Our latest blog posts

Children's books to share on World Read Aloud Day

by Lian Hingee

Today (7 February) is World Read Aloud Day, and as a parent who is one bedtime story away from chucking my four-year-old's favourite book out the window I thought that I would share some of the recent picture book releases that I would happily read four times in a row instead.

Julia Donaldson's Book of Names by Julia Donaldson and Nila Aye (illus.)

As someone with an unusual, oft-mispronounced name Julia Donaldson's Book of Names is a bit of a…

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Children's books to celebrate Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is a wonderful celebration of family and good fortune in the coming year. 2024 marks the Year of the Dragon with festivities beginning on 10th February and culminating with the Lantern Festival on 24th February.

Here is a selection of books to celebrate the Lunar New Year and introduce young people to this exciting festival.

Our Family Dragon by Rebecca Lim & Cai Tse (illus.)

I can't wait till the dragon gets here!

It's New Year's…

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Winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024

Congratulations to all the winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024!

WINNER OF POETRY AND WINNER OF THE OVERALL VICTORIAN PRIZE FOR LITERATURE

Chinese Fish by Grace Yee

When Ping leaves Hong Kong to live in Aotearoa New Zealand, she discovers that life in the Land of the Long White Cloud is not the prosperous paradise she was led to believe it would be. Every day she works in a rat-infested shop frying fish, and every evening she…

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What the characters of Mean Girls are reading

by Lucie Dess

It's Wednesday and you know what that means! It's time to put on that one pink item of clothing you own, make the word 'fetch' happen and of course, read! Here is what we think the characters of Mean Girls would read!

Cady Heron is reading Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Looking for tips and tricks for bringing Regina George DOWN, Cady is reading Burn for Burn, the perfect revenge story ... Or so she thinks!

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The 100 bestselling books of 2023

We've run the reports and crunched the numbers. Here are our 100 bestselling books from the past year.

This year's top 100 includes:

37 works of nonfiction

6 Australian First Nations writers

3 cookbooks

4 stars of the screen

2 works of poetry

1 member of the British royal family

every book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series

You can discover our 100 bestselling children's and young adult books from 2023 here.

The Voice to Parliament Handbook

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Back to school

Whether returning to school or going to school for the first time there are a range of wonderful books to help your children on their way. From confidence building to making new friends here are some new, as well as staff favourites, to get you started.

The Crayons Go Back to School by Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers (illus.)

The hilarious crayons from the number one New York Times bestseller The Day the Crayons Quit are ready to go back…

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25% off 25 personal development favourites

We’re offering 25% off a select range of our personal development favourites! Simply apply the code PD25 at checkout to receive a 25% discount on all participating titles.

If you've seamlessly slipped back into old habits and are already feeling an all too familiar lack of vigour and vitality, a change to your routine or mindset could be in order. But where to begin? We've brought together some of our favourite personal development titles – at 25% off! –…

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What we're reading: Baldree, Jose and Hazelwood

Each week our wonderful staff share the books and music that they've been enjoying.

Lian Hingee is reading Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Our Kids Shop manager Dani has been raving about Travis Baldree's work of cosy fantasy, Legends and Lattes, ever since it came out in 2022. It took me a year, but over my holidays I finally read it, and I'm delighted to say that this unorthodox tale about a barbarian orc who hangs up her…

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The 100 bestselling kids & YA books of 2023

We've run the reports and crunched the numbers. Here are our 100 bestselling kids & YA books from the past year.

The 169-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton (illus.)

Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy & Lisa Kennedy (illus.)

Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography by Wendy Loggia & Elisa Chavarri (illus.)

If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

No Words by Maryam Master

Artichoke to Zucchini by Alice…

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Bestselling books in new, compact formats

With the New Year there is a lot to catch up on. There has been an abundance of fabulous books made available in a more portable format over the past couple of months. So if you missed them on initial release or you're a bit more budget-conscious, especially at this time of year, here's a selection to tempt you!

Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley

One night in New York City's Chinatown, Lola is at a dinner with former colleagues when…

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