Mike Shuttleworth
Mike Shuttleworth is a former Readings Hawthorn bookseller
Review — 26 Mar 2018
Amelia Westlake by Erin Gough
Amelia Westlake is a screwball comedy with a strong political edge set in a posh Australian private girls’ school. The arrival of Will (Wilhelmina) Everhart to Rosemead Grammar brings a…
Review — 24 Sep 2017
Tintinnabula by Margo Lanagan & Rovina Cai
In Tintinnabula, a lone young woman sets out on a journey through devastated lands and wind-lashed barren fields to a place of deeper consolation, renewal and peace. The brilliant…
Blog post — 17 Sep 2017
Vale Agnes Nieuwenhuizen
We were deeply saddened to learn of Agnes Nieuwenhuizen’s death last week. Our children’s bookseller Mike Shuttleworth, who worked with Agnes for many years, reflects on her work and lasting…
Review — 20 Aug 2017
On A Magical Do-Nothing Day by Beatrice Alemagna
Dropping their electronic game into a pond wasn’t part of the plan for the child sent outside to play in this book. Sad for them, but this little mishap unlocks…
Blog post — 24 Mar 2017
Translation, children's books and John Nieuwenhuizen
Hawthorn bookseller Mike Shuttleworth reflects on translation, children’s books and the work of John Nieuwenhuizen.
In Australian young adult fiction circles, the name Agnes Nieuwenhuizen is quite well known. Agnes…
Review — 27 Mar 2017
The Boy and the Spy by Felice Arena
Drawing satirical pictures of Hitler and Mussolini wasn’t the smartest thing for Antonio to do. Because when he flees from his Nazi accuser, Antonio is faced with a choice: surrender…
Review — 26 Jun 2016
Mike Goes to Carnival by Joshua Button & Robyn Wells
There’s so much to like in this exuberant tale of Steve – a jazz-loving, dancing gorilla – and his friend Antonio, the zookeeper who plays saxophone at night. There is…
Review — 26 Jun 2016
One Very Big Bear by Alice Brière-Haquet, Olivier Philipponneau & Raphaële Enjary
Parents frequently ask for books for their pre-school or prep child to encourage reading. Less frequent is the request to help with numeracy. Here’s a charming picture book from France…
Review — 29 Mar 2016
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard
Call me old-fashioned but few things make me happier at work than when a customer buys When We Were Very Young, the collection of poems by A.A. Milne. Why…
Review — 29 Feb 2016
Megalopolis and the Visitor From Outer Space by Clea Dieudonne
It seems French illustrators just love to experiment with what picture books can do. Megalopolis unfolds like a scroll to more than three metres long: it’s a book not just…
