Kids
Minka and Curdy: The Enchanting Story of a Writer and Her Cats by Antonia White
Antonia White first published this delightful children’s classic in 1957, and it is as appealing now as it was then. As a cat owner, she knows the ‘real’ owner is the cat, and as a human she must do their…
Losing the Plot by Annaleise Byrd
Terry doesn’t much like reading. Basil loves reading, but he doesn’t much like Terry. Usually, they don’t have a lot to do with one another, and that arrangement works just fine, until Basil is told he will be tutoring Terry…
Outlaw Girls by Emily Gale & Nova Weetman
Ruby is a modern day hellraiser, a bored teenager with little direction in life and a chip on her shoulder. Kate is the sister of Australia’s most famous bushranger, determined to do whatever it takes to protect her family. When…
11 Ruby Road: 1900 by Charlotte Barkla
The ‘olden days’ hasn’t featured often in Australian middle-grade fiction in the last few years.
Except for Jackie French’s recent books, the Our Australian Girl series, and Katrina Nannestad’s wonderful Silver Linings at the end of last year, it has…
The Grimmelings by Rachael King
This debut novel places the Scottish mythological creature of the Kelpie within a contemporary, realistic setting in New Zealand. When 13-year-old Ella curses a boy who is bullying her on the school bus, she can’t help but think it’s her…
Wongutha Tales: Bawoo Stories & Badudu Stories by May L. O’Brien
Compiling her beloved stories for the first time, Wongutha Tales by May L. O’Brien is an exciting new collection of classic tales. The Bawoo Stories and Badudu Stories were first published individually in 1992 and have since become favourites in…
Saturday is Pancake Day by Bernadette Green & Daniel Gray-Barnett
When Dada Henry doesn’t get out of bed for Saturday morning pancakes with their family, Papa Milo is worried. Perhaps Henry doesn’t want pancakes today? Milo and the kids – Lily, Lena, and Gwendolyn – get creative in the kitchen…
The Fight for the Hidden Realm (Paper Dragons, Book 1) by Siobhan McDermott & Yuzhen Cai (illus.)
The Fight for the Hidden Realm, the first in the new Paper Dragons series, had me hooked from page one. Reminiscent of bestselling series such as Percy Jackson, Nevermoor, and The School of Good & Evil, this debut novel…
The Beehive by Megan Daley & Max Hamilton (illus.)
Here in Australia, when someone says the word ‘bee’, our first thoughts are usually of the brown and yellow European Honey Bee – which is fine. However, I do think it would be wonderful if when the word ‘bee’ was…
A Friend for Dragon by Dav Pilkey
A Friend for Dragon is an illustrated junior-grade fiction tale that features a sweet, lonely dragon who is keen to find a friend. For one reason or another, the creatures he approaches for friendship have an array of excuses and…