Kids

Ask Aunty: Seasons by Aunty Munya Andrews & Charmaine Ledden-Lewis (illus.)

Reviewed by Dani Solomon

As Aunty Munya asks, ‘Have you ever woken up excited on the first day of summer only to find it’s cold and rainy?’ That’s because the four seasons we’re taught at school aren’t relevant to Australia at all! Across the…

Read more ›

Medieval Monsters: and Other Stories by Timothy Ide

Reviewed by Claire Atherfold

Local illustrator Timothy Ide, whom you may know from his work on the picture books Tom the Outback Mailman or The Story of Sidney Kidman: King of the Outback, both by Kristin Weidenbach, has created his first solo creation…

Read more ›

Kimmi: Queen of the Dingoes by Favel Parrett

Reviewed by Alexa Dretzke

Kimmi is a companion book to the moving Wandi, who was an Alpine dingo rescued as a pup when he fell from the sky (literally!). Kimmi opens like the beginnings of a bush ballad, a mellifluous cadence introducing the…

Read more ›

Kip of the Mountain by Emma Gourlay

Reviewed by Alexa Dretzke

This is a terrific story set in South Africa in 1985, when apartheid was still official policy. A young girl called Kip is living a life that excludes her participating in many things. She is barred from many places we…

Read more ›

Foxlight by Katya Balen

Reviewed by Katherine Dretzke

Foxlight – the moment when twilight meets the dawn – is a quiet time just before the birds start their morning song and the sun begins to warm the earth. It was at this time that twin babies Fen and…

Read more ›

If I Was a Horse by Sophie Blackall

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

From a very early age I was obsessed with horses. I fantasised about them during the day and dreamt of them at night. They were the object of all my desires. Author Sophie Blackall’s son inspired her latest book many…

Read more ›

Raised by Moths by Charlie Archbold & Michelle Conn (illus.)

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

Last year’s winner of The Readings Children’s Prize has written a stunning picture book set in a fairground. When a little girl called Willow jumps on the Ferris wheel with a new friend, it sets the stage for a magical…

Read more ›

Songlines: First Knowledges for Younger Readers by Margo Neale, Lynne Kelly & Blak Douglas (illus.)

Reviewed by Dani Solomon

Margo Neale and Lynne Kelly are masterful storytellers and communicators – if you’ve already read the adult edition of Songlines, you’ll already understand exactly why and how. I’m delighted people who may be too young for the adult First…

Read more ›

Belonging by Jeannie Baker

Reviewed by Dani Solomon

Belonging begins with a beautiful collage view looking through a window into a front yard at a couple holding a baby. With each turn of the page, a year passes, and the view slowly changes in the most wonderful way…

Read more ›