Angela Crocombe
Angela Crocombe is the Children’s Book Buyer at Readings Carlton. She is also the author of two books on sustainable living, A Lighter Footprint: A Practical Guide to Minimising your Impact on the Planet and Ethical Eating: How to Make Food Choices That Won’t Cost the Earth.
Reviews
Genuine Fraud by E.Lockhart
It is very exciting to have a new fast-paced psychological thriller from the author of We Were Liars – and this story does not disappoint. Told in reverse chronology by Jule, who we quickly realise i…
The Owl Service by Alan Garner
It begins with Alison hearing a scratching sound in the roof above her bedroom. Gwyn thinks it’s mice but when he knocks on the roof, it knocks back. When Gwyn goes into the roof to investigate, he d…
The Build-Up Season by Megan Jacobson
Seventeen-yearold Iliad is, like her namesake, battle-scarred and battle-ready. After growing up with an abusive father, she jumps at loud noises and is quick to panic, but is also full of attitude a…
Running on the Roof of the World by Jess Butterworth
Twelve year-old Tash lives in Tibet, where her village has been overrun by Chinese soldiers and everyone lives in fear of being thrown in jail. After a man sets himself on fire to protest the repress…
Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima
This is a delightful ugly duckling story about Kelp the unicorn, who is born in the ocean and believes himself a narwhal, but just can’t get the hang of swimming and doesn’t like the taste of octopus…
Release by Patrick Ness
The opening pages of a Patrick Ness novel are always a thrilling, somewhat disconcerting, place to be. You have no idea what is going on or where he will take you, but his writing is always powerful …
Wed Wabbit by Lissa Evans
Fidge’s little sister Minnie carries her stuffed toy, Wed Wabbit, everywhere. She’s also obsessed with a book about strange, dustbin-shaped characters that speak in rhyme called Wimbley Woos, which s…
Under the Love Umbrella by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys
The last collaboration between this talented author–illustrator pair was the gorgeous, award-winning Underwater Fancy Dress Parade and this new picture book is just as wonderful. It’s an all-inclusiv…
The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr
Flora suffers from anterograde amnesia and has done since she was 10. She can only remember things for a few hours before they disappear, although she still retains memories from the time before she …
The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd and Levi Pinfold
This beautifully produced hardback book, with stunning illustrations by Levi Pinfold, portrays the imaginative world of childhood with incredible perception.
It is 1941 and Emmaline is in Briar Hill…
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
This story was a childhood favourite, so it was exciting to delve back in again recently to see how it stood the test of time.
Based on the author’s own childhood, the story begins in Berlin in 1933…
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
What a delightful book!
The charming author–illustrator team of Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer, brings us another brilliant youngster who happens to be in the same schoolroom: Ada T…
The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín
It is incredibly exciting to get your hands on a book that you know within the first few pages is going to be talked about by the global YA community and beyond. The Call is just such a book.
Nessa …
Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy & Lisa Kennedy
Finally, Melbourne has its very own picture book celebrating the original inhabitants of the city – the Wurundjeri people. Welcome to Country is a spectacular celebration of Indigenous land and cultu…
Fabish: The Horse That Braved A Bushfire by Neridah McMullin & Andrew McLean
This is a true story from the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, written from the perspective of a brave trainer, John Evett, and a courageous horse, Fabish.
