Kids

On A Magical Do-Nothing Day by Beatrice Alemagna

Reviewed by Mike Shuttleworth

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 a day lined with adventure and gentle surrealism, as they…

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The Missing Ace by Cosentino with Jack Heath & James Hart

Reviewed by Dani Solomon

Cosentino, the Grand Illusionist, is working on his latest illusion – escaping from a pit of deadly snakes while in a sack padlocked in chains – when Ace, an anthropomorphic playing card and escaped soldier from the king’s army, runs…

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Holes by Louis Sachar

Reviewed by Mark Luffman

In the 20 years since its first publication, Louis Sachar’s Holes has won innumerable awards and became a set text in schools. It tells the story of Stanley Yelnats, a boy who has loads of luck – all of it…

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The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson

Reviewed by Leanne Hall

Matthew hasn’t left the house for quite some time. Instead he sits in his bedroom (very clean and disinfected) or the study (within the acceptable limits of cleanliness, if he’s careful about what he touches) and makes notes about his…

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Whimsy & Woe by Rebecca McRitchie & Sonia Kretschmar

Reviewed by Athina Clarke

Reading this book, I felt like a child immersed in a good old-fashioned stage melodrama, barracking for the dauntless Whimsy and Woe and heckling the fiendish villains; through the magic of this story I relived the rapture of childhood.

Whimsy

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The Explorer by Katherine Rundell

Reviewed by Kim Gruschow

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 in a…

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In My Room by Jo Witek & Christine Roussey

Reviewed by Alexa Dretzke

In My Room is the fifth book in the highly successful series of novelty books that started with the phenomenally popular In My Heart. Our little protagonist is back and she’s got her creative hat on, well, several creative…

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The Owl Service by Alan Garner

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

It begins with Alison hearing a scratching sound in the roof above her bedroom. Gwyn thinks it’s mice but when he knocks on the roof, it knocks back. When Gwyn goes into the roof to investigate, he discovers an old…

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The Shop at Hoopers Bend by Emily Rodda

Reviewed by Dani Solomon

The Shop at Hoopers Bend is the kind of book that’s chock-full of all sorts of amazing coincidences. It starts when Jonquil, who has been staying with her aunt’s PA while waiting to be sent to a summer camp, finds…

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Pip and Houdini by J.C. Jones

Reviewed by Natalie Platten

Pip and Houdini follows the success of Run Pip Run, J.C. Jones’s shortlisted book for the CBCA Book of the Year for Younger Readers 2016 and winner of the Readings Children’s Book Prize. Pip is one of those characters…

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