Kim Gruschow
Kim Gruschow is the Children’s Book Buyer at Readings St Kilda.
Reviews
Bad Nana: Older Not Wiser by Sophy Henn
Bad Nana is not like Jeanie’s other grandparents. Bad Nana is often up to no good, but she is always good fun. Bad Nana wears a lot of black, and has a pink cat named Liberace. She’s been known to ca…
The Peacock Detectives by Carly Nugent
Cassie is a sweet and inquisitive 11-year-old girl who is known to many as a successful peacock detective. She has been chasing her neighbour’s escaped peacocks (William Shakespeare and Virginia!) al…
All of This Is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor
A group of teens has become completely obsessed with the novel Undertow and they are absolutely delighted to form a close friendship with YA author Fatima Ro after meeting her at a book signing. Afte…
The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton
I absolutely adored Leslye Walton’s extraordinary debut novel, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, and was so excited to read this long-awaited witchy follow up.
Nine generations of …
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
The 2017 winner of the Newbery Medal is available to Australian readers in a new paperback edition.
Xan is a good and kind witch. Each year she makes a journey to rescue a child who’s been left in …
The Explorer by Katherine Rundell
Following a plane crash, four children are left to fend for themselves alone in the Amazon. They forage for fruit and bugs to eat, find shelter and build a raft as they try to look after each other i…
The City of Secret Rivers by Jacob Sager Weinstein
She has only just moved to London, but things are already very weird and very dangerous for Hyacinth. After a bizarre incident involving tap water, Hyacinth’s mother has been kidnapped by slimy creat…
The Changeover by Margaret Mahy
Laura Chant feels a warning before her little brother Jacko begins to weaken at the hands of a terrible demon. She knows she’ll need the help of that strange boy Sorenson Carlisle and his family if s…
The Adventures of John Blake by Philip Pullman & Fred Fordham
Celebrated author Phillip Pullman’s first graphic novel is a pacy, action-packed adventure. Fred Fordham’s accompanying artwork has a classic feel and their collaboration is cinematic.
The Mary Ali…
Bigfoot, Tobin and Me by Melissa Savage
Lemonade Liberty Witt is a sweet-toothed, sassy, ten-and-three-quarters year-old who has been sent from the city to live with her grandfather in the small, Bigfootobsessed town of Willow Creek follow…
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
Kicking off with a scene reminiscent of The Breakfast Club, this book begins with five Bayview High students in detention. There’s a jock, a bad boy, a beauty and a brain. There’s also Simon: an outc…
Finding Nevo by Nevo Zisin
This is a thoughtful and timely personal memoir by a young Melbourne author and activist about their sexuality and nonbinary gender identity. Nevo was a tomboy during primary school and identified as…
My Pictures After the Storm by Eric Veille
This bright French picture book is a hilarious off-the-wall collection of double-page before and after spreads. After lunch, bread becomes crumbs, after magic, a handsome prince is a frog, and after …
The Things We Promise by J.C. Burke
Gemma and her friends are looking forward to their school formal; as they pore over dresses in magazines Gemma is eagerly awaiting a visit from her much-loved older brother Billy, a New-York based ma…
See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
I adored this book. It’s always so great to read about a thoughtful, curious and kind-hearted young person and Alex is an absolutely delightful character.
Inspired by his hero Carl Sagan, the Voyage…
Good Dog Bad Dog: Double Identity by Dave Shelton
This is a funny and very clever hardboiled-style graphic novel about a pair of dog detectives trying to solve a murder-mystery at ‘Wiener Brothers’ movie studios in ‘Collie-wood’. While the dog detec…
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
Adored graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier introduces magical realism to her work in her wonderful new book, Ghosts. The story follows Cat and her family as they move to a new town in the hope that a g…
Artie and the Grime Wave by Richard Roxburgh
Well-loved Australian actor Richard Roxburgh’s first children’s book is a completely unhinged adventure and a celebration of friendship. Artie and his friend Bumshoe discover evidence of dodgy crimin…
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
Dog Man is a new and typically unhinged comic by Dav Pilkey, the author responsible for the infamous Captain Underpants series. This is not for boring people. It is for people who really love laughin…
Lucy by Randy Cecil
Lucy is a handsome book that occupies a space between picture book and novel with lovely, soft duotone illustrations.