An ex-racehorse, Fabish’s retirement rol…
The Other Christy by Oliver Phommavanh
Christy is on the cusp of turning 11, and she is still struggling to fit in at school and find a true friend. In her school class there is another girl with the same name – a louder, more popular Chr…
When Michael Met Mina by Randa Abdel-Fattah
When Michael first sees Mina, he is immediately captivated by her beauty. They are at a rally for refugees, holding placards for opposing sides, so his fascination for her is clearly doomed. As a ref…
Introducing Teddy by Jessica Walton & Dougal MacPherson
Errol and Thomas the teddy are best friends, doing all the things that kids and their teddies love to do together, like going on picnics and visiting playgrounds. But one day Thomas is feeling partic…
Mrs Whitlam by Bruce Pascoe
Bruce Pascoe’s latest book has plenty to satisfy any lover of horse stories, but it also deftly handles issues of race and privilege and has a thrilling storyline to boot. Marnie is crazy about horse…
Pax by Sara Pennypacker & Jon Klassen
Pax is a timeless, moving story of the unbreakable bond of friendship between an animal and a child in the tradition of Lassie Come Home. It is also a beautiful hardcover book with stunning illustrat…
Rockhopping by Trace Balla
Trace Balla, you’ve done it again! Rockhopping is a new companion title to last year’s Readings Children’s Book Prize winner, Rivertime, and it is possibly even more delightful and beautiful than its…
The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski
This gorgeous book by Caldecott Honor author Pamela Zagarenski is a testament to the power of wordless picture books to open the imagination and let it soar. A little girl is lent a special book by h…
Magrit by Lee Battersby
One Day a ‘horrible thing’ is dropped down into Magrit and Master Puppet’s home by a stork. Master Puppet thinks it should be killed, Magrit wants to keep it. They have their first big disagreement. …
Martians by Blythe Woolston
In a futuristic world not too different from our own, where consumption is the main objective, lives 16-year-old Zoë Zindleman. She has been forced to graduate from high school early and there are on…
Amazing Animal Journeys by Chris Packham and Jason Cockroft
We have been blessed lately with a wave of beautiful non-fiction titles and this book on animal migration around the world is no exception.
In language simple enough for a five-year-old to understan…
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
At age 11 and in the thrall of science, Jackson feels far too old for his imaginary friend, Crenshaw the cat, who has started reappearing. Crenshaw is taking bubble baths, purring like a train and di…
Diary of a Time Traveller by Nicholas Stevenson & David Long
This fascinating book is not about time travel at all but is actually a history book looking at 25 key events and time periods throughout human civilization.
When Augustus claims that history is bor…
Liquidator by Andy Mulligan
From the bestselling author of Trash, strap yourself in for a thriller where a class of teenagers battle wits with an evil corporation that is trying to cover up malpractice and kill an innocent chil…
The Marvels by Brian Selznick
Brian Selznick is an innovative storyteller who uses both intricate hand drawings and text to tell his stories. His middle-grade novels, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck, are contemporar…
Atmospheric: The Burning Story of Climate Change by Carole Wilkinson
This non-fiction book on climate science for readers aged ten and up is well researched and highly readable. To engage readers more effectively, each chapter begins with a first person narrative set …
News
Trace Balla visits Carlton Primary School
On Tuesday, I took Trace Balla, last year’s winner o…
Three terrific children’s books from Indigenous Australians
I recently had a chance to read Becoming Kirrali Lewis, last year’s debut YA novel from Festival Director Jane Harrison, and I could not put it down.
Set in the …
Picture books I just had to own this year
One of the occupational hazards of working in a bookshop is that you want to buy so many more books than you actually need or have room for. Surrounded by these beautiful objects all day, you can’t help but covet them. I really do try hard to restrain myself, but sometimes I just can’t resist and have to bring a book home where it gains pride of place on the mantelpiece for a while (until the nex…
Celebrating the arrival of a new Dr Seuss book
A new Dr Seuss, did I hear you say?
Oh me, oh my, what a fabulous day!
Apologies for the poor rhyming verse, but its not every day you get a newly-published Dr Seuss book into the bookshop. In fact, since he died in 1991, it hasn’t happened for a very long time. Even The Bippolo Seed and Other Stories, released a few years back, was a compilation of stories previously published in magazines. So w…
An update from the Readings Children’s Book Team
On Tuesday, we enjoyed champagne and cake to celebrate Trace Balla’s win of this year’s Readings Children’s Book Prize. Our managing director Mark Rubbo was as proud as punch to hand over a giant cheque worth $4000 to Trace for her wonderful book Rivertime.
We have sold over 750 copies of the book since…
Come visit us at Clunes Booktown Festival
I know Clunes fairly well. This small town has an active local community and everyone is very friendly. There is an abundance of bookshops (five at my last count), one pub and no fast food joints…
