a…

Read more ›

Jess Johnson, a much-valued member of our 2018–2019 Teen Advisory Board, reflects in this special guest blog post on the fantasy books that sparked her love of reading.

I will never fail to be amazed by how authors can create an entire world – planned to minute details – within a few hundred pages. By the time you put down the novel, it seems like that world is a real possibility and that some…

Read more ›

The purpose of the Teen Advisory Board is to give young people between the ages of 14 and 19 the opportunity to learn more about books, authors, and the book industry. Find out more here.

In late July, we were delighted to welcome a new group of teens who will be on the advisory board until June 2020. It was, as always, a very difficult decision to choose the final shortlist for the board, but…

Read more ›

August sees us awash in sharp and timely contemporary fiction, darker witchy and dystopic tales, and looking forward to a busy teen-friendly events schedule. Find our August picks for kids books here. YA BOOK OF THE MONTH

It Sounded Better In My Head by Nina Kenwood

Eighteen-year-old Natalie has just finished year twelve and is enjoying one final summer with her best friends Zach and L…

Read more ›

The 117-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton Young Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe The World’s Worst Teachers by David Walliams Stone Girl by Eleni Hale Wilam: A Birrarung Story by Aunty Joy Murphy, Andrew Kelly and Lisa Kennedy Pig the Tourist by Aaron Blabey Sick Bay by Nova Weetman Into the Wild: Wolf Girl (Book 1) by Anh Do As Happy as Here by Jane Godwin Welcome to Your Period by Yumi…

Read more ›

The winner of the 2019 Readings Young Adult Book Prize is Stone Girl by Eleni Hale.

Now in its third year, the Readings Young Adult Book Prize was created to recognise and celebrate new voices in Australian Young Adult literature and considers the first and second books of YA authors across Australia. This year’s shortlist included Hale’s Stone Girl, Highway Bodies by Alison Evans, What I Like…

Read more ›