Set in a quaint little town, this book chronicles the daily routines of a scrap…
Charlie and the War Against the Grannies by Alan Brough
Charlie wants a paper round more than anything in the world, but his attempts to get one are met with mystery and bizarre, unexpected hostility from the elderly women are who currently on the job in …
Captain Pug by Laura James
Lady Miranda has appointed Pug to be captain for her birthday party at the boating lake. Pug is a little worried though; despite his smart nautical outfit he is very scared of water! The party quickl…
Inside of a Dog: Young Readers Edition by Alexandra Horowitz
The young readers’ edition of Alexandra Horowitz’s thoughtful book about dog cognition is fantastic for dog-lovers of all ages. It describes how dogs experience their world, how they see, how they sm…
Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
Serafina is the strange, courageous heroine of this dark and mysterious fantasy novel. She knows very little about how she came to live in the basement of the grand Biltmore Estate (a real historic…
Red’s Planet by Eddie Pittman
Red’s Planet is the first installment in a new series of graphic novels for young readers and that’s exciting news because it’s fun!
During a bungled attempt to run away from her foster home, Red i…
Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford
Under instruction from his deceased father, low-key, likeable hero Al is caught riding a wave of action and criminal behaviour as he goes back in time to stop the go-kart accident that caused his fat…
Kidglovz by Julie Hunt and Dale Newman
Julie Hunt won the inaugural Readings Children’s Book Prize last year for her novel Song for a Scarlet Runner and she has crafted another vivid fantasy adventure, this time in the form of a graphic n…
The Hush Treasure Book
‘Treasure’ is a perfect word to describe this curated collection of gems from a golden line-up of much-loved Australian authors and illustrators. The Hush Music Foundation is known for producing soot…
Where the Bugaboo Lives by Sean Taylor and Neil Layton
Ruby has warned Floyd about the Bugaboo that lurks in the shadowy valley behind the houses. But when Floyd’s best ball rolls away into the darkness they must go down there to try and retrieve it. You…
You’re the Kind of Girl I Write Songs About by Daniel Herborn
Tim and Mandy are both deeply passionate about music and they immediately connect when they meet at an old pub on a battle-of-the-bands night. They are both at a point in their lives where they are f…
News
Jo Sandhu wins the 2018 Readings Children’s Book Prize
We’re thrilled to reveal that the winner of this year’s Readings Children’s Book Prize is Tarin of the Mammoths: The Exile by Jo Sandhu!
Established in 2014, the Readings Children’s Book Prize celebrates on-the-rise Australian authors and is awarded to the book that children will love best. Jo Sandhu’s captivating and cinematic middle-fiction novel, set 30,000 years ago in Lapland, Finland is a …
The Readings Children’s Book Prize shortlist 2018
We’re very excited to reveal this year’s shortlist for the Readings Children’s Book Prize.
This Prize celebrates exciting new voices in Australian children’s literature. This year’s six shortlisted titles are all for readers between the ages of 8 to 12.
The six shortlisted titles for 2018 are:
Tarin of the Mammoths: The Exile by Jo Sandhu Nevermoor: The Trial of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Towns…
Meet the Bookseller with Kim Gruschow
We chat with Kim Gruschow about her love for strong narrators and disappointment that being a witch wasn’t really a viable career option.
Why do you work in books?
Books formed a massive and deeply valued part of my childhood so when I started working at a children’s bookshop eight years ago it felt very right to be in a role that reflected this. The shelves are always changing as new books a…