Kids

The Magic Gems (Lily Halfmoon, Book 1) by Xavier Bonet

Reviewed by Kim Gruschow

It’s Lily’s birthday and that means it’s also time for her to start at a new school – for witches!! This lovely graphic novel is a classic story about a reluctant new witch discovering that she has been bestowed with…

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The Universal Guide to the Night Sky by Lisa Harvey-Smith & Sophie Beer (illus.)

Reviewed by Athina Clarke

Enthralled by the night sky as a child, award-winning astrophysicist Lisa Harvey-Smith has an infectious passion for the universe, a love she’s expert in sharing.

Appropriate for both Northern and Southern hemispheres, this friendly, practical guide to exploring the wonders…

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Millie Mak the Maker (Millie Mak, Book 1) by Alice Pung & Sher Rill Ng (illus.)

Reviewed by Clare Millar

Australian literary superstar Alice Pung again pairs up with talented illustrator Sher Rill Ng (their picture book together, Be Careful Xiao Xin!, is a 2023 CBCA Notable Book) for the middle-grade novel Millie Mak the Maker. For early…

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This Camp is Doomed: A Dennith Grange Misadventure by Anna Zobel

Reviewed by Julia Jackson

The reaction of the Dennith Grange kids when they realise their school camp destination is basically a dump is one of extreme disappointment. After all, most of their other classmates are enjoying ski resorts or poolside locations, and, you know…

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In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen (Geomancer, Book 1) by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Reviewed by Claire Atherfold

In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen is the beginning of an epic new trilogy from the bestselling adult and children’s author Kiran Millwood Hargrave. We enter a world full of magic and myths, where the Wolf Queen is devouring…

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To the Ice by Thomas Tidholm, Anna-Clara Tidholm (illus.) & Julia Marshall (trans.)

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

This gorgeous little hardback is a unique adventure story in a snow – and ice-encrusted world, one so different from our own. Translated from Swedish, the story is about three children, Jack, Max, and Ida, who are out playing in…

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In My Garden by Kate Mayes & Tamsin Ainslie (illus.)

Reviewed by Alexa Dretzke

Starting with the lively endpapers, we join different children around the world in their gardens.

Mostly, these gardens comprise indigenous plants of their country, but sometimes it is the wildlife that inhabit the environment that is important, or in the…

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We Know a Place by Maxine Beneba Clarke

Reviewed by Alexa Dretzke

Bookshops are magical places and each one has its own charm. They contain the dreams and mysteries of authors’ imaginations; the amazing facts of our world and animals. Maxine Beneba Clarke’s book is a homage to a ‘bold little bookshop’…

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Leaf-light by Trace Balla

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

This graphic novel is brimming with fascinating details, beginning with the front endpapers. Narrated by 12-year-old Miri, we learn about her community, which includes her next-door neighbour Wingo, his extended family, and an assortment of native animals.

Wingo’s family nurture…

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The Fortune Maker by Catherine Norton

Reviewed by Clare Millar

Catherine Norton’s first middle grade novel, Crossing, was a CBCA Notable Book and was joint winner of the 2015 Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. She’s back with The Fortune Maker, a slightly…

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